Israel’s first off-road bike trail for riders with disabilities was inaugurated by KKL-JNF on Givat Hatzir in the lower Galilee on Friday, May 20, 2022. The trail (also called a single track or single) is almost 7 kilometers long and is designed for riders with mobility issues, the visually impaired, and riders along the entire cognitive spectrum. Hundreds of biking enthusiasts from all over the country arrived to take part in the inaugural event. Almost half of the participants were riders with disabilities.
One large group of participants came with Etgarim, an NGO that promotes outdoor activities for youth with special needs, and another group, from Kfar Tikva (Village of Hope), a kibbutz-style establishment near Haifa where residents with cognitive, developmental, and emotional disabilities live and work together.
Both Etgarim and Kfar Tikva have among their members very keen
cyclists who were about to
take their bikes off-road for the first time.
The event began with an inaugural group bike ride along the new trail, which is divided into two marked tracks of differing levels of difficulty. Most of the participants had standard mountain bikes but there were also tandems and handcycles. Handcycle rider Boaz Merhav, from Kibbutz Hannaton in northern Israel, said that he couldn’t wait to get started. “I have been riding for years,” he said, “and this is the first time that I will be able to ride in nature. Up until now the closest I got to that was on the KKL-JNF cement track around the Hula Lake.”
Just before the ride, the participants received a quick briefing from Nimrod Shvartz, the cycling instructor at Etgarim and one of the experts consulted during the track’s implementation. “Remember,” he warned, “there is a huge difference in riding on a sealed surface from that of a rough forest trail. Take it slowly at first and be careful, especially where the ground is loose.”
Waiting to greet the riders alongside the Tabor Oak segment of the trail was Pnina Zeisler, KKL-JNF Accessibility Consultant, who was instrumental in designing the new single. Zeisler said that she came to see that it all works. “The track had to be much broader than a regular off-road single because the handcycles are three-wheelers and much wider than a standard bicycle,“ she noted. “The special bikes also have less turning ability than traditional bikes, so we had to take that into consideration as well.”
It all seemed to go smoothly. The ride along the mountain trail took about 90 minutes. Then, following a beer and a sandwich, the participants gathered for the inauguration ceremony which was hosted by KKL-JNF’s Maayan Ben Naim, Community Relations Coordinator at KKL-JNF’s Golani Junction Office. Maayan invited Gil Atzmon, KKL-JNF Manager of the Lower Galilee and Gilboa Region, and Eitam Shultz, an IDF officer in uniform, to the podium.
Gil Atzmon told the audience that over the past 30 years he had inaugurated many cycle tracks around Israel, but none were as inspiring as the present one. “This is the shortest trail, but the most emotional for me,” he said. “It started 4 years ago when this IDF officer, standing next to me, was little more than an 18-year-old kid.” Atzmon described how Eitam approached him and told him that he had just completed a year of volunteering at Etgarim where he worked with disabled cyclists, and that he dreamed of initiating the construction of an off-road single for challenged riders. “I listened to this kid talking, “ Atzmon said, “and then I responded, OK let’s do it. I had no idea then that it would take us four years to complete, and at first, Eitam did not believe it was going to happen either. But, here we are.”
Atzmon, on behalf of KKL-JNF, presented Eitam with a bicycle-shaped wooden plaque inscribed with the following words:
To Eitam
In recognition, and appreciation of your fruitful way of thinking
And for fulfilling a dream
From
Your friends at KKL-JNF
Dr. Hillel Admoni thanked KKL-JNF on behalf of the off-road riders. Admoni, who cycles with one leg and is an orthopedist specializing in knee and amputation issues, said that beyond the physical activity so important for the body, riding in nature also promotes the health of the human psyche, which is just as important. “The ride today was not easy,” he said. “We are not used to riding on rough tracks but the experience was amazing and rewarding. KKL-JNF did a magnificent job here. Thank you very much.”
The Deputy Head of the Emek Yizrael (Jezreel Valley) Regional Council,
Shai Yizraeli,
also thanked KKL-JNF for the “wonderful change” they created in the area.
“I am doubly thrilled to be here,”
he said. “Not only are we, in Emek Yizrael, honored to host the first off-road track of its kind in the country, but the fact is I am also an avid bike rider with a disability. After a hip injury a few years ago my doctor prescribed cycling as a way to strengthen my body.”
Yizraeli said that that without a doubt the residents of the nearby Bedouin village
Manshia Zabda will also enjoy the bicycle track and rejuvenated forest.
“It's so close and convenient for them to use,” he said.
“As we say here in Emek Yizrael: ‘Anyone who is not on a horse, must get on a bicycle’,” he concluded with a smile.
At the end of the event we encountered Amit, proudly sporting his bright green Kfar Tikva cycling shirt, who wished to thank KKL-JNF and its Friends in Canada for making off-road biking possible for him. Explaining how much he enjoyed the ride, he relayed how empowering the experience was for him; he now feels capable of doing things that other people do.
Images: Inauguration of the Givat Hatzir accessible bike path, May 2022. Photographs: Dennis Zinn, KKL-JNF Photo Archive