Yesterday I was stung by a wasp while cycling and when I tried to remove the stinger I couldn’t. I was in pain and almost stopped cycling. I was in distress as a bus passed on a main road. I was on an agricultural path by some apple orchards. I stopped where the agricultural road reached the main road.
It’s almost twenty four hours later and my lower lip and one of my cheeks have swelled up. A few weeks ago I had a similar incident with a bee but I was able to remove the stinger while cycling and my quick action prevented too much poison from being pumped into my lower lip. When that incident occurred I was surprised not to have any swelling.
In previous years I have been stung twice to my right leg and at least once to the stomach. I had no adverse reaction. Being stung when you’re riding a bike or scooter is normal. Usually the windshield on the scooter protects your body so that’s where bugs get splattered. I often hear when bumble bees and other larger insects hit my helmet. There’s that little “poc” sound on almost every ride.
If you look at car radiators, windshields and side mirrors you will see a graveyard of insects. This year I have seen flying swarms of small insects and I’ve tried not to have my mouth open by accident when going through them.
I am tempted to get a face mask, to protect my mouth. I already protect my eyes on every ride for this very reason. A face mask would be a logical next step.
Yesterday I went back to cycling after breaking my arm and letting it recover. My lower body is fine despite not cycling for a long time but the left arm still feels vulnerable. I could feel it when changing gears and when going over bumps.
As silly as it sounds to wait for weeks before getting back on the bike I see that it was justified. When I tried to shift gears I could feel that the muscles for shifting gears have not entirely recovered. The bone has fused, but all of the muscles that were seldom used during my injury still need to grow back and strengthen.
Changing gear is so simple when you are feeling normal. You do it without noticing. Now there were instances when I felt that I was lacking the strength to push the lever.
I could also feel that my upper body was getting tired. I had to take a break or two during this ride. The longest break was when I was waiting for a person walking two horses to get off of the rural road I was on. I didn’t want to get kicked. I also had no reason to rush.
I took an unsurfaced road for part of the ride to avoid traffic. During this section of the ride I was slower than usual. I checked for potholes and had no intention of putting more strain than needed on the arm. I actually thought about turning back after this section.
On the straight road that goes down from the farm, past the observatory and down to the roundabout I didn’t pedal as hard as I could. I cruised instead.
We will see how I feel the next time I ride the bike. I expect it will feel better. I need to get my arm used to these strains, and to strengthen the muscles accordingly. At the end of this winter I should be back to normal. Imagine if i tried snowboarding with this weak arm.
Two weeks ago, it looked as though next summer we could be out of the pandemic. This weekend, it looks as though the pandemic will never end. Every single time Europe looks as if it has a chance of ending the pandemic, it breaks for either Christmas or the Summer holiday. Every single time Switzerland stands an excellent chance of stopping community transmission, it reopens things.
To add insult to injury tonight 65,000 people are going to watch a football match in a stadium, and retail unions are requesting that masks are dropped as a requirement in shops. My entire reason for going exclusively to food shops is that we’re in a pandemic and I don’t trust people to behave appropriately during a pandemic.
Months ago while trying new walking shoes I had an individual and a child standing right beside me. I still tested the shoes, but it was months before I attempted to go to that shop again. The issue with shops is that a) people don’t respect COVID rules so we have to actively keep ourselves safe and b) this requires going as soon as the shops open, rather than at a time that would be more comfortable.
Now back to the topic of solitary bike ride. For as long as people do not understand pandemic dynamics, we are going to be in an endless loop of self-isolation and lockdowns. The sooner people understand that this is a socially transmitted disease the sooner we will be back in an open, rather than closed society.
The sooner the pandemic ends the sooner we can go on group hikes, group climbing and group via ferrata activities. For as long as the pandemic continues in the current loop, the more single people living alone, will have to be happy to go on solitary bike rides.
“oh but you don’t need to do things alone”. In Holland the number of infected went from 1000 to 10,000 new cases in one week. The delta variant spreads extremely fast.
And now for a little humour, people are queuing from three to four hours to get tested for COVID-19 because they are not vaccinated yet, when they could go and get vaccinated, without waiting. Going to get tested if you feel sick is excellent, but if you’re going to get tested, to clear your conscience, before taking a risk, like travelling for holidays to a place where you will be surrounded by crowds, or to be in a nightclub without proper ventilation, then you are clearing your conscience before taking a risk. The data from Holland, England and Israel encourages me, to personally keep self-isolating. If my interpreting of current affairs is correct, then Switzerland is heading into another wave within days, not weeks.
At the end of the day, what does another two years of pandemic solitude change? As long as we are not reminded of the standard model, it changes nothing. With the current behaviour we are in for another two or more years of pandemic where the vulnerable get a booster every six months.
Komoot is an app based on socialising through sports. The sports are cycling, mountain biking, bike touring, hiking and running. It integrates well with Garmin and allows you to track activities from your mobile phone or import GPX, Fit and other files from other brands. It also allows you to create your own tracks ahead of an activity as well as plan it for a specific day and time.
Sports
Running and hiking are two distinct categories with no differentiating between hiking, walking, nordic or rambling. Running does not have sub-categories for trail running, road running or other variants. Cycling seems to be the sport they are most focused on. They differentiate between road riding, mountain biking and touring.
Creating routes
Creating a route on the website is easy. You can choose between a linear route or a loop. You can select which sport is for. I tried creating two or three walking routes as well as two or three cycling routes based on walks I have done in the past. You mark point A and point B and then add the in between points. I created the 100km route I tried from Nyon to the Col de Marchairuz, around the Lac de Joux and then down via St Cergue to Nyon. It automatically gives you ascent information, gradient, an average speed and an estimated route time as well as level of expertise.
Google Maps offers some of the same functionality but you do not get so much detail and it is not integrated within a mobile app or gps units like Komoot is. Finally at the bottom of the route you get weather information. This can be useful if you plan to do an activity in a few days.
Planning a group activity
A feature I would like to see on this app is the ability to create a group event or activity. I would like to be able to take a route I have prepared and decide on a time and date when a group of people could come together to enjoy a hike or bike ride. If and when this is included it would be a one stop solution for people to meet up and enjoy activities together.
Originally I wanted to write about following route 50 from one village to Romainmôtier. I changed my mind as I created the title for this post.
Yesterday I cycled with two people on electric bikes on my normal bike. I didn’t feel that I was making that great an effort, especially since I was cycling at a relatively slow speed compared to usual. I actually felt that I was taking it easy.
Calories Burned
It’s when I looked at calories burned that I realised that what felt like an easy ride to me, was actually a huge effort. It didn’t feel that way to me, because it is normal for me to make such an effort, and I usually push myself when I ride alone.
Three Times More Calories
By riding with people with electric bikes I felt that I was having a relatively easy day. I burned three times more calories than them. It shows to what extent being fit affects how we perceive effort, but also how much energy electric bikes save.
Perfectly Within My Comfort Zone
I was surprised by the huge difference in calories burned because I felt comfortable. I didn’t feel that I was struggling to keep pace with the bikes, or struggling on hills whilst they glided with ease. That’s the beauty of cycling a lot. Effort becomes ordinary, and fitness makes electric bikes harder to justify. Why get an electric bike when you can cycle with people with electric bikes and keep up?
Cyclists and Non Cyclists Riding Together
There are two types of people. Those that invests hundreds of hours over several years to boost their cycling fitness, and those that use electric bikes, to keep up with those with experience. I would argue that the strength of the electric bike is two-fold. The first is that it encourages non cyclists to cycle and experience the pleasure of getting from A to B under their own steam, but the second is that electric bikes allow non cyclists to ride with cyclists, and get a taste of what we enjoy.
Visiting Romainmôtier by bike
Romainmôtier is a nice destination to cycle to. The road takes you through a nice quiet road in the forest. The woods are the Bois De Ferreyres. The route that I took was undulating, with some climbing and some descending, but these ondulations are not extreme like cycling up to La Dôle or up to La Rippe, so manageable.
Cycling Destination
Quite a few people cycled to Romainmôtier and I noticed that a few went into the grounds of the Abbaye and rested their bikes against the wall, before having a drink. By taking the bike parking is simplified, but as well as parking being simplified, you get to experience the landscape first hand. You’re faster than a hiker, but still get to experience the winding roads, the ups, the downs, and the freedom to stop with the bike, more conveniently than with a car.
Recommendation
If you are not a confident cyclist, and don’t want to spend hundreds of hours getting fit, then electric bikes are a fantastic short cut because they give you the freedom to explore, without the dread of having to get back, despite being knackered. Electric bikes are more forgiving than cycling without a motor. With an electric bike you just ask for more assistance and you’re comfortable.
Strava now has rock climbing, hiking and many more sports. Sports tracker, movescount and other applications already allowed you to do this but it is nice to see one more network provide us with this option.
Up until now I had to make sure to go for a bike ride or three per week to keep people updated on what I did. During week days I am likely to go for bike rides. On two to three evenings per week I may go climbing and on the weekend I may go hiking or for a walk. As a result I can track the diversity of my activities.
With rock climbing I would like them to add two or three more fields. I would like them to add an option to add the grade of the climb we did. This would need to use the European and the American systems. It would help us track our progress and even track how hard we worked if we’re wearing a heart monitor as we climb. In effect it could provide us with a way of seeing who else is climbing and whether we match their skill level. In the long run this could contribute to new groups. I have created a group for Swiss Via Ferrata in anticipation of via ferrata practitioners joining the network and sharing their climbs.
Until recently I would only track cycling and running. Now that walking, hiking and climbing have been added I can track a number of new sports. It should result in people using the app more frequently. Â It could be fun to see climbing and hiking heat maps. We will see how they adapt the input section to match the sports.
Today the weather was rainy so I had a Zwift session. I decided to cycle the Yorkshire circuit. Cycling indoors is not as exciting as you don’t see as much. I listened to a hiking podcast but I didn’t pay much attention to the Zwift interface for at least the first fifteen minutes or so.
For the first time in 44 days or more I started the car’s engine and went for a drive. I heard the engine making a slightly different noise than usual so I let it warm up a bit and then I drove to the shops taking the long route. By long route I simply mean the walk that I’ve done dozens of times. It’s around 10 kilometres of driving in total. As it’s a diesel car it makes sense to drive far enough to get the engine warmed up and ready for when life returns to “normal”.
To switch off during sport, try to designate ten minutes of your run or ride to consciously focus on the world around you. What do I smell, hear, see and feel during exercise? Focusing on the here and now gives a feeling of security and makes conscious enjoyment possible.
With all of the pictures, descriptions of smells and even river walking I think I’ve definitely lived up to point 1. I have been running, cycling, walking, river walking and exploring variants on the routes I walk often. I can now walk without crossing people for ninety eight percent of my walks. People in cars don’t count.
I have spent a lot of time on TikTok which is both good and bad. It’s good because it cheers me up and now I’m familiar with another video sharing platform for when I’m applying for jobs but it’s bad because I could do more during the day.
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