Jimmy Rosenbloom has been to Israel at least a dozen times. The last two times he participated in The Arava Institute and Hazon Israel Ride. Eddie Meltzer enjoyed hearing about those bicycle rides so much that this year he asked Rosenbloom, his life-long friend, to join him on the ride that takes place from Nov. 8 to 15. It includes an orientation session in Jerusalem, five riding days and Shabbat in Mitzpe Ramon. A colleague of Meltzer’s, Larry Seltzer from New York, will also ride with them.
Meltzer is excited to be on this ride for the first time.
“It will be such an adventure and I’ve never been on a bike ride of this length,” he said. “If you’re a bike enthusiast, who wouldn’t want to bike from Jerusalem to Eilat?”
Together Meltzer and Rosenbloom are committed to raising a minimum of $7,200 for the ride. As of early this week they still needed $3,000 to reach their goal. They will ride on the Jewish National Fund team and raise money to support the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and Hazon.
Hazon means vision and is America’s largest Jewish environmental group. The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, affiliated with Ben-Gurion University, is the premier environmental education and research program in the Middle East, preparing future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region’s environmental challenges.
Meltzer and Rosenbloom will ride their bikes, which they are taking with them to Israel, from Jerusalem to Eilat. Rosenbloom explained that other than the descent out of Jerusalem to Ashkelon on the Mediterranean, the ride is entirely in the Negev desert. So temperatures are expected to be in the 90s during the days and cool desert temperatures in the evening.
The two friends went to Israel for the first time in 1973 as members of the Kansas City Israel Pilgrimage. Later, Rosenbloom attended Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has also been to Israel three times with his family.
In addition to the Pilgrimage, Meltzer took a gap year while in college in 1976-77 and lived on Kibbutz Dse Yoav. He went again in 1986 for his brother’s wedding.
When he’s not training for the ride, Meltzer works in the electronic security industry for a company called Niscayah, Inc. Before the company was sold a few years ago, he managed Wornall Electronics, a company that had been in his family 50 years. Meltzer has been preparing for this ride since March, riding his bike 75 to 100 miles per week. He’s also worked out with a personal trainer, tries to eat healthy and attends Pilates classes. He calls this preparation, “a labor of love and anticipation.”
Rosenbloom has been trying to ride at least 15 to 25 miles three or four times per week in preparation for the ride.
For the ride itself in Israel, riders can choose from one of three route options. All routes enjoy full support, stocked rest stops and expert tour guides and educators. Rosenbloom said he and Meltzer plan to do the Tzofim ride, which averages 55 miles a day.
“Interestingly, the strongest group of riders, Halutzim, typically takes an extra loop to the Nizzana junction (a 95-mile day), on the Egyptian border in the Sinai desert. But because of all of the trouble at the Egyptian border, the riders have been informed that this option will not be available this year,” Rosenbloom said.
Rosenbloom, a member of Congregation Beth Shalom and a tax attorney who is a partner in the firm McQuain, DeHardt & Rosenbloom, P.C., said he is blessed to have completed the ride with another best friend, Danny Dunn, in 2007, and with his son, Jared, in 2010. In 2010 he and Jared raised almost $9,000 for the two charities.
In 2007, Rosenbloom said his focus was simply to have the opportunity to ride a bicycle in Israel, which combines two of his favorite things in the world.
“After two rides, and growing familiarity with Arava and Hazon, I have come to learn the incredible things that these two important organizations are doing to promote environmental protection in Israel and the U.S.,” he said.
He said ride organizers are serious about saving the environment. For instance the meals provided on the ride are maintained with as little environmental “footprint” as possible.
“We use no throwaway silverware, plates or cups. All such utensils are washed and re-used,” Rosenbloom said.
Friends of the two bicyclists will be able to keep up with their progress by visiting Meltzer’s facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/eimeltzer. Those wishing to donate can visit www.israelride.org and click on either participant’s name.