Today I cycled for three hours. I cycled to the Rhone and back along cycling lanes. Initially I had planned on a little 20km loop but because of dog walkers walking with their dogs, off of leash, I decided to ride along the road for a bit, before joining the voie verde again at the lac De Divonne.
By some fluke I have now gone for two bike rides in the rain. The first time I rode in the rain my hands got cold and I had to warm myself up again. Yestrday I went for. a bike ride again, expecting the weather to stay good. It drizzled almost non-stop. As a result my socks got soaked and I was once again covered in splatters of muddy water. I didn’t even ride through mud. I was covered in mud despite riding on tarmac.
For the first time this season I rode in shorts rather than long cycling clothing. I didn’t feel cold. I didn’t regret it. I prefer summer cycling clothes because it’s easier to put on and to take off. It’s also less hassle generally. I didn’t bother with suntan lotion because I expected to be in cloud the whole time. That assumption was correct.
Riding in the rain is no different to riding in the sun. In both situations if you ride beyond a certain intensity you’re going to be wet at the end of the ride. By riding the bike I didn’t come home, with shoes caked in mud as if I had walked.
There is a big difference in stopping distance between good weather and bad weather cycling, especially with old fashioned brakes. When you apply the brakes they’re not half as efficient as normal. They’re old. My bike needs a service. I tightened the brakes after writing the last line.
I got to a point where I could turn West and go towards Geneva or turn East to start heading home. I turned East to head home. Although the rain was light and I wasn’t getting soaked and cold I was getting wet. When I got home my socks were waterlogged but I felt quite dry, despite the wet legs, soaked socks and more. The rain fell gently enough for my body to warm it up, without feeling chilled. That’s perfect. That’s ideal.
When I got home I took a shower, not to warm up, and not because I felt cold. I took the shower to remove the mud and dirt that had collected on my legs. Riding in the rain might be pleasant in some respects but it isn’t clean. I put my cycling clothes to wash, to remove the accumulated mud splatters and I changed socks, as the others had become soaked. The reflex. to wear a rain coat is not always justified. In this scenario I’d wear lighter socks, that absorb less moisture.
Yesterday I went for a bike ride and I was head towards Gland via Genolier but changed the route due to a dog walker when I wanted to turn East. I turned West instead and noticed some people and flags by Crassier. I thought “Was there an accident” as I also saw a police car. Eventually, as I saw more and more people standing by the side of the road I understood that it was for the Tour De Romandie. At the 25km from Geneva marker I took a picture of the sign.
The sensation of cycling along a cycle race route ahead of the race riders is interesting. You have a crowd. The place where I usually see crowds when I am cycling is Zwift, so my frame of reference for yesterday’s experience was Zwift. Silly, isn’t it? That’s where I have the crowds. I even had one or two people cheer me on as I rode. The riders were at least half an hour behind me, maybe more. Their average speed was 42km per hour, compared to my 22.6 kilometres per hour.
In the last year Romain Bardet, a professional cyclist, rode 9,141 kilometres compared to my 228 kilometres per hour. If they ride at twice my speed it’s because they ride an enormous amount. If a car was used that much you’d think people need to take a break from it. Cycling is a sport where professionals cover huge distances on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
If I want to compare myself I should compare myself to through hikers. I walk what they walk, but in a different context, and year round, rather than in three to six month bursts.
You know when the Tour De Romandie and other events are close by because you see the helicopters. You have one flying higher above the cycling race, and the second flying lower down, to get the aerial shots as the cyclists make their way across the landscape. It’s when I was near Founex that I could see the helicopters flying low and slow, to cover the cycling race.
My usual loop is around 30 kilometres but for the last two bike rides I have extended them, to reach 50-60 kilometres respectively. I cover this distance in about two, to two and a half, hours. Cycling is good at the moment because plenty of people are on holidays so the roads feel safer as there are fewer commuters on the roads.
On both of these trips I ended up in Geneva. The first time I came from the lake side and cycled upwards by the UN buildings. on Via Appia etc before heading back towards Vaud. The second time I did the opposite. I cycled via the top, but through agricultural roads to avoid being exposed to cars, although I was exposed to dogs and walkers. Luckily I could take alternate routes to avoid dogs and walkers.
On the topic of walkers, why is it that when I walk alone I am at the side of the road taking 50cm of space and yet couples take the entire width of the road? At one point I went through the mud and grass to avoid having to wait for people to clear the road. Specifically, why, if people are walking across the entire width of a secondary road, aren’t they constantly looking back to see if bikes or cars are coming?
Cycling by the airport is now a mess. Before when you cycled by the airport you could go by the runway for a bit, before cycling by Arena etc, before continuing on. Now they have removed that cycle path, or at least downgraded it, encouraging people to cycle along narrow pedestrian bridges, with little to no indication of which route to take. It’s paradoxical that as you hit Geneva, you lose track of where to cycle.
In one case I continued going straight and ended up with a staircase in front of me. If I was on another bike I might have descended it but not on a road bike. I turned around and had to go back up.
There is one part where you are on a narrow high pavement. It’s impossible to avoid another bike safely. They spend millions on re-routing roads, without thinking about providing proper cycling routes. It felt safer before than it does at the moment.
I cycled down by the Intercontinental, Place Des Nations, then right at UNHCR before going through the tunnel towards the Palais Wilson, before crossing the road and heading back towards Nyon.
Perle du Lac is another mess, for cyclists, because cycling routes are not clearly marked so you don’t know if you’re on a pedestrian only path, or combined. They say “cyclists, slow down”. I would prefer a clear route being indicated for cyclists to take to get from around the Palais Wilson to the World Trade Organisation, before heading along the lake. Here too, you find chaos as you get to Bellevue. In Versoix cyclists and pedestrians share the same pavement, but even on a quiet day pedestrians take up the entire pavement so you’re forced to cycle on the road.
The road is limited to 30km/h and I cycle at that speed so theoretically I’m fine, but cars still overtake. I eventually went on the cycle path.
Cycling is a pleasure, when we don’t feel that our lives are in danger. The last two rides have been good because the roads have been quieter from cars, than usual. The result is a more pleasant cycling experience. People make a fuss about more trains, buses, and so on but the solution is simpler. Make every village and town pedestrian friendly. Make it safe to walk between villages, without having to walk on the road.
I use the car for recycling, and shopping, and little else. We don’t need need to use cars daily, especially if we make it safe for pedestrians and cyclists to walk around without the big cage around them. The “big cage” is, of course, a car.
My fingers went numb with cold during today’s bike ride. I saw that there was a chance of rain but I went anyway. I went for a simple reason. Some people in an apartment next door were banging on walls, and the noise is unpleasant. The noise is so unpleasant that the idea of cycling in the cold rain was more appealing than listening to that noise.
When I started the ride I wore my rain clothes. I also wore gloves. I wish I had at least one extra glove layer to protect me further. I think the mixture of rain and cold got through the gloves to my fingers. For the entire ride I questioned whether to turn back and give up on the day’s ride. I didn’t. I toughed it out.
I rode up towards Gingins along the farm roads, before going across towards La Rippe. I didn’t go to La Rippe because of the downhill from La Rippe to Crassier. On a rainy day and with the brakes I have I prefer not to run that risk. The brakes were less responsive than usual. From Crassier I went across the Voie Verte to Divonne, and from Divonne down towards Mies, and from there back towards Nyon.
You know how Cousteau always wore his trademark red hat. I feel the need to do the same, but with another hat. I got chilled during my bike ride and now I need to eat a good lunch, and let my body warm up again. This ride has chilled my core.
Yesterday it was raining too, so I tested to see whether my devices worked with Zwift. They do. I rode for about 20-30 minutes before stopping and deciding to go for a proper walk, despite the risk of rain. The desire to go outdoors is strong. Even on rainy days I want to go outdoors. For once I rode in the rain.
For one hundred and fifty six days I walked 10 thousand steps or more, before I broke my streak by going for two bike rides. The first one was a twenty five kilometre loop. The second was a more ambitious 51km loop. I ended up in Geneva, by the Palais Des Nations. This had not been my goal. I just felt good so I kept going.
Recently i have seen a few articles that discuss that the 10,000 steps myth was created because that was the name of a step counter, designed by a Japanese company. It stuck around for a few decades. Recent research shows that the health benefits of steps stabilise after 8000 steps. The research found that from 8000 steps per day onwards the health benefits of walking flatten off and it becomes surplus to requirement. This doesn’t mean that you don’t get fitter. They mean that after 8000 steps in a day life expectancy remains the same.
The conditions for cycling were good yesterday because there were no commuters in a rush, and ignoring the safety of cyclists. It was also good because the temperature was low enough not to get too warm, but warm enough not to get cold. These are good cycling conditions at the moment.
I cycled 52 kilometres at an average speed of 23.2 kilometres per hour over 2hr14. It took me about one hour to get towards Palexpo etc. This is relevant because people speak about how public transport should be improved, and how people should take public transport. I think that cycling routes should be improved instead. If cycling routes are made safer for cyclists then instead of taking an hour to take a train into Geneva from Nyon you could cycle. Instead of commuting for an hour passively, you could commute on a bike. This is an easy distance to cycle.
We should think about replacing the car, for short journeys, and even for commuting. The bike ride tired me, but because it’s the first time I do such a distance in many months. By the end of summer this will be an easy ride.
I have been writing blog posts every single day for one hundred and fourty five days and rather than feel more inspired, and get a big audience, I am writing for an audience of one. Some days I am filled with inspiration and I write the blog post in twenty minutes or less. Other days it takes me an hour or two. It’s hard to write every day because some days are interesting, so there is something to talk about, and other days are dull.
I spend more time blogging because it’s a chance to look inwards, and outwards. it is an opportunity to spend time thinking and formulating ideas. It does count as mindfulness but only if we use the Day One app on the iPhone. On the laptop it doesn’t count. This should be fixed.
Twitter and Substack are in the news at the moment because they’re arguing. Substack is bringing out a “Notes” product, to fill the microblogging niche, and Musk is not happy, but Musk had Revue, before he terminated the project, so he’s arguing for nothing. Rather than excel at what it does Twitter is sliding backwards. Substack has 34 million users, and Twitter has 130 million if you look at who follows Musk, and 240 million if you look at other figures. Twitter could easily be overtaken. Twitter probably will be overtaken, as it has gone from being a source for collaboration and inspiration, to a place for bickering.
Yesterday I posted a few tweets. Not a single reply. Twitter is now a ghost network. Those that would converse with me have left, so Twitter is losing its “stickiness”. It is losing users.
I put the bike in the car yesterday. It fits easily and this is great. It opens up the regions around which I can cycle, without having to cycle along some of the busier roads. I could drive to Palais and try to do some riding there, as I have been wanting to do for years. I can go to the top of the Jura and range around there. It provides me with more flexibility for more adventures.
The Swiss travel an average of 30 kilometres per day in their cars, according to a new survey shared by the Radio Television Suisse.
I walk 14 to twenty kilometres per day, and if I go for a bike ride I travel 30 kilometres. I use the car twice a week, for food shopping and that’s mainly because of the 15 minute rule for refrigerated food, rather than laziness. During the pandemic I would do food shopping with the car but pick up the drinks by going for a walk. It’s a one hour trip to the shops and back for me.
My single biggest frustration with walking as I do in Switzerland is the network of roads that lead from everywhere to everywhere, with no pedestrian paths for walkers or cyclists. Some villages and streets are designed for cars, with no pedestrian option. No pavement, no cycle path. No limit to 20 km/h. It’s assumed that people will use the car, rather than walk. This is astounding.
When I drive I show respect for walkers and cyclists. I slow down to pass them, on narrow roads, and on wide roads I go to the opposite side of the road to pass cyclists and walkers. To reduce the need for cars people need to be able to get from their homes to walks and cycling lanes, without risking dangerous drivers. For five years I have walked more than driven. For five years I have seen how cars behave with. pedestrians and cyclists. For five years the toxic behaviour has encouraged me to drive with humanity, but also to desire a switch away from cars. We should not automatically get into a car to do things. We should automatically get our walking shoes on, or get on our bikes.
“Il y a un énorme travail à faire. C’est une question d’horaire, pour qu’on puisse se déplacer le soir et le week-end dans les heures creuses. C’est aussi une question de destinations: il faut que les transports publics soient facilités à destination des régions touristiques”
In brief, Vincent Kaufman says that public transport needs to be spread across the day, not just at peak times, but also that transport needs to be later in the evening, when people who want to go out socialising need to have transport. That’s what I have said for years, or even decades. We see how London makes it easy to get around even at night, whether with tubes until midnight or later, now, or night buses.
In the video interview he also speaks about how the Swiss transport network is geared towards commuters rather than pleasure seekers. I find this both paradoxical and ironic, since so many adverts encourage people to take public transport. Having said that, transport is to the tourist traps, rather than areas of unique and outstanding beauty, which is why I suffered so much, without a car one summer, and without the ability to drive a second summer. That’s why I pivoted to local walks and bike rides.
If there is an alternative to the car people will use it. If the alternative to cars is cheaper, then people will use it. I have happily explored every walk and bike route from Geneva, and even Yvoire to the West, and Lausanne to the East. I think that I know almost every road, via biking. For walking I think I know most paths within a two hour walking range of my current home. I used to go to the mountains every weekend, like described in the article, but with the pandemic, job insecurity, a broken arm and a summer without the car I have learned to walk and cycle.
My two frustrations are, first, that dog walkers don’t keep their dogs on leashes, so at least six times I have been attacked by dogs. People love to say “If you’re not afraid of a dog then it won’t attack”, that’s great, but then I am being attacked, precisely because I am scared, which is why I am scared in the first place. A few days ago I thought that my fear of being bitten would be realised but I had the right response. Principally I froze.
The second frustration is that cars do not respect cyclists and pedestrians. Every single day cars drive too fast by me. When I drive by people I either give them space, if there is space, or I overtake pedestrians at slightly more than walking pace.
And finally
I went from using the car seven days a week, for almost anything, to using the car just twice a week, and only because I need it for shopping. I have gone from driving one or two hundred kilometres a weekend, and 50-60km a day, to zero. I am the change they want to see.
I like cycling, hiking and climbing rather than running but I read an article that makes me think that cycling and running are incompatible. In one sport the leg becomes a spring and as you run it becomes fine tuned to reflect the energy back into forward motion whereas in cycling torque is key.
Why Do Cyclists Have Bigger Legs explores the physiological difference between running and cycling. Specifically a runner wants muscles that are springy and provice forward motion whereas as cyclist wants to provide torque and downwards force to propel the bike forwards. Apparently trail running and cycling are better friends because both require more strength and power to “raise” the body.
“Any cyclist who has ever tried running will know, those first few runs can lead to quite a bit of discomfort in the Achilles tendon and lower gastrocnemius (calf) muscle.” As I type this blog post I can feel that pain in my achilles tendons. I can feel when I’m running, compared to cycling and that’s why I try to increase the distance I run gradually. I know that my heart can cope with running, but I don’t want to strain my tendons, ligaments and joints too much. I don’t want to end up injuring myself.
The article explores the need to generate a lot more force in cycling than in running. This is especially true when climbing steep gradients. When you’re on a steep gradient you need to be able to press down with a lot of force, for extended periods of time to get to the top so it makes sense not just to have good cardio health but also the muscle strength to follow.
This shows that although cycling feels like a cardio sport it isalso about building the right leg muscles to cope with the demands of the sport. I often trained my upper body for climbing when I went to the gym but I didn’t train it for cycling. For cycling I used Zwift so I didn’t notice whether my legs changed in shape or volume.
I read this out of curiousity and interest.
In Spain I keep seeing the BKL Prolimp bikes and I like them. They’re tricycles rather than bikes but I think they could be useful. Instead of transporting a broadcast camera and tripod in a car or smart you could transport them on the back of this bike. Instead of a bin bag though I would have the tripod bag and find a way to fix the camera as well.
I don’t like the price. These bikes are 3300 euros according to at least one site. I like these as a curiousity. It’s nice to have transport like this for cleaning, rather than a pickup truck or small car. You’re outdoors, riding a bike over small distances.
I saw a helmet being used as a parking brake so I don’t know whether these bikes come with a parking brake or whether they have to be improvised.
I know this post is random. I am lacking inspiration.