I keep a quote on my desk attributed to Peanuts creator, Charles Schultz, “Life is like a 10-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.” 

It was my great honor last month to ride 180 miles through the beautiful hill country of the Judean Desert, Dead Sea, Negev regions of Israel, and then up to Jerusalem to raise money for a remarkable children’s rehabilitation hospital in Jerusalem called Alyn Hospital. I first heard about Alyn during rabbinic school in 1990 when I would take a young boy swimming each week. Sadly, other large charity bike rides this year were all cancelled, except for Wheels of Love. Like every organization and institution in Israel, Alyn has suffered greatly during these last difficult 14 months. Nothing has been the same since October 7th. I had been to Israel 4 times since the war started, but wanted, rather needed, to do something different. 

At the last minute, I signed up.

A few key learnings:

1.   40-50 miles a day is not the same as a 20-minute Peloton class with Jenn Sherman or Ally Love in my bedroom. I probably should have trained just a little bit more.
2.   Never fly through the night without sleeping and land at Ben Gurion airport at 7am, change in the bathroom, and be on a rental bike at the starting line at 9am.
3.   Never skip registration and start a ride without a bottle of water, earphones, a charged phone or anything to nosh. 
4.   Hills in Israel are really hills, and down the hill is even more difficult and scary than up the hill.  
5.   It’s amazing to ride with Jewish people from 10 different countries and to talk with Israelis from all different parts of the country, who are all experiencing difficulties and trauma, each one in their own way.   
6.   Jewish geography is always easy on a bike. I met people from all over the world and one from my own home community. Every person on a bike has a story. 
7.   There is a special place in the world for wheelchair hand bike riders and the team of athletes and family members who help them and train them.  
8.   No matter what you are experiencing in life, there’s no better way to clear your mind than hopping on a bicycle. That was true when I was 10 and even more true at age 60.
9.   I learned from several riders, including Hersh’s dad, Jon Polin, who has been riding Wheels of Love for 10 years, that sometimes the only way through a tough situation is to “ride through.”
10. Volunteers always brighten your day, especially after 40 miles, and they are handing out snacks, beers and smiles. 
11. When your rental bike breaks down on the last day at the base of the hardest hill on your way up to Jerusalem, and the only bike the mechanic can give you is an electric assist bicycle, just smile, thank him, and look to the heavens and give a little thanks to that big guy upstairs.
12. It’s better for the kids in the hospital to be a lousy bike rider and a really good fundraiser than the other way around. I finished as the 2nd highest fundraiser this year, raising over $110,000 for the children of Alyn, thanks to 120 incredibly generous people.  
13. When children in wheelchairs with huge smiles on their faces give you a medal after 180 miles of bike riding, there is no choice but to sign up again to do the ride.   

I feel so lucky and blessed to have participated in this amazing experience. A huge thank you to all those who donated to the Alyn hospital Wheels of Love bike ride. Reach out if you want to join me next year, the dates are November 3 to 6, 2025. Because, like HG Wells, I too believe “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”

Ride On, Ride Through.