Gathering speed

Events such as the Yes Planet cycling tour are putting Jerusalem on the map as a national bike-riding attraction.

By BARRY DAVIS
Cycling in Jerusalem (photo credit: RONEN TOPELBERG)
Cycling in Jerusalem
(photo credit: RONEN TOPELBERG)
In case the non-cycling folk among us haven’t quite noticed, Jerusalem is becoming an ever more cycle-friendly place in which to live, work and shop.
While the city still has quite some way to go toward enabling anyone who wants to pedal their way around town to do so on dedicated bicycle paths, the cycling routes are gradually increasing.
And it doesn’t do the cycling cause any harm to enlist official and commercial support to raise the profile of pedal power in the capital by staging a major event in the sporting discipline.
Next Friday, Jerusalem will host its third annual mass cycling and outdoor activity gathering, sponsored by Yes Planet, and the event seems to be gathering momentum. The inaugural 2013 happening drew around 2,500 cyclists from all over the country, and this year the organizers expect that number to almost triple to 7,000. The Yes Planet cycling tour, in fact, will kick start the nationwide Sports Week, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Toto soccer pools organization.
There are four routes on offer on the day, from a child- and strictly ride-around-the-block rider-friendly 10 km. circuit to the slightly more challenging 20- km. route, both of which offer the added attraction of passing the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. Then there are the slots for the more serious-minded pedalers, for whom the municipality has laid a 40-km. route and a new 50-km. lap for the even sturdier mountain bike rider.
“There are some tough sections in there,” says Jerusalem Municipality spokesperson Yossi Guttman, such as the climb up to Yad Kennedy.
The circuits make the most of the scenic beauty in and around the capital and follow an attractive route through Jerusalem Park, the country’s largest metropolitan open green space. The park – which at 3,700 acres is the largest facility of its kind in the country – offers all sorts of possibilities for visitors looking to hike, cycle or just soak up some lush springtime vibes. The park, in fact, comprises four individual green expanses: Tzofim River Park, Arazim Valley Park, Motza Valley Park and Refaim River Park. After all the welcome winter precipitation, the riders should have plenty of greenery and flowers to take in as they work up a sweat. All four cycling routes will begin from the vicinity of the Jerusalem Cinematheque.
Tel Aviv is, of course, well known as a cycling-friendly city, but I put it to Jerusalem Municipality Sports Department director Ilan Green that with the local cycling event now well established and growing, the capital cycling image must also be gaining ground.
“Yes, we are changing Jerusalem’s image with regard to cycling, and there are other bodies on board for this,” notes Green, adding that Mother Nature is also helping to get the message across that serious and recreational mountain bikers from other parts of the country would do well to get themselves over here. “We have such a beautiful park, and we have great sights along the way.”
The cyclists will get a good view of the Old City as they set off and ride past Jaffa Gate, with the more experienced cyclists continuing in the direction of French Hill before wheeling their way into Jerusalem Park via the new Tzofim River trail.
The route later passes through Moshav Beit Zayit, where the seasonal lake formed by the local dam still holds an impressive quantity of rainwater, before the cyclists push their pulses up several notches as they head up towards Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem.
Hopefully, the cyclists will be in a strictly “just passing by” mode in the context of the medical establishment.
The seasoned riders will also get a close look at some our friends from the animal kingdom as they pass through the zoo and thereafter enjoy a leisurely return to the area of the German Colony to the finishing line at the First Station, along the tailor-made and definitively safe cycling route of the Mesila Park.
Green says that the addition of the 50 km. route is paying dividends.
“Most of the serious riders on last year’s 40 km. ride were from outside Jerusalem. This year we have people from Eilat, the Golan Heights and all over the country to do the 40 km. and the 50 km. rides.”
Besides promoting Jerusalem as a major national cycling attraction, Green says that the annual mass cycling event is designed to show off some of the beauty spots in and around the city.
“The whole of Jerusalem Park is pretty amazing right now,” he notes proudly, “and it is quite something to see thousands of cyclists riding past the Old City.
We have plenty to show off here.”
Guttman certainly goes along with the local pride observation.
“We have laid on very beautiful and challenging routes,” he says, also noting that, while the Tour de France organizers are hardly likely to consider the Jerusalem route for inclusion in the world’s preeminent cycling race, things are starting to get more serious in these cycling parts. “It is not yet a competitive event, but we are definitely now part of the national cycling scene.”
The spokesperson says that the sporting side of life in the capital in general is building up a good head of steam.
“The whole area of sports and sports culture is a major part of life in Jerusalem now.
We have the most international marathon in the country, and we’ve got a nighttime race lined up for July,” he notes.
Guttman says that he and his colleagues in the municipality try to make the best of the local topography and to use that to offer added value to athletes and less experienced sports enthusiasts.
“Jerusalem is not flat, and that means we can organize challenging events on different levels. There are plenty of climbs but also plenty of descents,” he laughs. “There is nothing trivial about running or cycling in and around Jerusalem. There are tough climbs, but there is also a lot of beauty to be enjoyed.” • For more information about the Yes Planet cycling event: www.jerusalem.muni.il.


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