Day 1 :Sunday - Sde Eliahu - Mt. Gilboa - Sha'ar HaGolan / Ha'On

75 km distance, 900 m ascent .

Please see route and elevation in the photo section: route Day 1

Following the kick-off ceremony at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, we will enjoy a pleasant warm-up ride through the fertile area of the Beit Shean Valley now called 'the Valley of the Springs'.

From Sdei Trumot we begin a long and beautiful ascent on a scenic route which passes through the Gilboa Range. On one side of the road we will have a beautiful viewof the Jezreel Valley and on the other side an outstanding view of the Jordan Valley. What more can we ask for ?

The Gilboa Range is the setting for the biblical Book of Samuel telling the stories of Saul, Jonathan and David.

We will descend towards Kibbutz Beit Alfa which is located at the base of the mountain. Bet Alfa is famous for its ancient Byzantine-era synagogue and wonderful mosaic floor which depicts the Hebrew lunar months corresponding to the signs of the zodiac.

We will continue and pass by the Bet She'an archeological site. In the 3rd Century, a Rabbinic scholar Reish Lakish referred to this area as 'the Gateway to Paradise”! At the She'an Junction we will join Route #90 –which stretches from Metula and the Northern border with Lebanon to Eilat – on the Red Sea - and the Southern border with Egypt.

We will also pass by the Naharaim site where an hydroelectric power-plant was established in 1930 by Pinchas Rutenberg and produced much of the energy consumed by the British Mandate Forces in Palestine. We will end our ride for todayinKibbutzSha'ar HaGolan and KibbutzHa'on -the accommodations for the night.