Israeli cycling community remembers its friends murdered on October 7

Hundreds of cyclists flocked on Saturday towards Kibbutz Be’eri along Route 232, the road that became a scene of carnage for 11 of their fellow riders exactly a year ago. In an emotional demonstration and tribute, they gathered in the bike store in memory, pain—but above all, with hope and determination to continue their path.

On the morning of Black Saturday, October 7 2023, dozens of riders arrived at their usual meeting point in the bike store before Kibbutz Be’eri to embark on a training ride through the nearby fields or roads. But at 6:29am, a barrage of rockets arrived, and within less than an hour, fates were sealed. Who would be shot? Who would narrowly escape? Who would be missing? And who would die? Blind and deceptive fate, which by its end claimed the lives of 12 riders who were either murdered or kidnapped, others who were injured, and many more who were left with traumas that will likely never fade.

364 days and nights later, many of the families of the murdered, along with friends who narrowly escaped the same fate, rode on Saturday, visiting the places where their friends fell victim to the killers’ bullets.

“Here, they shot my son,” Yoram Shpirer told the many riders gathered around the bicycle memorial of Tomer, about a hundred meters from the Kibbutz Mefalsim junction. Tomer was likely the first to be shot that morning as he tried to make his way home to his wife and two children in Gedera. Realizing he had no chance, he still managed to call his friend Ronen, who was driving in a car just behind him. “Tell my wife and kids that I love them.”

He was identified two days later by the Israel – Premier Tech team jersey that he wore on his rides. In his honor, the team’s riders, the team owner Sylvan Adams, and Guy Niv — the first Israeli to finish the Tour de France, wearing that very same jersey — and all of Tomer’s friends came to pay tribute.

Shpirer’s friend, Ronen Aviv, who was injured by a bullet in his leg but managed to turn around at the last moment and escape, also arrived on his bike. For him and for many who came today, it was a kind of commitment to the memory of Tomer and the other riders who were murdered.

Nir Davidovich, whose father Shlomi was shot and killed while cycling between Be’eri and Kisufim, said, “After a few months, I got back on the bike, which became like a psychologist that helped me cope with the trauma. And now I ride for my father.” Sharon Shabo from Be’eri, who lay wounded with a gunshot in his hand for hours, bleeding while hiding from the killers on October 7, returned to cycling soon after his recovery. He too participated in the ride and the memorial ceremony organized by IPT.

Leading the memorial ride was Avida Bachar, his leg in a prosthesis, with a smile on his face. “They wanted us to keep living,” he said.

On the way to the ceremony, the procession of riders stopped at the burned house of David and Varda Goldstein in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where their son, the exceptional triathlete Nadav Goldstein, was murdered. The bereaved parents shared stories of their son’s unparalleled passion for cycling and running, once completing a streak of 814 consecutive intense workouts. “Continue his journey,” the grieving mother urged the riders. “Sweat for him, too.” In his memory, his friends decided to start a new training streak.

Aya Meydan, a cyclist from Be’eri, endured a nightmare of tragedies that would span 20 lifetimes on that day. She had left on her bike from Be’eri just minutes before the rocket barrage began. Over the next 24 hours, she would find herself running barefoot through the fields, saved by Bedouins fleeing from Be’eri, and receiving the devastating news that her brother Avida was severely injured and that her nephew and sister-in-law were murdered. Only the next morning did she reunite with her three children. Her riding partner, Lior Weitzman, didn’t survive. But in the past few months, Aya found herself cycling and training again, driven by the goal to complete a half Ironman in honor of her fallen friend.

At the memorial ceremony at the entrance to Be’eri, she told the hundreds of riders who gathered: “Every step, every word, every move and positive energy, every effort, every drop of sweat, and every victorious smile in sports and in life—these are the answers to terror,” she says. “This is the victory of spirit and hope over the evil, pain, and overwhelming sadness that we’ve been living with every day for nearly a year.”

Eva, the sister of cyclist Evgeny Galsky, who was murdered on October 7, addressed the hundreds of riders and said: “I don’t want you to think about the horrors that happened as you ride this road. I don’t want us to talk about death. I want you to ride, to smile, and to live your lives for those who didn’t survive that day.”

Nissan Kalderon, the brother of kidnapped cyclist Ofer Kalderon, called for everyone to do everything possible to secure the release of the hostages. He shared that tomorrow, the family would be meeting with French President Macron: “It’s time to save and rehabilitate the lives of those still living there and to bury the dead.”

Israeli Cycling Federation Chairwoman Daphne Lang spoke on behalf of the cycling community: “I ask for forgiveness that we couldn’t do more for you.”

Sylvan Adams, owner of the Israel – Premier Tech team, closed the memorial ceremony, saying: “On October 7, evil monsters came to this place and took the lives of the very best among our people. When I rode today alongside Avida Bachar, a man who has lost almost everything—his son, his wife, and his right leg, and I see the million-dollar smile on his face, emphasizing his determination to persevere, I am deeply inspired.

“We have an incredibly important national mission ahead of us to build and invest in the communities of the Gaza border region and the entire south. This will be the strongest statement to our enemies telling them in no uncertain terms, that we are here to stay.”

In loving memory of:

• Tomer Shpirer, 37, murdered near Kibbutz Mefalsim
• Lior Weitzman, 32, murdered between Sha’ar HaNegev and Sderot
• Ron Binyamin, 53, murdered near Kibbutz Mefalsim
• Roni Levy, 80, murdered in Kibbutz Be’eri
• Evgeny Galsky, 34, murdered at Sha’ar HaNegev junction
• Nadav Goldstein, 48, murdered in Kfar Aza
• Hillel Zalmanovich, 60, murdered near Kisufim
• Haimi Benaim, 56, murdered near Netiv HaAsara
• Shlomi Davidovich, 50, murdered near Mefalsim
• Oren Goldin, 33, murdered in Nir Yitzhak
• Meir Elharar, 58, murdered in Kibbutz Holit