On Being Asked Why I Wear Two Watches
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On Being Asked Why I Wear Two Watches

Byrichard

During the Via Ferrata I did on Sunday I was asked why I wear two watches and I answered with a joke before giving the serious answer that I wear two watches at once because I want the data from both watches. I was asked why I need the data from both watches and that’s where there is a change that is happening at the moment.

A Waning in Garmin Watches

By wearing the F-91 for a few days and wearing the Garmin watch less and less I find that my desire for heart rate, steps, recovery and other things to be recoreded is declining over time. I wore the Garmin for the Via Ferrata because I wanted the data. In the end I just looked at the temperature data and not much else.

Over a period of weeks I think I have weaned myself off of the desire to quantify everything I do, to several different services. I’m wearing a casio on my left wrist, as the primary watch, and the Apple watch as a secondary watch on the right wrist. For weeks, or even months, I have been keeping data from walks but I don’t feel the need to check that data at the end of walks, runs or other sports. I’m happy just to do things.

Dependencies

Both Garmin, and Apple, made such a huge effort to get us to wear them twenty four hours a day, and work towards challenges, that they have turned me off of wearing them. They “punish” us for not walking, they “punish” us for not keeping a never-ending streak. According to the Apple watch I walked three hours out of five so far. It feels like we’re filling an addiction rather than getting interesting data.

Not the Only One

Funnilly I was not the only one wearing two fitness trackers. Someone else had a fitbit and a Garmin watch but because one was a band and the other was a watch it was less obvious. I suspect that it may become more common for geeks to wear two watches in the near future.

And Finally

If we want to we can use hand held gps devices and we can use our phones as GPS trackers. In my experience relying on phones as GPS trackers is likely to result in incomplete data. If you put a phone into battery saver mode while tracking you may lose the GPS track, including with Sports tracker, among other apps.

During the pandemic I could wear two watches without it being a problem. Now that I am slowly going back into normal society I have to choose whether to wear two watches or not, whether to be normal, or not.

Being L’âne de Buridan

Being L’âne de Buridan

Byrichard

For the last 24 hours I have been L’âne de Buridan because I wanted to do two activities. I saw that a group was hiking in Annecy and I was hesitating due to the drive, the parking and the distance. I also saw that there were no spaces left. That’s why I signed up for a second activity while sitting in the waiting list. I didn’t expect to get a place.

The second activity is a via ferrata and I love that sport and I just got new kit so I should use it. The issue is that the group that is doing this activity meets irregularly and I prefer to find a group that meets regularly, to spend time with people more often.

The first activity then changed from Annecy to being at La Dôle so I thought that committing to the VF would be much easier., except that it isn’t because A) Via Ferrata are fun but you usually spend more time getting there and back than climbing, and because the group meets irregularly the group becomes less interesting.

I’d like to elaborate on this point. One of my character flaws is that I often want to try something new, rather than remain loyal to a group of people. The result is that I end up with solitude, rather than companionship. I’d like to meet the new group, and new people, but at the same time I feel that I should show “loyalty”, and I use the word loosely, for the group that I have done one thing with, so far.

I now have two groups that do things on alternate days so I can easily be a regular with both groups.

And Finally

Annecy would have been a 50 minute drive, each way, Morez is a 40 minute drive. St Cergue is an 18 minute drive. It makes environmental sense to do the local walk, on a rare occasion when people do something that is so convenient for me. If I had known yesterday I would have kept the electric car.

A Meetup Weakness
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A Meetup Weakness

Byrichard

Before the pandemic, when life was normal, I would go to three or four events per week organised via websites. These days, on meetup.com things are organised every two weeks, and for just 15 people at a time. This means that if you’re not first to sign up you’re on a waiting list and you could be social once every few weeks, rather than three times per week. This frustrates me.

There is a simple solution. There is a demand for events to be organised. I recently bought fresh Via Ferrata stuff and may start doing them regularly once again. I want to accertain that I am comfortable with the sport after such a long break, and once this is done I can create my own via ferrata and walking group. I would organise things at least once per week, maybe more.

The biggest nuissance with Meetup.com is that it requires a monthly fee for having a group. The result is that groups are created, run for a bit, and then destroyed to avoid paying for longer. The alternative is to use Facebook but I absolutely hate what Facebook is and what it represents. Every time it abuses of peoples’ trust it and gets caught it never apologises.

I have car and I have three seats. Like I used to do before the pandemic I can pick people up in Nyon, drive them to and from the activity, and when it comes time to say goodbye they can contribute towards petrol and the cost of having a group.

I would never charge people a fee to participate in an activity because that goes against my ethos, but having people pay a fair share towards petrol is the right thing to do. If you don’t charge people for the petrol used, they abuse of our kindness as drivers.

There is an added benefit. The problem with group activities is that when they end people rush to the train, without saying goodbye and I find this really strange. Before the pandemic there would be a stop at a bar to have a drink, and then drive home. In the Pandemic age that stop no longer occurs. I find this to be a shame. At least by driving from Nyon to the via ferrata or hiking location there is a moment for conversation before and after the journey.

I could be like others, and take the same trains as they take but that would increase my costs for participating in events. It also doubles or triples the journey time.

Last week I walked an extra eight kilometres rather than take a train, so it isn’t that I want to use the car. I have spent five or six years doing almost all of my bike rides and walks from home. The point of the car is to expand my range, once again.

And Finally

As I got to the end of this post I noticed that I am included in the hike that I thought was overbooked, and I see that other people are doing a VF at the same time on the same day and now I am torn about which one to do. The beautiful irony.

The old paradox is back. Nothing to do for the entire week, and then two activities to do at the same time.

The Nyon to Gland Loop
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The Nyon to Gland Loop

Byrichard

It is possible to walk from Nyon to Gland and back in a single day, and to play Ingress in Gland, before meeting a meetup group to walk back to Nyon from Gland, via the Toblerone. The distance I walked was twenty eight kilometres but this is partially due to spending an hour in Gland, after arriving much sooner than planned.

The route I walked was around Emil Frey towards Porte De Nyon shopping centre, onto the roundabout where you can go East towards Prangins. I walked along the road that is below Duiller towards Prangins, down under the tunnel, up by the train station of Prangins, and then along the road that takes you by the Aérodrome de Prangins where the Junkers 52 aircraft, or an aircraft that looks similar was being started up. It took off sooner than I thought. If I had known I would have stuck around to watch.

After this I walked by some Toblerone and a bunker where junk was being stored, for some reason. I expected that I would walk by this point with the group but we didn’t.

When I arrived in Gland I had over an hour to kill so I walked around, playing Ingress before deciding that I should stop and conserve energy before the next bit of the walk. Nyon to Gland was just eight kilometres so it’s an easy back and forth, if you follow the rational route.

The Toblerone route is the long way round. One interesting aspect of the Toblerone walk, from Gland, is that you walk by the HS2 data centre in Gland. It’s a large building with very few windows. It has 14,000 m2 of server racks and more with 40mw of power usage. It is the biggest data centre in Switzerland.

The Lure of a Walk to a Walk

The Lure of a Walk to a Walk

Byrichard

There is a good chance that tomorrow I will go for a walk along the Toblerones from Prangins to the lake side and on to Nyon. For this walk I have the luxury that I can walk to the starting point before doing the group walk.

The issue is that the walk to the starting point is about 8km which will take at least an hour and a half or more so I need to set off at least an hour and a half early if not more. Due to the activity starting at 1300 that’s quite easy to do, with a relaxed morning.

The train ride takes three minutes, once I have walked 20 minutes to the train station, so really it takes 23 minutes, every half hour. In contrast the walk takes one hour and 20 minutes. The train will cost about 4CHF whereas walking costs time.

The loop, if I walk the entire thing, will be about 14-20km, so a good day of walking. Due to the walk being linear, starting in Gland and heading to Nyon it doesn’t make sense to drive to Gland because I would then have to walk back to get the car. I could take the train but it seems absurd to spend so much on such a small journey. Having said this, if I drove there and back I would spend 4 CHF in petrol. 😉

There are two things to consider. The first is that this is a tame walk. For the most part walking from Nyon to Gland, and Gland to Nyon is relatively flat. The second consideration is that i like to walk loops rather than linear walks. By walking the loop I get to experience new portions of road that I have previously cycled rather than walked along.

From Nyon to Gland I would walk along the top of Nyon, and then head down towards the road that runs from Prangins to the aerodrome, and from there either to the left through the industrial zone or to the right down to the bowling, climbing gym and then up to the train station where I would wait for people. I would then walk the “toblerone” walk back to Nyon and from there home.

And Finally

If the experiment is a success then I will have a new, ambitious walking route that I could enjoy on Sunday, without the need for a car. I have walked from Nyon to Coppet and up towards Crassier but I have barely done any walking beyond the East of Nyon. This is a good opporunity to range.

Walking in Linear Circles
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Walking in Linear Circles

Byrichard

My walks are more often than not circular. I walk in a clearly defined loop across several villages before heading home. On weekends, and days such as yesterday my habit of walking in loops is scuppered by the habit of normal people to walk with dogs. I wouldn’t mind so much, if they kept their dogs under control, and if I was not walking alone. When I walk alone I’m the only distraction so dogs will investigate me, which I hate.

During the walk up to the Creux Du Van I saw two large dogs that I had to walk by. I waited until other people walked by those dogs before walking by them at the same time. In so doing the dogs didn’t have any interest in me so I felt safe. If I had been alone I would not have enjoyed passing those dogs. I might have turned back, or found another route.

I am so used to walking the same loops, that the idea of backtracking vanished until recently. Until recently I would always walk my loops. Walking those loops fatigued me. I think that’s why traffic, and encounters with dogs felt more negative than they had, beforehand.

There is value in changing walking patterns. By changing the pattern I walk along routes that I had not walked for a while. I also noticed that the “long loops” I walked are not longer than the “short” loops I walk. It’s just that the GPS track is different.

The other difference is that I am running again. By running I am making a bigger effort over a shorter time so I can devote less time to my “daily walk”.

And Finally

Although during the week I will walk the usual routes in solitude, on weekends I will resume group activities. The pandemic will not end, so I can be social by doing outdoor things. I have no desire to be indoors.

Creux Du Van Xero Xcursion Test
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Creux Du Van Xero Xcursion Test

Byrichard

During the 30,000 step walk at the Creux Du Van on Sunday I was wearing the Xero Xcursion shoes. For almost the entire walk they felt comfortalbe. These are light, thin soled shoes that are minimal. This means that you feel more of the ground, and the soles will take the shape of the floor beneath your feet. Step on a root and you will have your toes putting pressure and the rest of the foot adapting around the route.

Fine for Uphill Walking

With most barefoot shoes I feel the heel smash into the ground so I don’t like wearing them because I don’t like harming myself incidentally. With the Trail Glove Seven and the Xero Xcursion shoes I can walk normally and not feel my heel smashing into the floor with every step. These shoes were fine for the walk up. I didn’t feel any regret in wearing them. On the flat part I didn’t feel any regret either.

Not Wet in Mud

I walked through several muddy parts without caring because I knew that by the time I got back to the care the mud would have dried up and fallen off. It fell off during the walk down so when I did check for mud there was none. The other thing that surprised me is that when I walked in muddy patches water did not make its way into the shoes so my feet remained dry. Mud is not the same as heavy rain. These shoes are fine in mud.

Slight Disomfort Going Downhill

It’s on the way down the hill that I noticed slight discomfort. It wasn’t serious discomfort. I could just feel my feet sliding and putting pressure on the inside of the shoe. I have no blisters after the fact so it was just a sentiment. I might wear proper hiking socks just to be safe.

Of Note

I have been wearing “barefoot shoes for months by now so my walking style has adapted to “being barefoot” with the Trail Gloves. Vapor Gloves, Trail Glove six and the Merrel barefoot shoes I have are not comfortable for long walks. I only find the Trail Glove 7 and Xero Xcursion shoes comfortable. Experiment with shorter walks and normal walks, before doing a 16km hike.

And Finally

The advantage of minimal/barefoot shoes is that they’re very light. They are not rigid so your foot can adapt to the ground beneath with ease, rather than balancing. For the most part they were so comfortable that I forgot that I wore them. The fact that I could descend with such ease is good. This was a proper test. 30,000 steps and with 900 meters of climbing and 860 meters of descent. I didn’t push through snow because I wasn’t worried about mud. If I had walked in snow I probably would have wet my socks. That’s why I had a spare pair in the car, in case. I would hike again in the Xero shoes.

Creux Du Van Meetup

Creux Du Van Meetup

Byrichard

It has been at least four or five years since my last meetup. A few years ago I went to meetups with people from Geneva and before that to Glocals events with people from Lausanne and Geneva. I stopped meeting people from Lausanne because I was working night shifts as a deicer and I stopped going to meetups with the Geneva meetup groups because of my broken arm. The pandemic then happened and I went for years without going to meetups.

COVID Isolation

Since then people have chosen to live with the risk of COVID rather than masking and getting to COVID zero so I have had no choice but to compromise on my values by doing things with people in the physical world once again. Of course I will only do outdoor things. I am not going to go indoors when there are constant flare ups of COVID, especially when the pandemic is not tracked, to sell the lie that the pandemic is not over.

Having said this going to a meetup event, to be with people, after five years of social isolation felt good. I didn’t feel any different than when I was being social in person two to three days a week for years in the pre-deicing and pandemic days. I couldn’t be social when working as a deicer because I was working night shifts and people were heading out just as I tried to go to sleep before waking at 2am for a 4am shift start.

Creux Du Van

I arrived half an hour early, and had time to park with ease, and wait for the group. In the process I heard church bells ringing for many minutes before eventually stopping. The group arrived in one or two cars, and a train. We did the walk but it was far busier than when I did it solo. When I did it solo it was almost rainy and foggy. I walked up and reached the clearing and saw bouquetins.

The conditions were overcast and rain threatened but did not fall. We had plenty of wind instead. The views were slightly less spectacular than the last time I went, because of the clouds and lack of contrast.

I spotted some yellow rock where a recent rock fall had happened. I don’t know how recent it was. The beauty of the Creux Du Van is that it’s a semi-circular cliff. You walk up from one side and then you walk along it. As you walk you see different portions of the cliff. Both times I have been I have done the walk from the same direction. Next time I would like to do this walk in the reverse direction, and I would like to walk to the base of the cliff.

When I walked this walk alone I didn’t go down to the Gorge de L’Areuse because I was worried that it would add too much distance to the walk when I was already tired. In reality I think it’s the same distance via both routes.

The Stats

According to the Suunto Peak 5 this was a 5hr44 walk covering a distance of 16.9km, made up of 27,380 steps, for me. We ascended 906m and descended 873. It was 2hrs 20 of climb and 1hr58 of descent, with time for a snack at the top. My recovery time is about 26hrs. I am down to 7hrs left, to recover, now.

And Finally

I like this walk and I will do it again.