Sponsors, this is your chance to shine

Dear Sponsors,

We have been sweating hard, pedaling for our shul. It has been a wonderful and exciting experience where we have learnt about limits, enthusiasm, love, community and the fact that our fort (shul) is a weak structure and it needs us to make it the beautiful, grand holy place it is.

We have had many events, talks, prayers, activities, in it. Its walls are held by our faith and our presence. Our strength is its strength. You are in turn our strength. You, our loved ones, our families far far away from sunny Jozi, our friends right here. You can make the difference that we are so eagerly pursuing.

Please donate generously. If you have come to our prayers, if you have taken part in our community, if you feel inspired by what we are as a community. You are a click away to help us keep our light on, now when the dark times are hitting our doorstep.

http://igg.me/at/befunracing/x/10012517

B.E. with us.

Avanti o popolo alla riscosa!

The latest adventure of the B.E. team, was a wonderful, fun, exhilarating time for us all. Most of us were enthusiastically ready at 6AM. We arrived at the meeting point and had some food for champions. We started full of energy, full of hope, with a bit of fear due to our inexperience but with the reassurance of B.E.ing a team.

Shortly after we started leaving Sandton our muscles ached, our lungs were out of air, we were performing at peak power and speed and suddenly everything was empty, no cars, no other bikes, only us and the road ahead. It was a definite moment of bliss and revelation, "just us and the road ahead".

Each of us was giving 120% on the bike, the sun was scorching and it was only 7.30 am. Round, fat drops of sweat were pouring from our pores, the heart pumping, the thoughts focused on keeping balance.

A roaring sound broke the bliss. It was a huge, grey metallic beast, and it was hungry. Our feet pushed the pedals faster, less peacefully, balance started to abandon us, all the joints decided to start hurting and the very moment of the roar:  RRRRRROAR.

Jeff made it without getting eaten by the metal box.

The broom bus had reached us and at different points through the race it ate most of us, some of us made it to the finish line unaided. Those of us who ended up there, in a Metrobus alternative, joined one voice the songs of freedom, greeting everyone on the way, changing the world, one wave at a time. One member of our team took a wrong turn and ended up riding extra Km, she literally took one for the team ;)

Avanti!

We really conquered this race.  I am humbled, proud and happy to have such winners as teammates.

We descended and re-took our bikes to finish this battle, we rode until the end, we gave what we got.

  Now it is your turn to help us. Click in the link and donate generously https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/b-e-fun-racing#/story

B.E. Tough

This week's post was a hard one to write, almost as hard as our riding experience.
On a lovely Sunday morning we arrived at Emmarentia Botanical Gardens to take the gardens under our bikes.

The route we chose was rather technical, with a lot of narrow paths, a couple of grueling climbs and a patch between a cliff and a wall, literally. Our young team did remarkably well dealing with the route. We could assess our real fitness status and corroborated that young age is the best thing you can have if you want to do sports.

In the adult section of our team, however, we had a bit of an encounter with the ground resulting in hurt muscles, torn skin, a couple of bruises and a lot more pain than what we would have liked our precious team members to endure.

Yet, this is all about endurance, so a few scratches will not put our energy down, we are earning our stripes, with hard work, sweat and blood. We are learning, we are getting stronger, fitter and ready for the race.

Our team did really well in this one ride as we harvested many lessons from this tough and demanding route:

1. Downhills and technical routes are better done in slow motion.
2. If you feel scared, it is perfectly ok to come down the bike and push. In fact, coming down and pushing is the sensible thing to do.
3. It feels good to be alive.
4. We definitely need more down time on those bikes, as the race gets closer we must implement the 3-1 rule: 3 Days of aerobic exercise per week and at least 1 day a week on the saddle.

B.E. Strong!

B.E. took us for a ride :-)

A bit stiff and smiling I am happy to declare our first B.E. Spin-a-Thon a success.

We are thankful to mighty HaShem for bringing us to this journey; to all the people who made it possible by voting with their feet and joined us to a full studio on a perfect Sunday morning; to our instructor Owen who made us push our limits; to Planet Fitness for the wonderful venue; to Bennetts and Mediterranean Spa for their contribution towards our goody bags and to all the people who helped us organize this to make it the lovely day it was .

Our findings from the day:

1. Spirit has a thousand times the power of muscle,

  

2. You are never too old to try something new,

3. People can be extremely generous with their time, money and energy,

4. People with (serious) babalas can survive strenuous exercise when powered by sheer passion!

This event reflected B.E. as a community: It was open, diverse, free, fun, loving, mindful and full of friends. As a team we are encouraged to continue sweating for our shul.

SPIN-A-THON

 THREE MONTHS TO THE RACE:  IT IS TIME FOR US TO WARM UP AND GET FIT!

Bring a friend, we will have a professional trainer to give us cycling advice, tips and a workout to boost our training for the race. 

To RSVP leave a response to this post or email Luz Helena: ununena@hotmail.com

The five S's of sport training are: stamina, strength, speed, skill and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit. (Ken Doherty)

The hardest step was the one that got us out of bed!

Braving the cold morning of a glorious winter Sunday, we conquered another hill in our journey.

It is our collective pleasure to announce to the world that all our B.E. LIVE  team are officially bicycle riders.

The learning from the outing (even at risk of sounding like a self help book):

- To keep balance and avoid obstacles we must look where we want to be, and not where we are.
- Balance is in the center of the head, and the ears work like a gyroscope. Ears balanced = all good.
- You can be riding perfectly on your own, and then the bug of fear bites, then you shall fall.
- Fitness starts in our mind.

Imagine with all your mind.

Fun and -almost- heart attack were mixed  in our sensory experience of seeing the world from another perspective and commanding our bodies to a new level of control. It was a session that exercised our physical and mental strength.

B.E. LIVE with all your heart

"The ecstasy exploded within us.
We wanted to laugh.
to cry,
to scream out loud
At this perfect moment
of achievement.

Achieve with all your might.

She was whole
She was alive"
(slightly modified version of a poem by - Salil Jha)

Side effects may include sweating, euphoria and general awesomeness!!!!!!

Our B.E. team is Live.

We had our first training session in the 2015 FUNd raising series. Outside of our comfort zone, we were collectively challenging our limits.

The learning from our outing:
- We all all less fit than we think we are.
- We are all more enthusiastic than we thought.

Let's make like a wheel and roll!

The Bike park has several trails, between all of us, we did green and some blue (beginner and intermediate) routes.  We enjoyed the winter sun, an improvised picnic and some of us were really stiff on Monday.

Pretty Tyred....

Safety tips for cycling off road:

a. Do not use your feet to stop, rather use the breaks (this will keep ankles safe).
b. The bikes have gears, and knowing how to use them can save us from a big fall as well as save us energy and effort.
c. Do not be afraid of falling. Rather learn to fall safely.

We missed some of our team members, but were joined by B.E Friends who share our dire physical condition and our excess of confidence!!!

Coming up next: SPIN-A-THON

              

Watch this space and join us for the most epic spinning B.E. has ever seen. 

B.E. LIVE The fun is ON.

NEW MEETING TIME - 9.30AM THIS SUNDAY

BECAUSE IT IS FREEZING..... BECAUSE IT IS SUNDAY....

Upon request of our Team and riding friends,

WE HAVE MOVED THE MEETING TIME AT THE BIKE PARK FROM 8 TO 9.30 THIS SUNDAY THE 7TH OF JUNE

The park's address: 1A Libertas Street, off Sloane Road, Bryanston

Bring your bike and helmet, if you don't have a bike or helmet you can rent it there. It is children friendly. 

 BE there and let the force be with you!

A Sunday Roll: Welcome BE Team and friends.

The time to get onto the saddles is here. Sunday at 8AM, we are meeting at the Bike Park.
You can bring your bike or you can rent a bike on site.
The trails are children friendly and for those of us who are not  doing Sani to Sea any time soon, this is a good starting point.

Here are directions to the park: http://bikepark.co.za/find-us

Remember to bring your helmets and your bikes if at all possible, so we keep it low key.

If you have any questions, or need anything in order to get there, do let me know, I will do as much as I can to ensure that we all get there and enjoy the crispy morning riding in the natural trails of the park.

Let's go ride a bike!

Beit Emanuel, a vibrant community of faith, has opened a new space for all members and friends to get involved, learn about the practicalities of running and maintaining a strong organisation, and the challenges that one institution of this nature faces on a day to day basis.

 FUN RACING is our opportunity to have fun while we help, bond and obviously Fund-raise.

Our first try at this will be the 94.7 cycle challenge and mountain challenge.

So far we have a team of 7 athletes and athletes-to-be which includes our leader, Rabbi Shaked.

Some of us are seasoned cyclists, some of us are really rusty, some of us are going to learn how to ride a bike... Watch this space for interesting updates and if you are up for the challenge, join us for the grittiest race in town!!!