Kibbutz Be’eri inaugurated a new bike park expected to host the Israeli Pump Track Championships, followed by Israel’s first Pump Track World Championship qualifier. The opening comes more than three years after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, while most residents are still waiting to return to their homes.
Funded by a donation from philanthropist Sylvan Adams, in partnership with the nonprofit Israel Cycling Academy and Kibbutz Be’eri, the park was created primarily for children and young people from Be’eri and neighboring communities devastated by Oct. 7. It provides a place to meet, ride, train and rebuild confidence through cycling.
At its center is a world-class pump track built by Swiss company Velosolutions, the global leader in the field. The track is the company’s first facility of this standard in southern Israel and can host top-level competitions.
Children and young people from Be’eri and other Western Negev communities rode the new track for the first time during the inauguration, joined by veteran cyclists from the kibbutz.
The Oct. 14 ceremony was hosted by Be’eri resident Aya Meidan, who survived an ambush by Hamas terrorists while on her way to her regular Saturday morning ride on Oct. 7. She opened the event by honoring 14 cyclists and triathletes from Be’eri and other Western Negev communities who were murdered that day, many while riding on the region’s roads and trails.
“We received far more than a cycling track. This is a path toward recovery and a future,” Meidan said through tears. “We will always remember the riders we lost. But this new park will help restore a heartbeat to our wounded community and to the entire Western Negev.”
She said that “it is a place that will bring joy back to our children. We have a country to rebuild and a people to heal, and we will do it through our own small steps. Today, this was our image of victory.”
Meidan’s brother, Be’eri resident Avida Bachar, lost his wife, Dana, and their son Carmel when Hamas terrorists attacked their home. Bachar was critically wounded and lost his right leg. Standing beside the young riders, he spoke about his rehabilitation and the recovery still ahead for the kibbutz.
“For me, rehabilitation means learning to live as the new Avida—without a wife, without a son and without a leg,” he said. “In the end, what you miss is the human fabric that existed. Even if they are no longer with us, this is still their home. … I can already see the life that will be here: Children running around, riding their bikes and their skateboards. This is a meaningful part of Be’eri’s recovery and renewal.”
The idea for the park emerged after Bachar met Adams as a guest of his professional cycling team at the Tour de France. “We spoke about rebuilding Be’eri and the entire Western Negev,” Bachar recalled. “Sylvan told us: ‘Of course, we will rebuild everything. We will build it back better, more beautiful and stronger.’ Now, seeing that vision become reality, all I can say is thank you.”
Adams said he would never forget seeing Bachar ride beside him after his injury, with one leg, determination and a smile on his face.
“That was the moment I understood that we had to help Be’eri, a community that has always had cycling at its heart, open a new chapter,” Adams said. “This wonderful facility shows that we are strong, that they cannot break us and that we are here to stay. The park belongs to Be’eri, to the children of the neighboring communities and to the entire Western Negev.”
Adams emphasized that the park’s primary mission would remain serving the region’s children and communities, alongside hosting competitions and attracting riders from across Israel and abroad.
Most Be’eri residents are still living temporarily in Hatzerim while more than 130 damaged or destroyed homes are rebuilt. For many residents, the opening marked another step toward returning home and rebuilding community life.
Adams said the pump track is intended as the first stage of a broader effort to develop Be’eri as a cycling center for the Western Negev and riders from across Israel. A challenging off-road cycling center beside the pump track is under consideration. As an initial step, Adams asked Be’eri resident and veteran trail builder Rami Gold to prepare and submit plans for the proposed facility.
“We are only getting started,” Adams said. “Our aspiration is to continue developing Be’eri as a center of cycling, community and life.”
