Five Point Two Millions Steps In A Single Year
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Five Point Two Millions Steps In A Single Year

Byrichard

Last year I walked five point two million steps, which is both a lot, and yet normal, for me. What makes last year so curious is that I didn’t feel to walk that much. I walked for one and a half hours, rather than two to three hours. My loops became shorter, but I also cycled some weeks so my step count was low.

The fact that I did walk five point two million steps goes some way in explaining why certain driver behaviour has become toxic to me. I don’t think that it’s only about driver behaviour. It’s also about having to keep my shoes clean. When I didn’t worry about dirtying my shoes, if I saw a car coming towards me, I could walk into the mud, to safety, and then continue on my walk.

Ever since I began to be more considerate of people who use their cars, rather than their feet, so have lost touch with the art of wandering around in muddy conditions I have become more tired of apathetic drivers, and dog walkers. I think that being able to get my shoes muddy was critical to having a pleasant walk, because I could avoid cars, and take routes that were more likely to be muddy, but safer from cars.

Recently I considered two things. The first of these is socks that get worn out, through compression, rather than holes. In walking one and a half hours a day I have worn socks flat, so that they’re less comfortable, when they make contact with the tops of shoes. I think that’s why certain shoes became uncomfortable. Just because socks don’t have holes in them, doesn’t mean that they are not worn out, especially with barefoot shoes.

The second thing is that I now wear Xero Xcursion shoes. They’re barefoot shoes that are waterproof. I was tempted by the Merrel GTX trail Glove 7 but they cost more than twice as much and they were not available within a reasonable time. The Xero shoes are comfortable to wear and despite letting a little water in they are better than barefoot shoes. At least with these I can step into small puddles without my feet getting too wet.

That’s not actually what I wanted to highlight. The problem with the trail glove 7 shoes that I use in summer is that they have a tread that is great at trapping mud, but awful at getting it out of the tread once I get home. With the Xero Xcursion Fusion shoes the tread is ideal. With a brush I can easily clear almost all the mud from my shoes within a minute or two per shoe, before walking into the building of people who never get muddy shoes.

This improves my quality of life. If I don’t need to spend half an hour cleaning shoes after every walk I am more inclined to regain the freedom that I had lost during my quest to find a solution to have clean shoes once I re-enter the building.

The paradox is not lost on me, that people have door mats that have no tread or brushing abilities. They are horrified at the site of mud, and yet the paillason is designed for city slickers to dry their shoes after walking on tarmac.

No modern building accounts for muddy shoes, so people are horrified at the site of mud, because they have forgotten that walking in mud used to be normal. I saw an archive photo of New York in the horse and cart days. Imagine if instead of mud you had horse and cow dung on your shoes. Mud is clean.

By walking locally and not using the car I have discovered that there are plenty of pleasant walks where I live. I have found that I can walk 15-20 routes, depending on where I turn right, left, or continue going straight. If these routes were made car free then agricultural roads would be fantastic places to walk. What bothers me about cars on agricultural roads is that they drive at 80 on a road that is for tractors going 30 km/h.

There are plenty of nice walking routes between villages but the only way to get between villages is to walk along the road, and by walking along the road you have to walk in tall grass in summer, tall wet grass when it’s raining in summer, and muddy conditions when the rain has stopped, or dew hasn’t evaporated. With the drawing of a one meter wide path covered in gravel or wood chippings the side of the road would become a nice walking path. Pedestrians would be away from cars, and the need to use cars to get from one village to another would be diminished.

At the end of the day we need this because cars don’t slow down for pedestrians, so we need walking paths half a meter from the road, for people to walk along in safety. Imagine the benefit to children, people with prams, and dog walkers. I don’t especially like dog walkers but the point is that so much attention is given to car free cities, that people forget that people who drive cars into cities do so because walking is not safe. If people who don’t live in cities, don’t need to take their car, then the need for parking, and for driving is nullified.

I drove a car to London but never touched it because of english petrol prices, but even today I use the car to shop, not to go somewhere for a walk. Villages and towns need to focus on making walking and cycling safe.

And Finally

I only discovered that there were so many walks around where I lived because my motor scooter was crashed into. I walked to the scooter place several times and eventually grew into the habit of doing that walk, and then expanding and exploring others. I was one of those people who thought it was absurd or boring to walk between villages but now it has become normal. Not only has it become normal, but I see that there would be value in making walking villages not only possible, but attractive. Walking from Eysins to Gingins, and from Gingins to Tranche-Pied before walking down to Borex, and from Borex to Crans could be nice, with the right walking infrastructure. A gravel or wood chip path, half a meter to a meter from the road would be enough. The aim is just to provide a clean walking surface, not to get soaked, or muddy.

Silent Walking and Garmin Instinct Battery Modes
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Silent Walking and Garmin Instinct Battery Modes

Byrichard

It rarely happens. I rarely forget my airpods at home, and when I do I usually turn around to get them. Yesterday I didn’t turn around. I went for my walk anyway. You might think “so what?” and you’d be right to. It doesn’t change much. I usually listen to podcasts and audiobooks, rather than music. I like my walks to be intellectually stimulating, as well as physically good for me.

Running Up and Down Like a Yoyo

Normally when I forget something I run back up the stairs, sometimes two or three times. Other times I would walk home, before starting the walk again. To leave the airpods at home is unusual. Sometimes I leave them because it’s raining and I don’t want them to get soaked, but that is rare.

Airpods fit easily into pockets. They fit so easily that I blogged about carrying two pairs in winter.

Noise Pollution

when you walk alone, and you forget your airpods you’re stuck with your thoughts, and the landscape. You hear the noise pollution from the nearby motorway, sounds of construction from the locations where grass once grew, that is being tarmacced over. People say that it’s important to listen to nature but between the Léman and the Jura there are roads everywhere, as well as cars, trucks, buses and tractors. It’s hardly quiet. To walk mindfully is to notice all the noise pollution. You don’t miss out by listening to podcasts and audio books.

Mindfull Cycling

I never listen to anything when I’m cycling. The noise of the wind is too loud. I also want situational awareness. I want to hear the sound of cars or other things approaching. I want to be focused on what I’m doing.

Driving in Silence

Many years ago I would listen to music when driving, and I wouldn’t dream of driving in silence. Eventually, because I drove such short distances that I would hear ads but no songs, I stopped automatically turning on car radios. Now I can do entire drives in silence. When you drive an electric car it’s funny to drive in silence, because at a traffic light you can hear things, as if you were not in a car.

Experimenting with the Garmin Instinct Solar

My Garmin Instinct Solar is at least two years old. You know that I have more watches than I have wrists so I struggle to decide which watch to wear on a daily basis, especially when I’m unhappy with some aspect of my life. That’s beside the point. I decided to put the Garmin Instinct Solar into max battery mode which turns off phone connectivity and heart rate monitoring.

When not fully charged the battery goes from 18hrs of endurance to 39 hours of endurance. My theory is that it will use so little energy that it should charge during the daily walk, rather than discharge in this mode. In theory a watch could be strapped to the bag and last forever in this configuration, especially in summer.

By using the Garmin Instinct Solar in “ultratrac” mode you still get step count, gps track, tempe connectivity, cadence and more. You can still see that you were walking for an hour and a half in 4°c at a cadence of 111 steps per minutes for a distance 8.58 kilometres.

Walking isn’t Sporty for Sports Trackers

If you go for walks like I do, fitness trackers by Garmin, Suunto, Xiaomi, Apple and others see it as a stroll, even when you’re walking with a heart rate of 100 bpm because of your walking pace. As a result it doesn’t matter whether you’re tracking HR or not. This is liberating because it means that the sports watch that you’re using to track a walk doesn’t need to be on your wrist, tracking HR. It can be in a pocket, on your belt loop, or even strapped to your bag straps facing the sun to charge as you walk.

If you’re not worried about heart rate you can wear Casio step tracking watches instead. They’re less invasive. They track your steps, and that’s it. No HR, no sleep, no standing and more. It just tracks your steps, and that’s it. You can wear the HR capable sports tracking watch when you’re running, cycling or doing other sports where you need that functionality. The rest of the time you can wear a “normal” watch.

What it Replaces

The Garmin Etrex SE is excellent in terms of battery life and it’s easy to swap batteries but it’s big and bulky and requires a large pocket to store it. The Garmin Etrex Solar is also interesting but it costs 270 CHF and I don’t think you can swap the battery. This means that it’s fantastic for summer, when it’s nice and sunny, but mediocre in winter, especially if you’re walking for a few days in heavy rain.

In theory the Garmin Instinct Solar isn’t great in several days of rain either, but it does track steps, temperature and more. it gives you a more comprehensive data set, wit temperature, step count, and the usual data. It’s also much lighter.

And Finally

I’m fine, walking without air pods and a podcast or audiobook to keep me company. I have also slowly weaned myself off of wearing two sports tracking watches. If Garmin, Suunto and Xiaomi respected walking as they should, then wearing their watches all the time would make sense. The truth is that Vo2 Max doesn’t care about walking, so unless you’re running or cycling, you can wear whichever watch you’re motivated to wear.

By strapping a Garmin Instinct Solar to your bag, rather than your wrist, for walks, you still get altitude, temperature, step count, speed, distance and more, but rather than 20hrs of battery life you end up with 79 when the watch is fully charged, and more if the sun recharges the device as you walk.

The Absurdity of Driving Culture
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The Absurdity of Driving Culture

Byrichard

For a long time I thought that driving would give me freedom. I was impatient to be old enough to drive, and then I was impatient to pass my driving test. I failed the theory three times in Switzerland, zero in England, and the practical in England once, and once in Switzerland. Eventually I did pass my driving test in England, on Valentine’s day. I then drove to see the girlfriend of the time.

Driving has given me the freedom to go to and from work without waiting for trains. It has given me the freedom to live according to my schedule, and shifts, rather than other peoples’.

It has also cost me my freedom. The absurdity of driving is that you are responsible for getting drunk friends to their home, and you are responsible for driving people from A to B when you’re hiking, climbing and more. Having a car means that you have to drive to see people who don’t have a car. Driving a car means that you have to make the effort to see others, but they will not make the effort to see you.

The Necessity of Cars

Having a car is about remoteness from work, from play and from more. It’s about always having to get into the car, to do anything:

  • seeing friends
  • shopping for food
  • commuting to work
  • going for a walk
  • going for a bike ride
  • going to snowboard
  • going to a restaurant
  • going to the cinema.

Tonight I have to drive for at least an hour, if I’m not unlucky with traffic, to have a dinner, and then drive home. I have to drive at rush hour by Morges, one of the most awful places for traffic at rush hour. A few years ago I would arrive an early for rock climbing, slightly after Morges, because of how awful traffic was. I got told off by the cashier at the climbing place, for being to early for the special deal the group had. As if that wasn’t enough I eventually struggled to find parkings and got a fine. After that I stopped making the effort.

What sealed the deal was “let’s meet to climb in Gland” and a person answered “no way”. It was fine for me to face traffic but people weren’t ready to do the same for me. All of my friendships died when I decided that I was tired of driving.

When you drive, and when you have space for others it iss assumed that you are ready and willing to drive others,and sometimes you are volunteered, without being asked. This is especially annoying. Picking people up often adds half an hour to an hour to travel time. You become their chauffeur. In one case someone just went to sleep, as if I was a bus driver. It’s great to be so trusted. It’s unpleasant to be so used.

Building More Homes Without Adding More Buses

Recently Vaud has busy building new houses and apartments anywhere with a garden. They have destroyed old single family homes and replaced them with apartment buildings. The result is that there has been a surge of car traffic. This is bad for two reasons. The first reason is that villages that were once filled with green gardens have been turned into tarmac hells. The trees and the grass is gone, replaced by buildings with underground parkings.

The Daily Traffic Jam

Recently I have noticed that the A1 motorway that passes by Nyon is blocked in both directions consistently, as the number of cars and local population increases. They’re happy to “densify” people and villages, but they forgot that densification increases traffic. What were once quiet roads are now saturated with cars.

This morning, due to the motorway being blocked, local roads were blocked too. By increasing housing, without increasing public transport infrastructure there are more cars than ever, using a road network that is not suited to so many cars.

Buses and Bikes Make More Sense

That’s where frequent buses, and dedicated cycle routes would make a huge difference. If it was safe to cycle, rather than drive, then people commuting from villages to Nyon gare could take bikes. With an increased bus schedule people could leave their cars at home and ignore their cars until the weekend, and even then cars could remain parked.

Dormant Start/stop

For context, I have a car with stop/start technology. If I stop at a traffic light the engine stops. When I drive the car it never works, because I use the car twice a week. When other people used my car, this summer, I finally experienced that it starts and stops when it’s at a traffic light.

Before having two summers without a car, and before the pandemic, I didn’t think anything of people’s over-reliance on cars. During the honeymoon of lock downs, when the car was dormant, I got to see how fantastic the area where I live is, for hiking and walking, without getting into a car. I miss the freedom of living without the need to use the car.

Unwanted Journey

Tonight I need to use the car. I need to waste petrol with at least an hour of driving, if traffic is good, and two hours or more if traffic is bad. I don’t mind driving during the day, to do something. I do mind driving at night, to do something that brings me no pleasure.

Escape

If the cleaning Gremlin comes tomorrow afternoon for example, I would be happy to have somewhere to flee to. The point is that today I’m destroying the environment, for nothing.I wouldn’t mind driving for a walk, but I really mind driving for a dinner.

And Finally

At the moment they’re increasing carrying capacity for the motorway entries and exits, and they’re speaking of increasing the motorway to three lanes in each direction. I think this is absurd. I think that rather than encourage more car use they should diminish reliance on cars. More buses, more trains, more safe walking routes. All of these would help reduce traffic, rather than encourage it to grow.

This evening I face the absurdity of driving culture, yet again.

Thoughts On The Garmin Etrex Solar
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Thoughts On The Garmin Etrex Solar

Byrichard

I quite like Garmin devices. I like that my Garmin Instinct Solar can run forever in summer, and less time in winter. I like that the Garmin Etrex SE can last for days or even weeks with my type of use. I also love the idea of the Garmin Etrex Solar. They make the claim that you “Get unlimited battery life when used in sunny 75,000 lux conditions or up to 200 hours with no solar charging.”


This means that if you get the bike mount for summer bike rides you don’t have to worry about battery life. It also means that you can go for your daily walk, run or bike ride, without ever worrying about charging. Of course you need to keep it facing the sun, so that it charges.


The great thing about the Garmin Etrex family, especially the SE and the Etrex Solar is that they have battery charges that last for days or even weeks, when running off of batteries, and with the Etrex SE you can swap batteries and within seconds be on your way again.


One drawback of the Etrex GPS is that it’s fine for tracking the route, when you know where you’re going, but not if you need to navigate with it. The map is “cities only” which means you don’t see rivers, contour lines or anything else. For that you need the Explore app on your phone but phones can be unreliable due to battery life. A map and compass are a low tech alternative.


The last option is to find a GPS track of the route you want to walk and download it to the device. This can be fiddly, even for someone as geeky as me.


The Garmin Etrex Solar is 279 CHF whereas the Garmin Etrex SE is 179 CHF. If you get four rechargeable AA batteries then you can keep two in the device at all times, and two spare, ready to replace the first pair. The cost of rechargeable AA batteries is still less than the Etrex Solar price difference. I am not clear on whether you can replace the Etrex Solar batteries.

Running Through Ankle Deep Water
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Running Through Ankle Deep Water

Byrichard

Yesterday I went for a run, despite the rain being heavy. I wore a proper rain coat and waterproof trousers. I should have also worn waterproof shoes. I didn’t so I ended up soaked once again. What made this run special is that the rain was heavy from the start.


The rain was so heavy that water running from fields and hills was creating deep rivers that ran downhill along roads, filled with muddy water. Normal people would postpone their run for the following day, especially since we knew yesterday that the weather would be good for several days to come.


I got into the habit of walking and running in all weathers so the weather doesn’t affect whether I will go out or not. If it’s raining dog walkers and normal people are usually not out, so the paths we walk and run are free for us to enjoy.


I ran uphill for the first part and it felt hard. It always feel hard to run uphill but there isn’t much choice. If I run downhill I run along the roads where drivers have no respect for pedestrians. I walk and run uphill because that’s where I feel that the roads are safer from cars.


In this day and age everyone is trying to make towns and cities pedestrian friendly but when I lived in London, when I walked in Paris, London, Florence, Geneva and plenty of other cities I never felt bothered by cars. It’s in between villages and towns that cars behave cruelly towards pedestrians and cyclists. To me roads should be dedicated to cycling, running and walking, and there should be a requirement for dogs to be on leads.


I run up the hill because I know that where I am exposed to traffic the roads are wide and I have space to move away from the sadistic drivers speeding by pedestrians. I also walk along those roads because they’re wide enough for cars to avoid us, when no other cars are coming the other way. Where agricultural roads are used by normal cars, where they are wide enough for a car but not two, drivers drive too fast.


If I was driving I would slow down to walking speed as I pass pedestrians and cyclists. They don’t. They almost never slow down.


Yesterday, in the heavy rain I could have gone downhill and stayed dry. I didn’t. Every single time I walk along those roads I yell abuse at cars being driven too fast, too close to me. Words about wanting people to walk rather than drive are empty when you make it impossible to walk between villages and towns safely.


That’s why I went uphill. That’s why I went to the farm roads that flood when it rains. The fields get saturated in water and that water runs downhill, onto the road, and when it hits the road it runs down the road. Yesterday it rained so heavily, for so long, after several days that the roads were now deep rivers. The rivers were now ankle deep. I put my foot down, and the top of my shoes was underwater for a few steps.


I went to the side, I went to avoid the deep water, but I couldn’t avoid it all the time, so I ran through the river running down the road. My shoes and my socks got wet, and it wicked upwards, onto my trousers, up to my t-shirt. I was soaked from the shoes upwards.


I didn’t feel cold. I wasn’t bothered. It’s only rain and muddy water. I ran for 37 minutes in this rain, before I walked the rest of the way home. When I got home I put my shoes on an empty cardboard box, and hung the socks on the same box, to dry. If the box gets wet I don’t mind. It will be recycled anyway. So will the shoes I used.


A few months ago, or last year I frequently said that I was impatient for rainy weather, to have a rest day. Recently I have found that I will go out in all weather, whether we’re in a heat wave heavy rain or other. The time when I really would think twice about going out is on a cold and windy day. I find that rain is fine. It’s the cold wind that is unpleasant.


In circumstances like yesterday’s there are two choices. The first is to wear quick drying shoes, like I did, or to wear hiking boots, that reach above the ankles. The drawback to such shoes is that they are not good for running. Quick drying shoes, in yesterday’s situation were the best option. Feet get wet but we just change socks when we get home.

Walking With an Umbrella
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Walking With an Umbrella

Byrichard

Yesterday i looked at the rain forecast and it looked as though I could go for a walk, without taking a proper rain coat. I wore the btwin cycling rain jacket instead. I decided to carry a mini umbrella with me in case the rain got harder.


I have carried this mini umbrella several times in recent weeks but until yesterday I had no reason to use it. Yesterday I could feel that the rain was getting heavier so I took it out and I walked for fourty or so minutes with the umbrella.


I have a deep hatred of umbrellas because, in my eyes, a rain coat is much better, when it’s raining. Yesterday I deployed the umbrella but almost instantly found myself fighting with the wind. I had to swap it from hand to hand depending on the wind direction and I had to lean it so that the exterior was pointing into the wind. The wind wanted to lift the umbrella and take it away from me.


With an ordinary rain coat you put it on, and that’s it. You’re ready to walk in the rain for hours without thinking about it. With an umbrella the opposite is true. It might be easier to carry when not in use, but as soon as it’s open it’s trying to catch the wind and fly away. You find yourself impatient to walk either sideways from the wind or with your back to it. Walking into the wind requires the umbrella to be in front and tilted to block your view, so that you can’t see where you’re going.


For years I had a negative opinion of umbrellas and yesterday I reinforced that negative opinion. What is the point of carrying something that takes two to three times your space, catches the wind, and blocks you from seeing where you’re going?


Usually walking in these conditions I would have had soaked trousers, a soaked hat, and everything beneath the cycling rain coat would need to be changed, for dry clothes. This time my trousers were soaked but the top half of the body was dry. The umbrella did keep me dry but inelegantly.


Rest assured that I haven’t changed. I was testing one of the sea to summit mini hiking umbrellas. I like the btwin cycling rain jacket because it’s easy to crumple into a bag in case of rain. The one drawback is that it has no hood so you still get your head wet. It’s fine in light rain. In rain, as it was yesterday, it makes sense to have an equally easy to carry umbrella. It’s so light that it can live in your hiking bag in all weather, ready to be used within thirty seconds if the rain gets heavy enough. Without the wind this solution would have worked well.


If it had been raining heavily before I started my walk I would have worn a proper rain coat, and maybe even proper rain trousers. It’s because the swiss weather app didn’t confirm that it would rain that I took the risk of walking in the rain with minimal rain gear. I got home with the top half relatively dry but still had to take off socks and change trousers.

The Unfamiliar Sensation of a Vibrating Car
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The Unfamiliar Sensation of a Vibrating Car

Byrichard

Yesterday I drove the petrol car for the first time in a while. I did it for two reasons. The first is that I didn’t feel like waiting five hours for the car to charge. Especially since it was cold, and rain was predicted. I also drove the petrol car because I wanted to run the engine and charge the battery, rather than letting it gradually degrade, from lack of use.


In the process I felt an unfamiliar sensation. The sensation of a car vibrating as I drove it. The sensation of a noisy car, with the sound of the engine running. It got me to think about future generations of children, who may never get into a vibrating car.


Future Generations Will be Unfamiliar with Vibrating Cars


Imagine, several years from now, when almost everyone has an electric car we will be familiar with linear acceleration with no gears, no noise of engines. It will just be a smooth ride. The culture shock between being in a diesel car and a petrol car was already pronounced. Now, with electric cars, the sensation will be even greater.


Recharge as You See Family and Friends


Out of curiousity I checked the price of an energy refill at a recharging station near where someone lives. It’s 50 centimes per kilowatt of power. That’s about twenty swiss francs to refill a 42 kilowatt battery to full, from completely flat. In practice a car should be much higher than that, so the price for a charge, whilst you have coffee or dinner would be smaller.


The Primitive Petrol Car


It’s funny to see how primitive a petrol car feels after three or four weeks of using an electric car. Acceleration feels more sluggish. It vibrates, it’s noisy. Its driving assistance is more primitive. Slowing down doesn’t regenerate power. It just feels like a different era.


The Freedom of Petrol


If I had a power socket in my garage driving electric cars would feel liberating because as soon as I get home I could plug it in and charge the battery, in anticipation of my next drive. As things are now, I can’t. As a result of this driving the petrol car felt liberating. You have “unlimited range” in a petrol car. You refill every 800 kilometres. The one drawback is that refilling a petrol car costs 2 francs per litre, so 80-100 francs per refuelling. Spending 100 CHF per week is not a freedom. Neither is paying 20 CHF per 200 kilometres. If you refill fast electric cars cost the same as petrol. If you recharge slowly electric cars are cheaper.


And Finally


I look forward to a future where children have never been in a petrol driven car. Electric cars are comfortable to drive and manoeuvre and they are easy to charge, once you have an electric plug. I look forward to a future where cars are driven by driver assistance rather than human beings. With driver assistance you supervise the car, and it does the rest. You look for dangers, and you’re ready to act, but it takes care of the tedious part of driving.


Children that have never been in a petrol car will see electric cars as normal, and think nothing of the limitations. Electric cars are quiet and clean, compared to petrol cars. I look forward to a future where electric cars have become the norm.

One Limitation of Electric Cars
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One Limitation of Electric Cars

Byrichard

At the moment I am doing a favour that requires me to drive the electric car over a route that takes 25 percent of the car’s battery. This means that for every time I do the favour I have to charge the car for five hours.


About the Drive


The drive from where I charge the car to home takes eight to ten percent but the drive back to charge the car takes up to 15 percent due to traffic, but also due to the climb. This climb means that for every trip to charge I have three hours of waiting. In total I have five and a half hours of waiting around for the car to charge.


Three Times in a Week


If I was charing the car once per week and waiting five hours it wouldn’t bother me, because it’s once per week. This time It’s three times. That’s fifteen hours of waiting around for the car to charge.


Walking, Running, Cycling, Blogging Etc


Of course there are plenty of things that I can do while waiting for the car to charge, like walking, running, cycling or writing this blog post. I can occupy myself and get things done whilst waiting


The Wait for Petroleum


If I think waiting five hours for a car to recharge is long I should try waiting for petrol to be ready. It takes several million years for petroleum to become what it is, and we burn it within seconds in a car. If I take biomass and wait for it to become petrol then my wait will be several million years. In contrast waiting for a solar panel to charge a car is a number of hours. 


I Still Like Electric Cars


Although it may sound as though I have fallen out of love with electric cars that is not the case. I don’t feel like waiting for another 10hrs for the car to charge, when the task that I need to do takes seconds. On Friday the favour will be over and then I can use the elctric car more economically, doing the 30 percent drive once per week, rather than three or four times per week. As I said, driving to the shops and back takes less than one percent per trip but it’s rounded up to one percent. This means that instead of burning petrol and polluting I am using a tiny amount of electric energy. 


This energy could have come from solar panels, hydroelectric dams or wind power. It’s when you drive up a mountain three times per week, and on the motorway that you deplete the battery. 


And Finally


Petrol cars need to be run every so often and mine hasn’t been run for several weeks. It makes sense to run the engine, recharge the battery and ensure that it doesn’t get depleted before I need to jump start the car. By back and forth I wil refresh the battery and the likelihood of being stranded with a dead battery will be lessened. I still care for the environment. I was even toying with the idea of dropping off the petrol car at home, and cycling back for the electric car at another time. If I do that I will tire myself, and with winter coming I could easily regret it.

Autumn Is Here

Autumn Is Here

Byrichard

Yesterday I went for a walk wearing what I have been wearing since April or May. To be fair I had an extra layer. I felt cold. I chose to walk a shorter circuit than usual. I walked just five kilometres rather than my normal eight, or more. I felt okay when my back was to the wind, or when I was sheltered by trees or hills, but not when I was facing into the wind.

Finally Normal Seasonal Temperatures

It’s only one degree warmer than usual now, rather than eight. It’s also because I was three or four hundred meters higher up than on previous days. I felt the need for a sweater and fleece, and to keep my neck out of the wind. That’s why I felt cold, and why I was happy to shorten the walk.

In Sync with the Weather

When you walk you feel the weather. You feel the heat, and you feel the cold. You also notice how little it rains, as well as how strong the dew is. It can be weeks between rain falls and yet you can still get muddy shoes sometimes. At the moment the ground is still very dry.

A few days ago I was walking where I often walk and a farmer was cutting an overgrown fallow field and I saw a do run away from him into taller grass. This is a reminder that tall grass, and trees are good shelter for wildlife, whether foxes, deer, and other creatures. I haven’t seen wolves yet, but knowing my walking habit, I will.

For a change I could hear the sound of what I think is artillery fire. In this part of Switzerland you often see armoured personal carriers being driven around. This is where they practice such skills.

And Finally

I need to change my writing routine because I no longer feel inspired in the morning.

Ten Degrees above the Seasonal Norm
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Ten Degrees above the Seasonal Norm

Byrichard

Twenty Five Degrees Forecast

I am wearing a t-shirt today. I am wearing a t-shirt almost every day. I feel no need for fleeces or sweaters. The reason for this is simple. The temperature, today, for example. is ten degrees hotter than it should be. It’s twenty five degrees and the normal temperature is fifteen degrees.

We’re having a warm summer’s day in Octobre. This should last three more days. This has been a long and comfortable summer.

Never Ending Sun

This heat might be due to the amount of sun we’re having. The mornings are still cold but the afternoons are warm. The sun is probably responsible for the diurnal range. If we were under the usual clouds, with rain temperatures would drop. With never ending good weather we get to experience unseasonal heat.

And Finally

It’s when you go for a bike ride or a run, and feel warm, that you notice how weird the weather is, at the moment. I didn’t expect to feel too warm during a recent bike ride but I did. The cycling season has been greatly extended as a result of this good weather.