twowheeltravel: SLOW Like rolling a boulder uphill. That has been our progress for 2 days along the
twowheeltravel: SLOW Like rolling a boulder uphill. That has been our progress for 2 days along the Dead Sea and climbing up into the Southern Negev desert. In addition to climbing up from the lowest place on Earth (600m below Sea level), a fierce headwind has steadily impeded our progress at each pedal stroke. We have covered only about 70km per day and felt absolutely beaten both physically and mentally at the end of the section. For those who haven’t ridden a loaded bike into a headwind for any distance it can sound insignificant. Trust me, it is not. Sometimes called the invisible mountain, a powerful headwind can demoralize and defeat you if you fight too hard. The secret is to drop into the lowest gear in which you can spin easily and try to make steady progress. Don’t give up. Remember the turtle and the hare? Slow and steady wins the race. That has been us for 2 days. Slow. Fortunately for us we have been able to to work together to draft each other through the wind. Making it to our destinations each night with some daylight to spare. I take the lead through the flats and uphill, Carolyn leads downhill so I can rest and then I pass her along the bottom hoping to pull her with me into the flat. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t… Fortunately we have peaked the rise from the Dead Sea and we will now begin our 125km descent to the Red Sea and back to Sea level…More to come from Eilat. -- source link