Is there biking in Jerusalem?: Biking in Jerusalem (no) and Tel Aviv (yes)

Some rental bikes in Jerusalem

If you've been reading this blog for a while you may remember I called it "Is there biking in Jerusalem?" because I had hoped to ride a bike to get around town. And, you may be wondering what the answer to that question is.

It turns out biking in Jerusalem is an extreme sport. (Unless you rent a bike and pedal along the linear park that goes south from the (new) Old Station. But that's not exactly cycling.) Those that commute by bike in Jerusalem are fearless warriors and will tell you to stop being such a wimp and get on your bike...and they might recommend you ride on the sidewalk. Those who don't ride in Jerusalem will give a long lecture on why not to bike in Jerusalem --- there's no space on the roads, riding on the sidewalks is illegal and rude, it's too hilly (why would you ride up hills?) --- and list off the top 3 worst (most recent) bike accidents in town (they are blood curdling). I was easily convinced that travelling by foot and bus would be a better option for me.

I walked everywhere in Jerusalem and really got to know the city in a way that only a pedestrian can. Of course, on the days that we did rent a car and had to find the highway to get out of town it took superior navigating (or patience when the navigating was inferior and we had to take a few loops) to not get caught up in the one-way streets that are irrelevant to the foot traveller.

Fortunately, the cosmopolitan and (mostly) flat metropolis of Tel Aviv-Jaffa has a wonderful bike share system and loads of bike paths so I did get some riding in.

Bike share in Tel Aviv

Whenever I arrived by bus in Tel Aviv, I would hire a bike at the bus station and ride wherever I was going. Key destinations in Tel Aviv include (OBVIOUSLY) the beach, Jaffa (it's fabulous and not just for its oranges), the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the awesome neighbourhood of Neve Tzedek (although now Florentin is where it's at). Biking in Tel Aviv is probably not "safe" (it is as hazardous as in any city) but it is way more inviting than Jerusalem. This is in part because Tel Aviv is filled with wide boulevards (the legacy-benefit of being a new city), has many bike lanes, is flat (yes, that bears repeating), and drivers are expecting to see cyclists.

Despite its hills and lack of infrastructure, Jerusalem could be a great biking city. The traffic in the city is horrible and often vehicular traffic is reduced to a crawl along the two lane (one each way) arterial roads (Haneviim, Shivtei Israel, King George, King David, Keren Hayesod, Agrippas) at rush hour. I'm sure more than a few Jerusalemites would be happy to have a shorter commute (and a bit of exercise). The climate in Jerusalem has few days that really preclude cycling: possibly a few snow days, and a few really horribly rainy days that only ducks would enjoy, and a few stifling hot days. Owing to its placement on top of the Judean Hills and its lack of industry, the air quality in Jerusalem is among the best of Middle Eastern cities (granted riding alongside traffic at rush hour will likely render a poor air quality profile). Plus, the city is geographically not that big. Still, I think its unlikely that Jerusalem will be ground zero for biking in Israel anytime soon. (Although, west of the city, on fine weather days, on some of the most scenic roads of Israel you can stumble upon pelotons of MAMILS (middle aged men in lycra) on fancy roadbikes.) For now the Tel Aviv is the seat of bike commuting and culture in Israel, despite its long and very sticky summer.

A few pics of biking in Jerusalem: