April 7: So now I am in Israel and have given myself a few days to recover. Itching to get on the bike and ride. See if Marrorca was a dream. Did I really do all the things like that in the rain and survive? (It is interesting that there were no injuries given the seriousness of the weather.) So now I have to build the bike from the case. What a pain in the butt but I do it. And the easier gear does not work properly. I HATE this case and want it switched. I am not a bike mechanic and have no interest in learning to be one. I appreciate what i now know about the bike, but I find it stressful to worry about what gets wacked each time it is put together.

My first ride is up a few monster hills. I will go back and take pictures of them. Now that I have my bike computer I know the first is 12-14%. eecch. That is probably 1/2 mile. The second is maybe a mile and is 10% the whole way. So in 1 hour i have done 1,200 ft of ascent in only 10 miles. Like everything else in Israel where life is compressed and intense so is the hill riding in the north. I am excited about this. It means I have real practice for serious hill climing. I decided not to ride today (tomorrow is Passover) and I will work off those matzah balls on Friday by going to Kiryat Shimona and attaching some intense hills on the way back. And I will take a camera this time!

I also scouted out what I hope is a 100 km or more ride for Sunday. I am psyched.