The GBD-800 Continued is a step counting Casio with two serious flaws. The first of these flaws is that although the GPS from the phone can be used to map walks and other activities it has to be activated at the start of a walk and deactivated at the end of the walk. If you do not deactivate the GPS it will track the drive to and from the start of the walk, to the end of the walk. This isn’t ideal unless you’re on a multi-day hike.
The second flaw, and this is a real shame is that the watch does count every single step you take, and possibly more, but it doesn’t offload the data anywhere. It doesn’t connect to Google Fit, Apple Health or any other app. It will track your daily steps per day, and if you just want them on your watch and your phone then the watch is fine.
What frustrates me, after playing with the GBD-200 though, is that whereas the data from the GBD-200 is exported to G-Shock Move the G-shock connected app only allows you to export step information as an image with a map and a step count. There is no way to automatically get the data out of the app for use with other apps. With the GBD-200 and Move app you can transfer to Apple Health, Strava and Google fit.
I like the look and feel of this watch and I like to wear it but I still want my steps to be counted. For years now I have logged millions of steps so I don’t want to lose that data moving from device to device, unless that device sends the step number to another app. Out of pandemic I would not have any interest in step counts because I would be doing different activities with people, so I’d care about the activities, and people. As we’re in a pandemic I need different distractions. This is mine.
And Finally
When I bought the Garmin Instinct it cost 298 CHF. When I bought the Spartan it cost 473 CHF. The most expensive was the Apple watch Series 4 for 479 CHF. If Suunto had stuck to their own OS I would never have been curious about other brands and I would not flit from device to device once every two or three years. I would still be with a single brand. If we find a good cheap Casio alternative then we have a watch that lasts for years on a single battery, at a third to a quarter of the price. I see that as a win.
The Microlino is made by the same people that made the trottinette that I loved getting around with when I was unable to drive for a month due to overtaking a slow moving vehicle where I had plenty of visibility.
The beauty of the Microlino is that it’s a small light weight car, where you get in from the front of the car, rather than the sides. The other nice thing about the Microlino is that it has a roof that opens. You can stargaze with your lover, if you have one, or enjoy the fresh air in the warmer months.
The two things I noticed immediately is that the steering feels heavy, but also that the brakes feel sluggish. In the case of the steering weight you forget about it within seconds. This is very easy to get used to. What does get some getting used to is the braking. It feels slower and more sluggish than with other cars so I felt the need to start braking sooner. I did find that I always stopped where I wanted to. I think this is the effect of driving modern cars where braking is really aggressive. This car is gentle. I could think of a better term, I’m sure.
The boot is large enough for your week’s shopping, but too small for a bike. the volume is good, so you can transport things for hikes that are within driving range of the car.
Getting in and out of the car is fun. It is also fun that you have to move the “love seat” as I’ll call it, forwards and backwards, to suit your arm and leg lenghths, to drive, and press the pedals comfortably.
I call it a love seat because it’s a bench and there is nothing to separate the driver from the passenger, hence why it could be called a love seat. It’s a car that encourages a more intimate driving experience than most. At the start of a day of hiking this would be nice, but at the end of a day of hiking this might be sub-optimal.
I personally really like this, car, especially now, in the pandemic era. Now that I don’t drive long distances to do various sports I don’t need a petrol car with a long range. I need something to get me to the recycling centre, and to go shopping. The adventure side of life was killed when people decided to live with COVID, rather than eradicate it.
I like this car because it’s unique, because it’s eccentric, and because it has character. Most cars are dull and boring. This one attracts people’s gaze, without being a friend of carbon dioxide and global warming. It’s electric, so you never have to go to a petrol station again.
In Switzerland you grow up walking on mountain paths that are narrow and steep. One one side you have the mountain and on the other you have a steep slope. I remember having a fear of mountain trails once or twice in the German part of Switzerland. I think it was in Kandersteg. You walk along a path high above a lake. If you fall and slip in the grass then you may be unable to stop. You could fall off the cliff. Fear or concern are normal in such circumstances.
A week ago we went climbing as a group of friends in the Jura near Vallorbe. One person was scared. I was not there to witness this person’s fear but a year ago I did accompany someone who was afraid. I slowed down to that person’s speed and provided a hand when needed. I also provided moral support. These trails are an integral part of Via Ferrata. When I was still a child I did slide on the way up to La Dole but stopped within metres of where I fell. I climbed back up with no problem. Ironically last week someone did slip when we were walking back at night. He did not slide far. Luckily the person who was afraid missed this incident.
If you want to do the Via Ferrata du Rocher de Naye you walk on narrow trails with a steep drop on one side. Experience keeps us sure-footed. Experience tells us that if we do slip or fall we can recover. We know how to avoid slipping and falling in the first place.
The reality of the mountains is that we do hear of people slipping and sliding to their deaths when hiking in the mountains. In summer the stories of people killed by avalanches are replaced by the stories of older hikers sliding to their deaths. The dangers and threat are real and it is for this reason that experienced hikers need to help less experienced hikers. We need to keep those we are with both safe and comfortable. If they are uncomfortable we must turn around and find a more appropriate route.
When you complete the Rocher de Naye Via Ferrata you can either go down with the train or you can hike down via this route. This route takes you via a scree field where rocks are loose. You could slip and slide or you could loosen rocks that hit people below you.
Either you can walk up to the Tour D’aï or you can enjoy the Via Ferrata. If you enjoy the via ferrata you must keep in mind that you are walking down an alpine trail to get back. These are marked by the blue and white trail markers. There is a sheer drop to the side of this trail. Wearing the right shoes and being sure-footed is key. The landscape is beautiful from this vantage point but experience is key to staying safe.
I am getting back into running at the moment. I have run several times recently, irregularly enough not to feel pain in my knees or other articulations so this is a good sign. The advantage of running, over other sports, is that it’s easy to catch a bus, car, train, parapente or other form of transport and start running. The second advantage is that it is twice as fast as walking.
Six or seven years ago I ran regularly. I kept pushing until I reached over 10 kilometres in a run but I had to stop because I got pain in my legs that was so bad I sometimes questioned how I would get back. It’s not that I couldn’t run faster, or further, but that I didn’t reach training plateaus, and then improve speed and stamina. If I achieved A I went for B, and from B to C, without ever giving my body time to strengthen and adapt. That’s why I ended up injured, and why I paid the price for several years.
This time I sometimes ran only until the first feeling of pain and stopped. By doing this a few times I allowed my body time to be pushed right next to the limit, without overdoing it. As a result of this more gentle and understanding training regime I got back to running for seven minutes, and walking for three minutes, without feeling any pain.
The next workout will be seven kilometres of running and one minute of walking three times. I could try tomorrow, or Saturday. I think it’s better to do this workout on Sunday. This gives my body time to adapt to running, and recover. I want it to recover. I don’t want my progress to be blocked because I was too greedy to allow my body time to adapt.
Running is a good winter time sport because you can do it in the mud, on the side of roads, through fields or in other locations. You can also dress quite normally, compared to cycling and other sports. It is also flexible gradient wise, unlike rollerblading, where you need to learn to stop on steep descents in a landscape like this one.
And Finally
My goal is to run five kilometres, first, and then to keep running five kilometres, but faster, without pushing myself beyond a threshold. Eventually I may run further but I think I would run the routes that I usually walk. When the cycling season comes back I should be able to resume cycling in good shape.
There are currently two societies. On one side we have those who believe what they are told and take everything at face value. On the other side we have those that look at the bigger picture, that follow international news, and look at the big picture.
The society that believes what they are told without asking questions believes that the pandemic is over and that life is back to normal. They believe that there is no longer a need for masks, and that big events with plenty of people are without danger once again. Paradoxically the behaviour of the virus will give these people their moneys’ worth because it will not make them sick instantly. There is always a nice calm, before a wave of new infections. People will have normal lives of insouciance for a while. Eventually though, by mid September or later a new pandemic wave will hit and those that danced with the sirens will fall victim to their songs.
On the other side you have those that are looking at the big picture, that are seeing in international news that the pandemic doesn’t just end, by some miracle. We see that China and New Zealand make a massive effort to keep the pandemic under control. Shanghai went into full lockdown. Beijing is currently busy testing everyone, to see whether there is a problem, and if there is they are willing to react instantly.
In South Africa we see another wave, similar to the one from last year, but with reports of “The death rates may have been under-reported last year. The aim of this blog post is not to document every article and idea I saw, but rather to give a global view of what I remember to provide people with some context.
Every summer the number of sick drops down, so every summer in Europe would be the ideal time to work towards Covid zero, but people never do. This means that for year after year we live in pandemic insecurity, knowing that spending time indoors, with too big a group, will result in a mass-spreader event.
You may think “But you’re an idiot to worry so much, it’s just a little virus, plenty of people are fine.” and you’d be partially right. The problem is that there is a “what if?” element. When you’re hiking, climbing, diving or doing something dangerous you always ask “what if” and you assess whether the risk is too high to go ahead or not.
I was going to list all the organs that Covid could affect but instead I will simply refer to the tweets we see often that say “I went from training for my 11th marathon to struggling to shower” to “my resting heart rate is 120” to “my spouse died of Covid” to “my child is unable to attend school due to long covid”. The problem is serious enough for people with Long Covid to be dispensed from the GCSE exams. This is not nothing, and self isolation is for a valid reason.
Do I feel good or smart about isolating? Am I overfilled with joy? No, I feel like an idiot in certain circumstances. I feel sad that I don’t socialise at the moment. Is being this cautious worth it in the end? Of course the answer is no, until you fall sick with Long Covid, and you’re one year into your recovery, wishing you could finally be well enough to walk for 10 minutes without getting tired.
The emotional yoyo only goes up when I am reminded of the life I am not living. When I am in solitude I feel fine. When I study I feel fine. When I cycle and when I walk I feel fine, until I cross people not walking in solitude.
The table above shows how people have felt during this pandemic and what you see is that the young people have felt the worst about this pandemic but that for the first wave they were not happy but they seemed okay. I see this data and I believe that it shows that society could have coped with a prolonged soft lockdown to get to Zero Covid. With Zero Covid the second wave and the obligatory certificate would have been unnecessary.
It’s interesting to see how the 30-50 year olds joined together in mysery by December 2021.
Before I conclude this post I think that it’s worth looking at what New Zealand, Italy and Covid Zero countries are doing because they will suffer less from Long Covid, once the pandemic is over, twenty two years from now. I mention Italy because they have decided to keep masks at least until summer, if not longer. I would love for Switzerland and other countries to do the same. We are sleep walking into the next wave, but we are also missing yet another opportunity to get to Covid Zero.
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