Up at 5:30 am, on the road at 6:30 am, ride today was 69 miles, with 2500 feet of elevation and 1400 feet of descent. Long stretches of headwinds, 10-15 MPH. Enough complaining (though my body is REALLY sore).  Left Ashkelon and headed to the northern Negev desert.  First stop after 17 miles was the NIr Am Reservoir, overlooking the Gaza Strip, with Iron Dome in front of us, tanks to the side of us, and a long winding road in between.  One day, one day, there will be peace, but last week alone, more missiles shot from Gaza, actually towards Ashkelon, where we slept last night.  We passed several kibbutzim, some Bedouin villages, and lots of straight desert riding, with topography changing to brown, and the hills starting to rise. The Israeli desert is definitely not flat.  Arriving at Kibbutz Mashabei, we had a communal dinner, and then we heard from Said, an amazing Jordanian student who was a former ARAVA student, and he is now conducting research on Algae.  There was an amazing abundant source of food, energy and so much potential, with rapid accumulation and ability to harvest. Finally, a campfire with Bob Dylan, Israeli environmental songs, an Arab chant, with three guitars, a drum and marshmallo.