Dear Friends,

I started Crossing the Yarden long before cancer, and I intend to write it long after Stella has a complete recovery. So not every post will be about the Matsav. Of course, if you are wondering, Stella had a bit of a rough week from chemo but is now doing fine as we anticipate surgery on January 1.

Now then……

It had all the trappings of a classic cycling competition. Alberto Contador is the three time winner of the Tour de France, two time winner of the Tour of Italy (Giro), and one time winner of the Tour of Spain. I am the winner of a spring training race in Prospect Park, circa 1984 and five time participant in the Alyn Charity Ride (not a race — or so they have to tell me every year.) I am sure that Alberto has been nervously anticipating racing against me ever since Lance Armstrong retired.

Let me just say, I am a Chassid of Lance Armstrong and am in no way a fan of Alberto, who has dissed my hero on several occasions. But I will admit that Alberto is most likely the best cyclist in the world right now, and one of the best ever. I am extremely proud that he came to Israel with his whole team. Sure, Robert Kraft comes here a lot, but has he ever brought the entire New England Patriots team for a solid ten days of training? Nu?

Alberto rides for the Saxo Bank team, one of the top professional teams in the world. I am not exactly sure how it happened, but Saxo Bank decided to have their first training camp of the season here in Israel. While the other top teams are holding their camps in warm exotic places, Saxo Bank came to Israel and even spent time performing charity work.

When there are those in the world who shun Israel and refuse to travel here, Saxo Bank not only came but held a race through the Old City. Big props to the whole team. I am so impressed with them, that it will be very difficult for me to root against them in this year’s Tour (of course I must, because that’s what sports fans do. But still…..)

Last week I got an e-mail from Alyn saying they are looking for a group of riders to accompany Alberto, Mayor Nir Barkat, and the rest of the Saxo Bank team on a ride through the Old City Tuesday evening. As a cyclist, this was just too huge an opportunity to pass up. I figured I would ride alongside Alberto for a little while, tell him about riding in Israel, then let him eat my dust while staring at the back of my Livestrong helmet.

I drove to Talpiot, parked the car, and rode to the Jaffa Gate. My first sense that I had somehow missed something in the translation was when I saw the massive crowds behind police barricades leading up to the Old City. Then above the Jaffa Gate was a huge sign that said “Start of Bike Race.’ Hmm……

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First of all, Stella is feeling much better. The way it works is like this. Every third Monday she has chemo at the hospital. This makes her “uncomfortable” for about a week. (Note: For those who don’t speak Stella, “uncomfortable” means a state far beyond what any of us could deal with. It’s a bit like when I say the hill we are starting to bike up is “not bad.” Yes, to know the Frankls is to know several unique languages.)

After a week, there is about five days when she is “not 100%.” (Translation: She feels awful.) But then, she gets a bit over a week in which she feels really good. She walks the dog at dawn, cooks, works, and does almost everything she used to do before we were told “the news.”

So right now, in answer to all the questions, she is feeling good and trying to absorb some calories by eating melted Ben and Jerry’s. (Try finding that one in any of the “anti-cancer diet” books.)

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The crazy thing about the hill was that you could see it from miles away. We had ridden from our campsite in the middle of the Negev and had seen it off in the distance, rising from the desert floor to the sky. At first there we lots of discussion among the riders whether it was possible to get up it while staying on the bikes.

We tried to guess the factors that would determine whether the climb was feasible: The angle of the grade, the condition of the trail surface, the amount of loose rock, etc. As we got closer, everyone stopped talking and began thinking about how much they were willing to suffer to go up without stopping.

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Same legs, different bike

Tomorrow morning I will set off for the fifth year in a row on the Alyn Hospital Charity Bike Ride. The Alyn ride is a 5 day ride through some of the most spectacular areas in Israel. Each rider must raise a minimum of $2,000 in donations to the Alyn Children’s hospital to enter. While you are in the saddle, you can’t help but think of the children of Alyn on whose behalf you are riding. These are children who have been severely injured in car accidents, terrorism, or suffer from terrible disease. The concept of Alyn is to make a bike ride just hard enough so that you have a tiny notion of how hard every day tasks are for the kids of Alyn. Just as you feel the triumph of completing a tough physical challenge, you can understand a little how these kids keep pushing themselves to get better.

Yet this year, I am not just riding for the kids of Alyn. While my legs and lungs will be in the Judean Desert, my heart will be in California.

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Standing by my bike on the slopes of Mount Hermon, I felt the sweat freezing to my body. I think it was at that time I decided that no way would I ever ride the Alyn 5 day charity ride again. Not a chance. Don’t even ask. After all, biking is a recreational hobby, right?

Why on Earth should one’s hobby make one miserable. As I tried to clean the mud out of my nose later that night, I felt comfortable that after riding Alyn for four years and raising over ten thousand dollars for the children’s hospital, I had done my share. Let someone else take over.

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