South Africans love cycling.
The biggest cycling race in the world takes place in Cape Town every March. Called the Cape Argus, it attracts 40,000 cyclists from all over the world, many of them from Israel.
South African cyclists visiting Tel Aviv – and even those preferring to tour with some slight exercise – can tour the city on one of its municipal bicycles.
Hot off the saddle, Tel Aviv is the latest city to offer residents and visitors bikes for rent. Following in the “bike lanes” of London, Paris and Barcelona, Tel Aviv-Yafo has joined this smart club. It is easy to understand why! A densely-populated city and congested with traffic, Tel Aviv motorists have literally been ‘hooting’ for something dramatic to be done. And who would have thought that the answers to our problems of the future lay in an invention of the past – the bicycle!
Conceptually, very little has changed in its basic early nineteenth century design of a simple frame on two wheels. If bicycles around the turn of the 20th century reduced commuter dependence on horses, today they can potentially dent – at least upon inner-city residents – a daily dependence on their polluting gas-guzzlers. The irony is, says 28-year-old Yossi Markowitz who lives close to Rabin Square, “most times of the day you can cut across town quicker on a bike than a car.” Yossi has taken a year’s subscription with the Tel Aviv Municipality’s new cycling initiative called, ‘Tel-O-Fun’. “I use these bikes to go everywhere – to work, the beach or meeting my buddies at a restaurant. The beauty is you don’t even have to bother about parking. You dock it at a station closest to where you are going and when you ride again, you take a new bike. It’s so easy and practical.” Yossi is now one of thousands of Tel Aviv residents who commute daily by rented bike. “When it comes to cars in Tel Aviv, it’s a combat zone. Everything is so competitive. You survive the drive,” jokes Yossi, “only to begin the nightmare of finding parking. Who needs it?” It is little surprise that an increasing number of young residents in downtown New York City are more likely to own a bike than a car. Seeing the number of cyclists in Tel Aviv these days, could Israel’s largest city be going the same way as the ‘Big Apple’? Incidentally, Tel Aviv was voted the third hottest city for 2011 in Planet Earth after New York and Tangier. Tel-O-Fun bikes are available 24 hours a day, all year round, in a self-service format. There is no need to order in advance. “It’s easy, accessible and efficient,” says Yossi, who works for an investment company near the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. “And no less important, it’s fun and healthy. At the same time as going places, I’m getting exercise. It’s a total win-win.” Sharon Keren, the CEO of Tel Aviv’s Economic Authority, explains that for the trial period that began in May – “We opened Tel-O-Fun only for locals who subscribed for varying periods. Available for tourists, they can access the bikes by swiping through their credit cards.” Studying the systems in other cities, “We opted for the Barcelona model; thought it most suited conditions in Tel Aviv. We finalized on 150 stations across the city, with twenty docking stands at each station.”
On the Right Track
Ask any local cyclist and they will repeat what Keren has expressed, “Tel Aviv is ideal for biking.” With its leafy boulevards, quaint narrow alleys, ancient historic areas, parks and a coastal bike lane that runs along the City’s Mediterranean coast, Tel Aviv offers cyclists a smorgasbord of visual delights. Add the “sunny weather most of the year and few hills, the conditions are perfect,” says Keren. “The feedback that we have received has been incredible, confirming we are on the right track. The busiest stations are currently in the central area of Tel Aviv where “locals” use our rental bikes as part of their daily routine – mainly commuting to-and-fro from work.”
With tourists taking to the saddle, the popular stations are the major tourist attractions – the Namal, HaTachana, the old city of Jaffa, Yarkon Park, Neve Tzedek, Rothschild Boulevard and ‘White City’ with all the magnificent Bauhaus buildings.
Saddle Up
With local cyclists incessantly claiming “there is no other way to cover so much ground in a city, in so little time, and still enjoy the scenery,” this writer, decided to see for himself. A short stroll from the Hilton, the writer hired his first Tel-O-Fun bike at the intersection of HaYarkon and Dizangoff streets. Processing at the machine and unlocking the bike was quick and easy.
The first port of call was literally the port – the Namal; one of Tel Aviv’s star attractions by day or night. Although a frequent visitor to the Namal, viewing it on a bike was a new experience. I rode along the wide, expansive boardwalk, with the sea to my right and the restaurants, pubs and boutiques to the left. There was a gentle breeze coming off the Mediterranean that eased the cycling; but this was met with stiff competition in the form of the alluring aromas of different cuisines from the restaurants. Should I ride or stop for a snack? Tough choice. Noticing a number of parked bikes, I decided to follow the lazy lead of my fellow cyclists and stopped for lunch. No regrets.
A half hour later, I was back on the saddle, leisurely cycling along, enjoying the open-air with thousands of other Tel Aviv locals. They were of all ages, some riding, most strolling. I stopped to watch a few amateur fishermen take in their catch off a pier, and paused again at the beach alongside the Hilton to observe the surfers. This stretch of beach is reputed to offer the best surfing in Tel Aviv, and the number of surfboards in the water seemed to attest to this. I stopped again at the Marina to enjoy a closer look at the yachts before continuing all the way to HaTachanah – Tel Aviv’s new hot spot for locals and tourists alike. A renovated 19th century railway station, it is a hub of activity with restaurants, pubs, arts & crafts stores and boutiques selling top Israeli merchandise. The writer could not fail to notice a bunch of green bikes of the Tel-O-Fun parked outside a popular, shady, restaurant. Good ideas in Tel Aviv are infectious! The ride through the ancient port city of Jaffa was inspiring. On each visit to this town, one notices huge changes, as relics of the past are unearthed and splendidly preserved for public display. From the saddle, the perspective was different from previous visits on foot. One manages to see so much more in the space of the time available. The writer met a lively group of American Taglit-Birthright participants at the town square. One young student from Penn State University, attracted to my green bike was all enquiring. “Israel has been awesome,” he said, “but I wouldn’t mind doing what you are doing. I would love to tour this city on a bike.” Who knows, maybe he did. On my return ride back to Tel Aviv, I rode through Neve Tzedek, the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the walls of Jaffa. Today, it is one of Tel Aviv’s most fashionable districts, with a village-like atmosphere. Its cobbled streets and quant old houses, restored to grandeur by modern architects and designers, kept my legs peddling until I had taken in most of this fascinating area. Again, if I had been here on foot, I would not have experienced half of what I achieved. From Neve Tzedek, I pedaled along tree-lined Rothschild Boulevard, one of the busiest and most attractive streets in the city and popular tourist attraction. Passing Independence Hall where Israel’s Declaration of Independence was signed, I cycled past rows of historic buildings recognized internationally for their classic style of Bauhaus architecture. The central park area of Rothschild Boulevard was animated with typical Tel Aviv life.
It was replete with mothers pushing prams, joggers and their dogs, yuppies venting back and forth on the day’s stock prices, and those without a care in the world – the young lovers cuddled close on benches under shady trees.
In sharp contrast, this casual and carefree vista suddenly morphed into an elegant crowd – men in jackets; women in long evening dresses. The explanation was instantly evident in the location. The writer had arrived at the cultural hub of Tel Aviv – the Habima Theater and the Mann Auditorium at the northern end of Rothschild. It was now early evening and the ever-so-faint sounds of the violins and cellos could be heard as the world-renowned Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was warming up for what we would read in the cultural section of the papers the next day. A classic end to a classical day on the bike! A half hour later, the writer had returned his bike at a Tel-O-Fun station. Sharon Keren, Tel Aviv’s Economic Authority CEO, was spot-on with his assertion: “This city is ideal for cyclists.” With most of the terrain flat, the writer covered a vast distance with hardly raising a sweat. The body however, did require quick refueling. Hardly a problem – Tel Aviv is full of restaurants and snack bars.
