Who is the Israeli cyclist?
Not a cyclist herself, Collins-Kreiner tells ISRAEL21c that Israel has joined the worldwide trend to balance on two wheels. While in some countries, like China, locals forego the traditional bike for the more prestigious four-wheel car, Israel is joining a European and North American trend. “It’s about awareness of the environment, awareness of health, an interest of people to get involved in sports, and an increase in money and status,” she relates. Some people, she notes, are spending up to $6,000 on a fancy bike and cycling gear with all the rims and trimmings. The researchers identified Israel’s cycling meccas as the northern Negev Desert in the Be’eri region outside Ashkelon; Beit Shemesh outside Jerusalem; Latrun (a hilltop in the Ayalon Valley overlooking the road to Jerusalem); and Mount Carmel (the coastal mountain range in the north, where the city of Haifa is located). It has almost become a competition, she says, with numerous biking trails being blazed by the Jewish Nation
