A Physical Bike Ride and Simplification

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This Saturday was a great day for group rides for one key reason. The temperatures were pleasant, but more importantly, there was no wind to blow us around. The result is that despite riding with Group 2 I felt energetic until almost the end. Usually I’m exhausted much sooner, with this group. The ‘simplification’ I allude to, in my title, is the enduring habit of trying one thing, and then another, until it works, instead of breaking. You’ll know what I got to work shortly.

Last Sunday we had two challenges. The first was that we had a very strong wind. When the wind blows and you’re on a bike, a comfortable ride becomes very hard because you’re pedalling hard, not to go fast, but simply to move forward. You feel deeply unfit as a result.

Add to this that it was cold and you’ve got two challenges. The wind wasn’t enough. The cold sapped even more energy. The result is that a “short” ride is just as exhausting as a long ride when it’s warm.

And this Week

This week the cycling group I ride with in Geneva, and the cycling group I ride with in Nyon both had their first group rides of the season. In Geneva it was the season opening. In Nyon it was just another normal week since this group persists through winter. The difference was the size of the groups, and the level of comfort.

When the wind isn’t blowing, and when the temperature is not freezing, riding is a pleasure. I felt full of energy for almost the entire ride.

Having said this, when we passed very close to my home I chickened out and went home. I felt exhausted and I didn’t want to ride back up the hill. According to Apple I burned 1900 kcals during the ride.

Thinking Laterally About the Fediverse

When I was thinking in a straight line, I wanted to turn my blog into a fediverse instance and I failed. I failed with Eleventy and I failed with Hugo. Each failure was confirmed after hours, not just minutes, of failing. I did persist.

This morning, before the ride I thought, What if I get javascript to retrieve all my posts and give them their Fediverse IDs, and I had the self-discipline not to forget to go for the bike ride. I forced myself just to leave the idea as it was, and head for a pre-ride coffee.

This afternoon, with a minimum of failure looping I got Gemini to help me achieve what I wanted. We even went for the bonus share.js option. Now, when I publish this post, it will be handed to my fediverse account and posted for people to read. The next step should be to add the first two or three sentences to provide people with context.

And Finally

All in all, this day has been a success, except for WordPress. If Jetpack hijacks posting to the fediverse, then I see no need to use WordPress. This is after using the open source project since 2005. They’re moving in a direction I dislike.