Cyclist Sightings

Cyclist Sightings

Byrichard

Yesterday I went for a walk, during which I listened to two podcasts via AudioBookShelf, but that’s not the point of this post. The point of this post is that the seasons have changed. The snow has melted and there was a brief interlude in rain so plenty of people went out for bike rides. So many in fact that I seemed to be one of only two or three people on foot.

This makes me happy. I like crossing people on bikes because they usually don’t have big dogs, and they pass by within seconds rather than longer. They also tend not to take up the entire width of the road.

For some reason when couples walk they take the entire width of the road, as do families, and other groups. They’re not morbidly obese. they’re average. They could take as little space as cyclists and I do.

I should be cycling too but my bike lives half an hour from where I live at the moment, by car. It lives there because that’s where I went for bike rides several times and I felt that by transporting my bike, back and forth, in the car, I was damaging it, so I left it there. I never repatriated it because winter was coming so it made little sense. Now that summer is back it could make sense to repatriate it.

In reality I should prepare it for Spain. I should dismantle it, and take it to Spain, for a Spring service, before coming back to Switzerland, and use it, freshly serviced.

The difference in service price between Spain and Switzerland is 70 euros compared to 300 CHF. I could also take advantage of the slightly better weather in Spain to go for bike rides.

I have a few days to decide.

Autumn is Coming

Autumn is Coming

Byrichard

Autumn, not winter, is coming. A week or two ago I noticed that a tree was changing from Green to red, as the leaves began to turn from Spring and Summer mode to Autumn and Winter mode. I noticed that the trees as you enter and leave Cheserex are also beginning to turn read.

Changing Trees

As if that wasn’t enough the leaves are also turning on the Jura. It is turning from green to orange, and red, and one or two other colours I didn’t pay attention to. As I cycled from around Haute-Morges to Pampigny I noticed that, there too, the leaves were turning. Not only were they turning but they were falling from the trees. The season of death is returning.

Leaves Are Turning Too Early

Last year, as well as this year, the leaves are changing too soon. They’re changing before they’re meant to, due to the drought. Some trees drop their leaves in anticipation of hardship but others drop them as a result of hardship, so when we see leaves drop their leaves so soon, we know that they are under duress due to the changing climate and weather systems. Now would be a good time to walk by forests, to observe the change, and fly drones, to get an aerial view.

Mud and Dogs

Now that the air temperature has dropped the scary dogs are back on their walks. So is the mud. I loved walking during the heatwave because I was often the only person walking. Dog owners couldn’t walk, because dogs would get heat stroke, and normal people didn’t walk, because they would get heat stroke. I could enjoy my walks in the peace and quiet.

Now that the temperatures have dropped, so dog walkers have resumed their walks. Now I can either overcome my fear of dogs on every single walk, or I could get a gym membership and stay indoors and work on recovering the strenght I have lost over the last five years.

I have a deep hatred for dog walkers. A few days ago I came across someone walking a bunch of dogs and I went down the gap between two fields, rather than walk by dogs. The problem, with fearing dogs, is that dogs know, and want to attack. At the start of summer I was charged, and it traumatised me for two or three weeks. It didn’t bite, but I was convinced that it would bite me. I froze, and luckily it changed its mind.

The damage is done. I already had a fear of dogs. That experience cemented it. This morning I retrieved the walking sticks from the car. I’m considering walking with them as shields, in case of such an encounter over the next few months, when the weather is cold enough for dogs to terrify those of us who are afraid of dogs.

Apathetic Dog Walkers

The issue is that dog walkers are apathetic towards people who fear their pets. They have leashes that are ten metres long, or the dogs are unleashed. If you’re afraid of dogs you’re trapped. Either you overcome your fear or you walk along roads where dog walkers will not walk, with their beloved terrors.

If dog walkers recognised that we are afraid of dogs, and got them under control, then I would feel happier walking by dogs. When I was attacked, the woman just watched. She did nothing to control the dog, until it was charging. If I had run it would have mauled me. If I had not been afraid it would have done nothing. If the owner had controlled the dog I would not have been filled with fear, that was justified, in the end.

Lost Freedom

Now that dog walkers are out in force I will revert to my walks along roads, where dog walkers keep their dogs under close supervision.

Indoor Training or Cycling

Two options do exist. Indoor training, and cycling. The advantage of cycling is that it’s cheap but the bike will get dirty and I will get cold.

The other option is to go to an indoor gym for the first time in years, and resume indoor training. If I went into a gym I would wear a mask. I like the idea of going to an indoor gym but I would wear a mask. Autumn is just arriving, so I have time to consider the situation.

And Finally

Two days ago I walked an extra four kilometres to avoid dog walkers. Instead of walking an 8km loop I walked 12km. I saw a car, with a dog cage, so rather than walk, and be subjected to my fear of dogs, I enjoyed a longer walk, along paths that I walked along for years, years ago.

The Sound of Bells and the Smell of Colza

The Sound of Bells and the Smell of Colza

Byrichard

What do you hear and smell when you go for a walk in Vaud at this time of year? You hear the sound of cowbells and you hear the sound of cows mooing. I like the sound of cow bells


https://youtu.be/63O0JqNuo2Q


A few days ago I could hear mooing from a distance. As I looked across, at an old train station, now used as a house or office I could hear mooing so I crossed the train lines to see where the cows were. They were mooing incessantly. Usually they’re quiet but not this time. 


https://youtu.be/waCF-U4VXGk


Weeks ago we walked by a plant but we couldn’t recognise it. Within the last two weeks the plants flowered and so we could see that they were cola. Colza are funny plants because they’re so different at every stage. At first they’re just leaves, then they’re taller plants with leaves, and then they turn yellow, and after that they’re yellow and they smell strong. After that it rains and they lose all the petals and they look strange. Eventually they’re harvested. It’s a plant that goes through several transformations. Now you have fields of yellow.


Geographically I am walking in circles but because I walk around in circles where there are crops every walk is different, from week to week and month to month. Recently Garmin Connect added expeditions so I am walking the Appalachian Trail virtually. So far I have covered 423 kilometres of 3500. I’m twelve percent of the way there. 


I prefer the Pacer app and how it shows long hikes. I am currently doing the Don Quixote trail and every 35km or so I reach another waypoint, so I get a real sense of distance travelled, rather than an abstract notion of it. 


I’m walking through Toledo now, after walking from Alcala de Henares to Madrid and from there to Esquivias before reaching Toledo. I have plenty more cities to cross. That makes the journey interesting. 


And Finally


If it wasn’t for cars that drive too fast, and too close to people on foot and on bikes, the walks I do would be great. There is plenty to see and plenty changes from month to month and season to season. I walk on a segment of the Jura Trail and part of the Camino De Santiago route. Where I walk is not lunacy. It’s part of three or four big hiking systems. If cars were more respectful of pedestrians, and if paths were made into the soil, then walking would be more pleasant. 


Between some villages paths that were just grass have been worn away to being short grass, to being dirt paths because of the volume of people walking. If walking was made more pleasant, between villages, then the walks I do would not be lunacy, they would be fun. 

A Walk at the Snow Line

A Walk at the Snow Line

Byrichard

The most striking thing about a winter with little to no snow is that there is no noise. Normally ski lifts clank, people talk and there is a lot of noise



When there has been very little snow the ski lifts are turned off and the mountains are quiet. This is when you realise the impact of winter sports.


In summer you hear cowbells.

Nyon In Spring

Nyon In Spring

Byrichard

Due to the pandemic I almost never go to Nyon. If I do I often wear a mask and avoid walking around too much. Most people think the pandemic is over. I see, from the data, that it is not, and I want to stay true to previous ethics and morality.


Flowers in spring on the slope behind the Musée du Léman
Flowers in spring on the slope behind the Musée du Léman


Flowers in spring on the slope behind the Musée du Léman
Flowers in spring on the slope behind the Musée du Léman


Magnolia buds in Nyon, by the lake
Magnolia buds in Nyon, by the lake


I am happier walking in the countryside where there are fewer people, and where it is easy to avoid them. I have no problem wearing a mask, but others do not approve of mask wearing, so I prefer to be a lunatic in the countryside, than in town. I also feel better, emotionally, when I am not reminded that others are living normally despite the pandemic.


On a related note I reached 24,000 steps today. I walked six kilometres in Nyon, this morning, before going for a lunch time run, and finally an afternoon walk. During the afternoon walk I counted 24 people walking along a small stretch of rural road. That’s a lot of people. That’s why I avoid that stretch of road. I prefer empty roads. I prefer solitary walks.


The lake too is exceptionally clear but I don’t dive at the moment, so I won’t take advantage of the excellent visibility. Maybe in the near future I will resume diving. I may start again, when I find job security, and a good group of people to dive with, given the fragility of safety when diving.

A Snowy Day

A Snowy Day

Byrichard

Yesterday we had a snowy day. I saw that the snow was beginning to pile up so I went and cleared the snow for fun. I could have left it as it was but I saw an opportunity to have some weight training, for free.


I regret that I didn’t set a fitness tracker to track the snow shovelling as weight training. It took a while and I got at least 2500 steps out of it, but as I wasn’t counting this as a workout the calories burned was counted differently. If I clear snow again I will track it properly.


What surprised me about shovelling snow yesterday is that I broke a sweat but I didn’t feel that I had pushed that hard. It’s nice to be fit enough to get a workout without suffering.


I did this for fun, but I still claimed the action. I do it for fun, but I don’t want someone else to be able to claim work that they didn’t do. I don’t want people getting free credit.


Winter Vines with the Jura behind them
Winter Vines with the Jura behind them


A Quick Walk


I went for a 6.6 kilometre walk afterwards. The light was good. Dark clouds with highlighted hills and trees covered in snow. At least today’s walk was atmospheric. Normally on such a walk I would wear at least one thick, warm layer but I didn’t bother. I think I had enough residual heat left over from the shovelling not to get cold. Luckily this assumption was correct.


And Finally


I haven’t used Twitter for at least two days. I took a break from the site because I don’t like the new owner and what he is turning the platform into but also because it started to feel toxic, rather than enjoyable. Twitter is meant to be a “social” network but how can it be social when we need to make our accounts private to avoid trolls, and tweet anonymously to avoid future problems.


There is an upside. Twitter revenue went down 40% on the same day, from one year to the next with over 500 advertisers suspending spending. Twitter blocked third party apps to control revenue. Tweetbot and twitterific were blocked, if I remember correctly.


Such actions won’t enrich Musk. They will simply encourage people not to trust Twitter, as it behaves erratically. To be of value social networks need to be pleasant and trustworthy. It is neither.


Catkins in January

Catkins in January

Byrichard

Until today I didn’t know what catkins were because I never looked them up. “A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals…” according to Wikipedia. They are out at the moment and I know this is unusual because a few days ago I saw an article about how it was unusual to have pollen warnings at this time of year.


The Swiss weather app shows that there is a lot of pollen. It’s quite funny because if you look at the map of snow and the map of pollen you see that where there is snow there is no pollen, or at least that was the case. With wind movements this situation could have changed. Winter is mild. Pollen is early. Plants are adapting to the changing climate by pollinating out of season.