On Sunday, October 24, in conjunction with the start of the Wheels of Love ride in Israel, over 100 participants and volunteers gathered in Cambridge, Maryland to embark on a three-day cycling event to raise money for ALYN Hospital.

The ride kicked off in true Wheels of Love style: Stu Seltzer, as he typically does in Israel, blew the shofar to signal the start of this amazing event. Over the next three days, they would ride 130+ miles along the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore of Maryland. On the very same day, a group of over 20 new and veteran Wheels of Love cyclists who could not attend the ride in Maryland, led and organized by Sandy Nissel-Horowitz and Erica Leifer, rode a metric century (62 miles) across the North Shore of Long Island.

While the cycling routes were beautiful, there was so much more to this ride. For one, Wheels of Love riders, hikers and volunteers had a chance to reconnect after two years. Importantly, we had a chance, as a community, to honor the memories of past Wheels of Love participants, Dana Hudes, Kevin Leifer and Howard Reiter, all of whom left our ALYN family tragically and too young.

On Tuesday, the cyclists stopped for lunch at Temple B’nai Israel in Easton and were met by Rabbi Peter Hyman, who was extremely impressed by our riders and ALYN Hospital. AFAH will be working with him to find ways to get his congregation involved in supporting ALYN.

The routes contained both natural beauty – the Chesapeake Bay, the Blackwater Refuge, Long Wharf Marina – as well as some great history. On Sunday, the rest stop was located at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Museum State Park.

There were not only cyclists out for Wheels of Love ’21 - we also had a group of hikers who spent both Sunday and Monday out on beautiful trails through the Blackwater Refuge, meeting up with the cycling group at various stops over the three days.

The real highlights? The camaraderie. New friendships that were made. Having our Wheels of Love family together to support ALYN Hospital from a place of love and commitment.

In the words of Elise Sheperd, who came all the way from Texas to ride: “Well done, Friends of ALYN! Loved seeing everyone again. Very organized ride. Beautiful location, great hotel, great routes, delicious food. Everything was fantastic. Thank you all for having a wonderful ride! Well planned!”