700 start 5-day bike ride to help children at Alyn Hospital

The pediatric and adolescent rehabilitation center – the only one of its kind in Israel – hopes to raise $2.5 million from its Wheels of Love campaign.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
bike ride 311 (photo credit: Courtesy Alyn)
bike ride 311
(photo credit: Courtesy Alyn)
A record 700 people got on their bicycles on Sunday morning at the Mitzpe Ramon amphitheater for a five-day ride to Jerusalem to raise money for the capital’s Alyn Hospital.
The pediatric and adolescent rehabilitation center – the only one of its kind in Israel – hopes to raise $2.5 million from its Wheels of Love campaign.
Participants came from 10 countries and include physicians, lawyers, businessmen, sportsmen. The oldest is octogenarian Joseph Simon of Amsterdam, and the youngest is a 14-year-old girl.
Each participant has committed to collect at least $2,000 in sponsorships. Some 300 others will, on the fifth day, join the ascent to Jerusalem from Beit Guvrin to the hospital.
In 2009, the ride raised $2.3m. for Alyn.
There are four parallel routes, some more difficult and longer than others, ranging from 240 kilometers to 560 kms. Dr. Erez Ezrahi, director of the ride, said it is a great experience, as participants not only join together to help physically disabled children, but also get to view varied parts of the country.
Alyn youngsters suffer from motor, sensory, respiratory, communications, cognitive and behavioral problems, and the aim is to rehabilitate them and return them to the community as soon as possible.
They vary from victims of road accidents to those born with congenital defects and those suffering from a number of physical diseases.