Day 5: The "Aliyah" Day

It's 7:34am the day after the ride. I'm awake because I went to bed at 9pm. I went to bed at 9pm because I was so physically exhausted that I was starting to get grumpy and whiney. So I went to bed. And now its 7:34 and I'm awake. Fabulous.

What hurts:
-my calves
-my stupid sunburned lips
-everything below my bellybutton
-my neck and shoulders
-my nose (stuffy)
-my throat (sore)
-my ears (just hurts)

What I need to do today:
-take my laundry in
-get a massage (12:15)
-get my haircut (1:30)
-finish writing my thank you notes and buy stamps
-get all the work I missed
-and on and on

How am I feeling NOT physically?
-exhilarated
-"the highest high I'll ever need" -me after going down the biggest hill
-SO SO SO proud of myself
-kind of amazed that I did it all. Some walking. NO riding the bus. Mostly biking. I rode myself all over Israel and most of the time I had a smile on my face.
-like I met some really amazing people-- from my classmates who I bonded with on a totally new level, to my classmates who I didn't really know before, to my future colleagues to the men and women who inspired me, motivated me and kept me going when the going got tough.
-my muscles ache, but I feel really really good physically and know that I'll feel even better physically when I'm recovered a bit.
-I climbed up that road in that picture. Yes, that tiny one in the distance. I still can't believe it.

The last day [bum bum bum bum BUM-- appropriate theme music]
So I had heard over and over and over again how tough the last day was going to be. How the climb into Jerusalem was going to be like anything I had ever done before. Blah blah blah. After Thursday afternoon I was pretty sure that I could handle anything they put before me. Ok, that works...until I saw the climb. It was a very very long hill...that just kept going and going and going. It didn't want to end. I rode most of the way with Neil and Claire who were *amazing* biking buddies. Finally, after the "main" climb, we had to ride up another big hill that almost seemed like it was going to be the end of me. Finally (after about 4 1/2 hours of riding) we got to Mivaseret Zion, the congregation outside of Jerusalem where we had lunch and heard about their community. One of our riders, Michael is a member there and told us all about it including their amazing Rabbi Mya who won a Supreme Court case to buy land from the government to build a building. Now their building (which I visited earlier in the semester) is built, but isn't finished yet.

We had lunch and then got back on the road so we would arrive at HUC exactly at 3:30 for the welcoming and closing ceremony. We had a police escort all the way into town and even though the final hour was tough and my body was hurting including my knees (which was a common problem since Claire and Rachael already had taped knees) I kept going-- adrenalin or just plain excitement- I don't know which. And then suddenly, we were done. We came through the tunnel and then were on Betzalel, then King George, then Hillel then Yaffo then King David and then 13 King David Street. Home. We ended up being a few minutes early so we got to hang out and hug each other before cutting the ribbon and running into the courtyard. Rachel and Bekah were playing "Heveinu Shalom Alecheim" and "Simin Tov U'Mazel Tov" and everyone was singing. From there it was kind of a blur but at one point all the HUC riders who had been away from their significant others for the week were kissing- I hope someone got a picture of it. It was priceless. Everyone also got roses and flags from the kids at the gan who were also waiting for us.

Anyway, after all the hugging we sat down for the closing ceremony and everyone who spoke on the first day spoke today. Michael Marmur told jewish biking jokes (the "chain" of tradition," and that the month of Nissan was named after a Japanese car company!). We got all received certificates and had our names called so people could cheer for us. Then there was cake (with a biker on it) and then a group picture up at Mercaz Shimshon. Then I got my stuff and went home where I laid on my bed for about an hour before moving again.

That's my biking story and I'm sticking to it. Expect more post-ride reflections and pictures to come very soon. Rumor has it that we'll be getting a CD with 1000 pictures on it from the ride and then I can pick and choose the ones I want to put up.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me through this entire adventure! Very soon I'll have a fundraising total and I'll be sure to post that right away. For now, it's 8:38 and I'm gonna have some breakfast and get ready for my recovery day. Happy Friday to all!