Two nights ago we crossed from Jordan into Israel via the Sheik Hussein Bridge. On our first attempt we arrived too late (8pm) and had to turn back to Irbid, eventually finding a tiny hostel that actually had rooms available. The next morning we stocked up on food and water and prepared for a long day at the crossing. Without boring you with the details of stripping a support vehicle we were permitted to enter Israel after a mere 7 hour wait. Upon reaching the Green Line, and the West Bank we jumped in the van just as the sun was setting, and yee-hawed our way to Jerusalem, exhausted, excited and a little disoriented. The road felt like all the other roads, that was until we tried to turn in towards Jericho in search of food. Our headlights caught sight of the typical rubble barricades that prevent access to and from many Palestinian towns. We kept motoring and made it to Jerusalem. The next day we immediately began planning our entry to Gaza. Its strange, Palestine is so fragmented its hard to know when exactly you have arrived. Pathways to Palestine had arrived in the East Jerusalem, but was really aiming for Gaza. We don’t want to get to comfortable here or declare mission accomplished. We set out to raise awareness about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. People are still living in the rubble from the December invasion, we spoke to Dr Elessi from Waffa hospital, he regularly keeps contact with us and gives us a glimpse of life in Gaza. He told me that the kids from Al Jaazeera sports club want to host us and cycle with us the length of Gaza, a mere 40km. We so desperately want to make that cycle. Eoghan still has a good supply of gluten free food and we also wanted to leave all of this in Gaza. Today we will find out if our application to enter Gaza from Israel or Egypt will succeed. As I write journalists staying in our hostel and heading out to cover the eviction of 52 Palestinians from their houses just around the corner, there is a big international civil society presence here to protest. We have been told that once the family were removed settlers moved in within a matter of hours. Something tells me that PR is not high on the agenda of the authorities here. What hope do the Irish boys in Spandex have of getting in?

Essential equipment donated by cycle suppliers Madison

Madison who are the UK’s leading distributor of bicycle parts and accessories generously donated spare parts, repair equipment and clothing for our trip. http://www.madison.co.uk. We still have a lot more equipment to gather especially with reagrds to high quality cycle shorts and Brookes saddles. The bum is the weak point of the cyclist and most be looked after with love with tenderness. If you can’t sit on the saddle you are off the team