Yuval completes four-day cycling challenge
Hermes Chief Executive Officer, Yuval Baruch, undertook an intense, four-day cycling challenge through the mountains and deserts of Israel from 20th to 23rd October this year, with a team of fellow athletes from his triathlon club.
Flanked by a group of around 80 cyclists travelling in four pelotons, Yuval covered an impressive 630 kilometres, cycling for an average of five and a half hours per day in sweltering heats of up to 35 degrees Celsius.
The cycling tour began at the north-westerly border of Israel, before climbing south through the Golan Heights and down to the Sea of Galilee. From there, the pelotons made their way to the Dead Sea, navigating gruelling serpentine roads uphill to Mitzpe Ramon, at an elevation of 860 metres, which overlooks the world’s largest erosion cirque – an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion.
The final leg from Mitzpe Ramon saw the troupe head south to finish their route in the port city of Eilat, at the Southernmost border of Israel.
The final day of the tour also saw Yuval achieve his best time, maintaining an average speed of just over 36 kilometres/hour. On day three he achieved his longest run, cycling for seven and a half hours and covering 191 kilometres in one day.
Over the four days, the cyclists climbed a total of approximately 6,400 metres on their bikes.
Yuval trains almost daily for such events with his triathlon club, MyWay, and completed the Ironman challenge in 2019.
“It’s boring to do the same things all the time, so we look for other things to do,” said Yuval.
“The cycling tour was a really good strength-building exercise and good preparation for longer cycling competitions, like Ironman, which is 180 kilometres in a day.
“It’s also a great social experience, working hard and helping each other under challenging conditions, and socialising afterwards.”
Story edited by meantime.global
