The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Jerusalem, Israel to Petra, Jordan & BACk II

November 30th to December 17th

Ride Coordinator: Thomas Ryan
Report by: Aaron Rosenthal

Our trip started at the first night’s happy hour with the question “What prompted you to push the button to sign up for this this trip?”. The responses were about as varied as the 26 riders on this 2 week journey. However, by the time we returned to Jerusalem we all shared a far greater understanding of human history in the Holy Land, why this region is so sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, and undoubtedly a renewed sense of hope that someday peace amongst all will prevail.

The morning bike ride and afternoon walking tour of the Old City on our first full day set the foundation for all that was to come. Our first week took us from Jerusalem, to the Dead Sea and to Israel’s southernmost city Eilat. We rode to Ein Gedi and Masada, taking tours of both, where our phenomenal guide Amir read relevant passages from the Bible and shared his wealth of knowledge to bring into context their historical and biblical significance. We had overnights at two very different Kibbutz along with brief lectures about the history of the kibbutz movement. We learned about Israel’s state of the art agriculture and how they have transformed some of the driest areas on earth into bountiful crops using sustainable practices. A cycling highlight of the first week was summiting Scorpion’s Ascent with its numerous switchbacks and 19% grade.

Our week in Jordan was equally incredible with another amazing guide Ayman. Our overnight at Aqaba allowed some of us to complete the goal of swimming in the Med, the Dead, and the Red (seas), although the Med wasn’t a part of this tour. Our most unique lodging experience was staying at a Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum. We had a Jeep tour of where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed and more recently The Martian. The camel caravans were not staged! Odds are everyone in our group would put this tour’s highlight as a day off the bike when we walked into the ancient Nabatean city of Petra. We hiked to the iconic Treasury and Monastery while learning the history of this region dating primarily from the first century BC to the first century AD. Cycling along the Dead Sea on the Jordanian side allowed us to experience the similarities and differences from what we’d ridden a week plus prior on the Israeli side. (You’ll have to do this tour to find out which is better).

The last full day of cycling was felt by many in the group to be the best ride of the trip as we did a circular route up to Mount Nebo where Moses purportedly viewed the Promised Land. The ascent was the most challenging of the tour. 30k or so later after descending off the plateau we had a magnificent and unique lunch experience catered by a Bedouin family as we sat on cliffs overlooking the Dead Sea. The next day we rode to the Allenby Bridge border crossing. Once back in Israel we went to Jericho, the day’s third state as this is Palestinian territory. Our brief stay there with support from a local guide gave us yet another perspective of the challenges of this region.

As our Ride Coordinator Tom Ryan stated “This tour is so much more than a bike ride”. Our guides demonstrated passion for what they do and love of their respective countries. The opportunity to learn about human and biblical history along with the vast differences between cultures and countries make this arguably one of the most unique and special tours undertaken by the BAC.