By: Danny Jacobs

Last year at this time, Mike Hamburg was preparing to bike around northern Israel to raise money for a children’s hospital in Jerusalem. This year’s Wheels of Love charity ride will take him on a route near Israel’s borders with Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

“A bunch of Jewish doctors and lawyers biking near Gaza; nothing good can happen,” the Pikesville lawyer joked Monday. (For the record, police escorts accompany riders throughout the five-day bike ride.)

Hamburg, of Baumohl|Hamburg LLC, will again be tackling the Challenge Route, one of only 54 people out of nearly 700 registered for the ride to do so. The 350-mile ride, which begins Sunday, ends at ALYN Hospital in Jersualem, Israel’s only pediatric and adolescent rehabilitation center. It will also take him to Ashkelon, Baltimore’s sister city.

Hamburg said last year he thought Wheels of Love could become an annual trip for him, and he clearly has not changed his mind. But, aside from some new friends, the only thing he’s taking from last year’s trip to help him with this year’s are his memories and sense of purpose.

“It’s just an appreciation for what’s going on,” he said. “It’s a big deal to go that far away for a fundraiser.”