Our Rusty Steeds

No, in response to many people's questions, we're not going to ride the antique tandem bicycle from our wedding on a bicycle tour. We actually bought a couple of used cyclocross bikes. Cyclocross, if you don't know, is a masochistic sport where people ride extra-tough road bikes on trails and then, when they get to an obstacle or a pond, get off the bike and carry it on their shoulder. This has absolutely no appeal [David would like to give it a try]. Anyway, more importantly, cyclocross bicycles are fairly light but quite rugged, so they're well suited for touring. We changed ours around a bit--added high volume tires and wider rims to accommodate a heavier load, attached full fenders and racks, and got handlebars and saddles that will (hopefully) be comfortable for hours on the road. In the end to quote our current bike guru, "The type of bike you ride doesn't determine the type of tour you have."

Here are some photos. It's a bit embarrassing that they're so similar, red for Hannah and blue for David. What's next, matching tracksuits?

Before leaving David dismantled the bikes and packed them in cardboard boxes for the plane trip. They survived relatively OK other than a wobble in the wheels. We'll have to take them to a bike shop to get the wheels trued [translation: adjust the tension in the spokes]. Luckily cycling, and especially mountain biking, seem to be a new fad in Israel and we should have no problem finding a shop as soon as Passover… passes over. -H & D