Anything but cancellation of an Event

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Months ago I was hiking every weekend. Months ago I was living a life of hikes. I was hiking 21-23km per day and climbing 1200 meters per hike. Then I decided to try cycling groups, and since then I haven’t looked back. I really enjoy going for bike rides with groups. I like feeling safer than on a solo ride and I like chatting with people.

Before I met this group I saw the Moléson Via Ferrata Illuminée advertised and I organised the event in good optics. I expected that I would do via ferrata with people. In fact I don’t think I did. It’s a sport that I used to love, but that’s when I felt that the group was tight knit and empathetic. It’s because of feeling excluded that I went looking for other groups a year ago.

Weeks of Doubt

For weeks I have been trying to find a way to cancel the event or at least remove my participation without preventing the rest of the group from enjoying the experience. I asked for help with this, and last night the event was hard cancelled, rather than soft.

Soft Cancellation

For me a soft cancellation would have been to tell the group "There are rescuers at regular intervals and the crowd is so large that even if you climb "alone" you will be with people. I would quite happily participate solo.

I feel bad for the hard cancellation, but I did ask someone with access to a whatsapp community to see if anyone else wanted to take on the responsibility.

Empathy

I know how important an event can be, especiallly when dealing with solitude. That’s why I couldn’t cancel the event. That’s why I would have kept the event, but told the participants to meet each other without a "leader" for the group. In regards to via ferrata this is one of the safest situations you can be in. There are teams, ready for rescue, right there, waiting in case they are needed.

Decided too Early to Commit

It was a mistake, in May, for me to plan something in August. It wasn’t a mistake for me to pull out of this event. I don’t know whether it’s because the sun is back, or because the pressure is gone but I feel better.

A Former Passion

Years ago I wanted to do this VF at night several times, without getting the opportunity. Last year I did get the opportunity but from what I remember it was tiring and it was long. It’s tiring because you start as the sun is setting. It’s tiring because three hundred people are climbing within a short space of time so it is slow.

It’s tiring because you finish around midnight or one am and then you need to drive home.

My Heart Wasn’t in It

If I had done this VF it would have been for the opportunity to meet new people, rather than from a desire to do the VF. I would have done this VF with the wrong optic. I would easily have been disappointed.

Easy Route

Last year when I did the VF Illuminée I did the easy route, and in the end it wasn’t as sociable as it could have been. The paradox of VFs is that if you’re in the wrong part of the group it’s a solo activity.

And Finally

On Saturday I can try a cycling climb I haven’t tried yet. I have cycled by the start a number of times but I have not yet cycled up the Jura at this point. It is an 80km loop with 1600m of climbing. I expect it to be quite tiring. I hope not to be the slowest by too big a margin.

It’s not that I would not have done the VF by night, if I had no other plans. It’s that because of other plans that I was more interested in, the VF ended up as a secondary rather than a primary, plan.

By ending early, rather than late on Saturday I also have Sunday free for a group hike.