Vi cykler til arbejde i Israel

Skrevet d.26. maj 2010

"Vi cykler til arbejde" har samlet et verdenshold på tværs af landegrænser. Deltagerne fortæller løbende om deres cykelture til arbejde.

My route to work (Tel Aviv – Herzlia, Israel)

Is there a better way to start a day's work than riding through green fields, white and yellow daffodil flowers, and orange trees? Can you smell the smells we do?

My friend Anya and I have all the reasons to use our cars on our way to work – We both have a company car; we live next to an entrance to the highway with almost no traffic jams on our way so it takes us just 15-20 minutes to reach work; we each have parking lots so we don't have to look for one when we reach work.
But we both also have very good reasons to cycle to work - it gives us a good day's start with a smile on our faces, it is healthy, it keeps us fit and feel young, and it is our contribution to the fight against global warming.

So, since our companies are located next to each other, once or twice a week we bike together to work.

We have several alternatives to pick from. We have an "urban" route and two "green" routes, which we prefer.
One "green" alternative starts next to a road loaded with cars, but when we reach the entrance to the small town of Ramat Hasharon we take a left turn and enter the surrounding green fields, where we see people working in the fields and smell the fresh vegetables. Next, we cycle next to orange trees. Then we enter Kibbutz Glil Yam, which is the only kibbutz located in the middle of the city. Five more minutes of cycling on the main street of the city of Herzliya, and we split our ways, each to his day's work.

The other "green" route takes us through an open area in the northern part of Tel Aviv. This area is the habitant of animals and flowers and was left undeveloped because of its proximity to fuel and gas tanks, but once these were taken away, construction entrepreneurs want to build there, so there's going to be a struggle between nature defenders and city authorities.

Both Anya and I are XC (Cross Country) mountain bike cyclists, so this natural route helps us "extend" Saturday, and gives us an hour of cycling in the nature. We hope that in 5 years time this area is not paved with asphalt. In part, it depends on people like us to stand and oppose construction plans in the area.

To sum up - if you wish to start your day's work with a smile on your face, cycle to work. If you wish to return home and still have that smile – cycle home.