Day 2 - Kfar Giladi - Washout

With a miserable Day 1 behind us, the weather forecast for Day 2 was even worse. All during the evening, the big honchos met to decide what to do. Never in the 10 years of the Wheels of Love has weather played a part like this. But the forecast was for heavy rain throughout the day, coupled with thunder and lightning and strong winds. This is not the weather to go out and 80+ miles with more mountains. (If nothing else, I am educable.) As much as we all wanted to ride, when we woke up in the morning, we knew it was not meant to be. As Cathy Lanyard, Executive Director, American Friends of ALYN put it eloquently, "we are here to help disabled children, not create disabled adults."

And so, with Team Great Neck and some of our new friends from the other routes, we hired a van and did some sightseeing - to the artist's village of Safed, with its quaint shops, candle factory and old synagogues. (Shopping, by the way, is my least favorite activity!).

We then got back in the van and plodded though more rain soaked roads to visit a local winery and take a tour. Because we are tough Challeng riders, we did not one - but two winery tours. I was plastered (not much of a drinker, frankly.) For the record, we saw the Rimon Winery, where they specialize in Pomegranate wines, and then the Galil Winery where, ... it all started looking the same to me. Of note, Galil was right on the border with Lebanon.

Please enjoy the pictures of the weather (only a small sample) just to prove that we did not take this decision lightly.

After dinner, we were treated to the annual presentation by Brenda Hirsch, Director of ALYN and a reminder of the special work the hospital does on behalf of the children, In the middle of everything, the power went out in the entire village due the storm. Everyone kept their cool and started singing Israeli songs untill we found enough flashlights to continue with the talk (albeit, without the powerpoint slides!) Very moving.