Me, My Day, and the Donkey

It was a long day, entirely enthralling, memorable, and altogether exhausting. All of that said, I'm going to post in the form of a list in that this is about all I have the energy for right now, at 9:32pm, at Kibbutz Almog, just outside of the world famous Dead Sea. I biked forty of the most thrilling miles imaginable today. Here are some of the details. I...
- awoke at 5:45 to complete darkness
- met the remaining 55 members of the Ride at the Hebrew Union College, everyone groggy but upbeat as well, ready to finally begin
- assumed my seat at the opening ceremony before some 300 members of the WUPJ and many others on hand
- finally took to the bike, to singing, and cheers, and a Jerusalem sky wide and blue and waiting
- rode past the Old City, focusing at once on the beginning of the Ride, those on their way back from Shacharit morning prayers, kids on their way into kindergarten, the cabs zipping past
- rode through East Jerusalem, the stares and congratulations as strong and heartwarming as ever, proving once again that people will forget differences and boundaries when given reason and motivation to do so, even something as simple as a bike ride
- made my way into the expanse that is the long dusty trail down toward the Dead Sea, winding, sandy, undulating, with vicious uphills, and even more vicious and harrowing descents
- found myself so far removed from the Jerusalem metropolis in mere moments, suddenly passing not cabs or pedestrians, by wild camels, donkeys, an occasional bedouin with his flock
- attempted to dodge one of these stray donkeys on a rather narrow pass and at the same moment attempted to turn a rather sharp corner, sending me and my bike some ten feet down the path, leaving me with my first wound of the excursion - and a good wound at that
- enjoyed a slow picnic lunch of soup and tuna sandwiches, our bikes scattered about us, already feeling like we'd known each other for years
- stopped in at the Qumran Caves, sight of the Dead Sea Scroll findings, for a brief tour and walk
- stopped in at the Dead Sea for a quick break
- chatted with people from Boston, Philadelphia, Jerusalem, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Houston, and Leipzig, Germany
- arrived after our forty mile day at our kibbutz for the evening and there enjoyed dinner, a conversation with the group to de-brief and process, more mixers, a presentation by representatives of the IMPJ
- wrote up my day and re-lived it once more, appreciating it all the more so.

Thinking of everyone!

Ben

p.s. Happy Birthday Mom!