When my dear friend Shameq told me about his cycle trip through Palestine, I initially couldn’t believe it and secondly was envious (in a good way). However I was now on my way, following in his footsteps on this dream journey.
The journey from Jenin to Taybeh was 30 miles with over 2,5000 feet of climbing. We stopped in a town called Sabastia to have a hearty Palestine lunch, followed by prayer before we did a tour of the archaeological sites. I was wearing my cycling shoes with cleats (the shoes have a plastic wedge at the bottom which click into the pedals in the bike) which wasn’t the best idea as the terrain wore away at the plastic and filled up the spaces with clay. I left my sandles in my main luggage so didn’t have much choice. I didn’t bring any spare cleats so I need to be careful especially as it’s difficult to get spare cleats from Palestine.
The ride had a number of big climbs. The first hill was the hardest hill of the day, long and steep and in the heat, soul destroying. As I took a road bike, I was at a disadvantage as the gear ratio wasn’t suited for the big hills, however I wanted to push myself and conquer all the hills on the trip. About 1/4 of the way up the hill, I was on the lowest gear, as I pushed up. A couple of the riders were ahead of me but my focus was on me. I continued to climb and there were moments when the gradient increased to over 20% where doubts started to creep in. At one stage my heart rate reach 202 bpm which was the highest I have seen it for many years and my breathing increased substantially. Thankfully I got to the top without stopping and was met by Kevin with his camera. Hill conquered 💪
As we approached Sabastia there was a very steep, windy hill. I had a spurt of energy and decided to take on the king of hills, Alex who was a phenomenonal rider. The hill was very steep and I gambled on it being a short sharp hill. I stood up on the bike and sprinted up the hill. The hill wound around and I continued at the pace with lots of power and energy in my legs. However the hill went longer than I expected and I was dealt a psychological blow. I sat down on my saddle and the enthusiasm and energy dissipated faster than I imagined. Suddenly my legs felt heavy and slow as I crawled up the hill. I looked to my left and saw Alex who cruised passed me in style. I got to the top without stopping but didn’t quite get the king of the hill (clearly I’m not competitive!)
We arrived in the city of Nablus. As we cycled through the city it reminded me of Hebron in places. We checked into our hotel, freshened up and went on a short tour of Nablus. Walking around Nablus now reminded me of Damascus and the tour guide said Nablus was also known as mini Damascus. We went to a soap and spice shop, ate some fresh kinafa and ended the tour with a very deep, emotional talk about Nablus and the problems it has faced over the years and continues to face. A city referred to as the city of resistance.
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