by dan pine
staff writer
Jim Mizes can rattle off the reasons why he signed up for Wheels of Love, the annual five-day charity bike ride across Israel. For one, the sight of 500 Jews from around the world all wearing Spandex shorts. For another, the occasional camel loping along on the side of the road.
But mostly the Danville resident likes supporting one of Israel’s leading medical institutions for children. Money raised by Wheels of Love go to Jerusalem’s Alyn Hospital.
And it’s no small chunk of change. The ride, now in its seventh year, raised $2.5 million in 2006. Organizers hope to top that when Mizes joins hundreds of other riders Oct. 18 through Nov. 1 as they pedal across Israel, from Tiberias to the Golan, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Each rider is responsible for bringing in at least $2,500 in pledged donations.
“Everyone’s there for the same reasons,” says Mizes, who took part in the ride last year. “They love cycling; they love Israel; and they want to make a difference. There’s such love and peace, yet we’re working our fannies off to do this.”
Certainly, he will. As CEO of Club One (a national fitness center chain) and an avid cyclist, Mizes opted for the most grueling of five cycling options: the challenge route, which covers 350 miles and 25,000 feet of elevation gain.
Not quite the sucker for punishment, Dr. Murray Zucker is also headed for Israel, having selected a less demanding 280-mile route. For weekend warrior types, there is also a tourist option (with the days divided between cycling and sightseeing) and even a one-day ride.
A San Francisco psychiatrist and board member of the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, Zucker has participated in Wheels of Love each of the last four years. He first got involved when his friend and fellow cyclist, Noah Alper (of Noah’s Bagels fame), persuaded him to give it a whirl.
“It’s such an incredible way to see Israel, up close and breathing it in as you’re going mile to mile. You get this great sense of camaraderie and world Jewry, all for the good cause of supporting this wonderful hospital.”
Alyn Hospital specializes in rehabilitating children with congenital muscular, neuromuscular and skeletal disorders, or those recovering from cancer, accidents and terrorist attacks, without regard to religion or national origin.
As a physician, Zucker admires Alyn and its staff. “The ride winds up in the parking lot of the hospital,” he adds. “The kids are all lined up on gurneys and in wheelchairs, and everyone is in tears. It’s very moving.”
Every rider at the start of the ride is given a photo of one of the hospital’s young patients. “That kid is your buddy, your inspiration,” he said. “You go up a big mountain huffing and puffing, then you look at the picture of this kid struggling a lot harder than you are.”
To prepare for all that huffing and puffing, both Mizes and Zucker have been in training for months, spending most weekends with other cycling enthusiasts riding through the Berkeley Hills or down to Point Reyes. They both hope the Bay Area contingent to Wheels of Hope –– at this point, along with Alper, a total of three –– will increase over time.
For Mizes, last year’s trip to Israel –– his first –– was a religious experience in every sense of the word. He found himself moved by the Jewish fellowship among the bikers.
”Watching them daven, or seeing Jews wearing yarmulkes under their helmets and carrying prayer books, is pretty phenomenal,” he said. “I felt I was wrapped up in a cycling tallit.”
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California