Made it!

Rolled into Eilat safely yesterday afternoon though the last day's journey was not without incident. Alan got caught in a sand/dust storm! Intense head wind and unbreathable air made the ride unworkable and all the riders pulled off the road and waited for the bus to scoop them up. The bus, meanwhile, was taking me and my smaller group on a tour of Timna (where the dust storm had not yet reached). We got to see some amazing sandstone "sculptures" as well as copper mines from the Calcolithic period and Midianite rock carvings before we cut our tour short to ride to the rescue of the cyclists stuck up on the plateau.

As a full busload, we rode to the top of the final descent into Eilat where the wind had finally died down enough to ride safely. They let Alan go down the steep descent first (out of the whole group!) because he likes fast descents. He rode down with Kfir, our professional lead rider, and they arrives together at the bottom of the hill. Then we all rode in formation to our hotel and I had a quick dip in the Red Sea before checking into our room.

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Here, by the way, is the map of the whole ride:


View Larger Map

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Now folks are heading their separate ways. Alan and I will stay here today and head back to Jerusalem tomorrow. And now, off to the Oceanarium!