1 View gallery <\/p>\n
![\"\u05d4\u05e8\u05d5\u05db\u05d1\u05d9\u05dd\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/r1HUCGunZx_0_0_1969_1476_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"\u201cBikes")
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\u201cBikes are a million things.\u201d The \u2018cabinet\u2019 on wheels<\/p>\n
(Photo: Yuval Chen)<\/p>\n
He once focused on road cycling, even riding an 800-kilometer route in the mountains following the Tour de France. Today, he prefers gravel riding on dirt and unpaved roads. \u201cThe roads here have become too dangerous. I was traumatized by cars and let it go,\u201d he said. \u201cMy cars aren\u2019t even with me anymore. They\u2019re spread out among the kids, my son-in-law, and my wife. I get around by bike.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Shlibovsky and his friends, the ride is most of the story, but not all of it. Another key part happens at the Tel Aviv Port. \u201cThe ‘parliament’ meets Friday mornings,\u201d he said. \u201cWe sit for two or three hours over a beer, either after a ride together or separately, and talk about upgrades. This isn\u2019t a cheap hobby. Professional bikes start at about 18,000 shekels (about $6,000) and can reach 60,000 (about $20,000). We\u2019re somewhere in the middle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important things are the frame and the wheels. Accessories come down to personal preference and comfort. I build my own wheels, customized. That\u2019s my thing, precision. Some people buy just a frame and build from there. Others prefer buying complete bikes from abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eitan Raudor, 67, a recent retiree from a Rafael subsidiary, is the group\u2019s mentor and handyman. With 35 years of riding experience, he sees cycling as a full philosophy. \u201cBikes are a million things,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cThey\u2019ve taken me places Waze doesn\u2019t know. I\u2019ve been riding for decades and still haven\u2019t found the brakes on life.\u201d<\/p>\n
He enjoys riding hills and sandy terrain. \u201cWe\u2019re people for whom bikes are a spirit. It\u2019s a hobby that builds a whole story around it. Then we meet at the port and have philosophical debates about carbon and tires. These are meaningful ‘cabinet’ meetings.\u201d <\/p>\n
Raudor rides a modified road bike adapted for rough terrain, with wider tires and a different geometry, part of what he calls a global trend. Living alone, he says cycling has become central to his routine since retiring. \u201cWhen you retire, it\u2019s not always the rose garden they promise. You have to build a routine, an identity, and for me, the bike is the core element. It takes you to trails you didn\u2019t know, to hills that feel like the Alps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is cycling just a trend? Not for Raudor. \u201cThere are thousands of riders in Israel. But the real fanatics care about things like wheels. We even call them \u2018lucky wheels\u2019, tires, carbon, aluminum. And I don\u2019t have just one bike, I have four. But it\u2019s not just riding, it\u2019s nature, people. Suddenly you get competitive too. I\u2019ll race someone \u2018to the port\u2019 and I don\u2019t even know who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Ilan Hadar, 56, CEO of Silexion, a biotech company developing pancreatic cancer treatments, cycling offers balance. \u201cGetting out into the field clears your head,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t talk about work. We enjoy nature, the scenery, the technical challenges. It\u2019s both sport and therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hadar rides e-MTB, electric mountain bikes. \u201cWe\u2019re not 20 anymore, climbing everything on our own. The motor helps on the tough climbs, so you can enjoy the descent. It\u2019s an expensive hobby. Some people have invested hundreds of thousands of shekels. I\u2019m only in the tens of thousands,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
For Rafi Elmaliach, 59, director general of the Planning Administration, the hobby has turned into a professional mission. He got into cycling while working on the Israel Bike Trail project. \u201cWe raised 45 million shekels to build that trail from north to Eilat,\u201d he said. \u201cToday I make sure every new neighborhood includes bike paths. Cycling releases endorphins and creates calm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Living in Modi\u2019in, he considers the nearby Ben Shemen Forest his backyard, riding traditional geared mountain bikes. “I’m an old-fashioned type”, he says. \u201cBen Shemen is a hub for cyclists,\u201d Raudor added. \u201cOn Saturdays it is packed with thousands of people. It clears your mind for the whole week. You come down with a smile.\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent years, that smile has collided with a more complex reality. Interviews that began in routine times took a turn as war became part of the ride. For cyclists, open terrain, once the safest and most enjoyable space, has become risky without shelters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve ridden through sirens,\u201d Shlibovsky said. \u201cIt happened to Eitan and me near Ga\u2019ash, on the cliffs. Suddenly there\u2019s an alert and nowhere to go. We just lay down in the sand, waited for it to be over and kept riding. That\u2019s the fear in open terrain, unlike the city, you\u2019re completely exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, they keep going. \u201cYou can\u2019t stop riding,\u201d Shlibovsky said. \u201cWhen I don\u2019t ride, I can\u2019t sleep at night.\u201d For this group of men, pedaling is not just a way to get from point A to point B. It\u2019s the only way to stay balanced in a changing world, whether facing midlife shifts or the pressures beyond the trail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It often starts around age 50. The kids are grown, careers are peaking and the need for \u201csomething…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618133,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-618132","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}