Nervous Energy
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Nervous Energy

Byrichard

I don’t know whether I’m nervous or anxious about driving from 11-13 hours almost non stop tomorrow. In the past I have driven from Switzerland to Spain, without stopping. In the past we had to stop to refuel but not anymore, not with modern cars. We have to stop for toilet breaks instead.


During long drives I spend my time listening, either to books, or to podcasts. Recently I have spent a lot more time listening to books. I used to love podcasts but they have too many adverts and they’re too long. When you’re catching up on a series of podcasts you don’t want hours and hours of one and a half hour episodes because there is a lot of fill, rather than worthwhile content. I also get information from courses instead.


I drive with hardly any breaks because as I’m travelling alone I don’t want to leave the car unattended, but also because it’s not much fun to see families and couples. travelling together and I’m doing the same journey as I have done plenty of times in solitude. That’s also why I feel differently about the time before a trip.


I get in the car, to drive to the shops, and I feel the urge to go on a road trip, and then when it’s one or two days before the road trip I become melancholic. It might sound stupid but I am attached to my routine, and it feels as if I will feel time away from my routine. Pandemic solitude, and living alone can have a strange effect on us.


I have 17,000 steps today. I got to three thousand steps just preparing things for the trip before lunch and then after lunch I went for my daily walk, and now I still have quite a bit of nervous energy. This shows that although I might feel melancholic I’m excited for the drive.


I love the drive. I love looking at the landscape, seeing the progress on the GPS and listening to books. I also enjoy the time to think. If I wanted to push things I’d say that I enjoy the mindfulness of the drive. It’s several hours of being free to think, or listen to audiobooks.


I like walking, and cycling, and climbing. I like going from A to B. This year I have walked double the distance I am driving tomorrow. The difference is that this drive is linear, rather than circular, and it’s about endurance. It’s about staying focused for 13 hours.


Today I have been unable to sit, which is silly, but rational. Tomorrow I will be sat for hours, unable to get up, except to refuel and go to the toilet, so it makes sense to be fidgety today, calm tomorrow, and recover the day after.


And Finally, tomorrow I drive, and I will be calm. For the homeward leg I will be fine.

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Guided by the Nüvi 250

Byrichard

Finding your way around London is hard and after seven or more hours of driving across France from Geneva it can be a little daunting. That’s why I decided to use the Garmin Nüvi 250 to help me. It’s a small pocketable driving GPS that’s easy and intuitive to use. That’s important when you’re on the road. It’s got a small display and there are two main functions. Where do you want to go and the map. The map is either 3d or 2d depending on your preference. With the unit I bought you have 22 European countries including France, England and Switzerland. Those are the three countries I would travel through. The navigation is easy to setup. Select your destination and it will quickly trace a route of where to go. You have the ability to review the points one by one or trust the GPS to get you where you want to go. It’s got a battery life of 5hrs but included with the unit is the car adaptor so that you can power it during the trip.Easy to use and a great driving aid. It made driving through London a relaxed, stress free experience, at least on the way in. On the way out there were traffic jams which this unit did not warn me about. It’s a nice unit, not too expensive but frees up your mind for other things than trying to find your way. It’s a great little help. 

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The drive home – My 400th post

Byrichard

Last night’s drive was amazing. It’s just the type of drive you want to have. It starts in the middle of the afternoon as a friend helps you load the car and you set off for a 900 kilometer drive. At the beginning you have to deal with London traffic/congestion. After this you’ve got part of the m20 that’s closed so you need to take a slip road. As I got into France I was welcomed by a lot of snow coming straight at me, like the windows screensaver from a decade ago. That meant I couldn’t really drive as fast as I wanted. Still made good time. For most of the journey the road was fine.The part I really loved is when I got off the motorway to go via the Jura. At this point it wasn’t snowing too much but as I progressed up the slopes and let the Garmin Nuvi 250 guide me along the path so I saw a little snow, and it started to stick. As I drove I had to stay awake and battle with the ever present threat of loss of adherence. That was the fun part of the drive. The road was covered in a thin layer of snow and people were driving more slowly. At moments I was chasing a snowplow across the mountains as it was salting the roads.At other moments there was no snow plow and I lost traction two or three times but kept the car in control. I occasionaly thought that I wouldn’t make it up the hills but I did, and I loved the view. The trees were covered in snow and they were lit by the grand phare. It’s memories from childhood. I’m glad I’ve spent so much time playing in car parks covered in snow to learn how the car behaved.At five in the morning the last thing you want to learn is how to drive in snow. Luckily I do.It made a nice transition from the student life I’ve been living over the past three years and the job seeking following that. I wanted the drive to be a transition from one phase in my life to the next. Now I’m  an employed graduate who’s working in Switzerland as of next Monday. This next chapter of my life should be fun. Â