A cloud with rainfall over the Jura

The Sigg Original and The Shield One – Thoughts

Byrichard
Reading Time: 2 minutes

A single coke will cost 4.50 in a bar. Water could even cost four francs per glass. When you go to the shops do you buy a few litres of Rivella or coke. Do you buy wine, vodka or other alcohols? If you do then you can easily spend thirty or more francs per week, on glasses that will leave you thirsty, drinks that will leave you hungover, and containers that will require you to consider a trip to the recycling centre.

Now imagine habituating yourself to drinking water. “But we already do, you’re the only one that doesn’t.” ;-).

I do drink water, but when I’m out hiking, cycling or doing other sports. I don’t usually drink water at home. I didn’t like the taste of the tap water. That has changed. Now I can drink several litres a day. With the Camelbak Eddy+ and Chute adapters I found that I was still curious about experimenting with the Nalgene bottle. I want it for water purification rather than daily use.

Shield One

For two days I used the Shield One. I like it. I thought that the mouth piece would be uncomfortable to drink from and I thought that the bottle felt heavy for the first two or three drinks. Now I find that the weight is fine and I like drinking from it. It is well designed and easy to drink from with a single hand. This is especially useful for when you’re doing something with your other hand, like hanging off a cliff, or driving a car.

Sigg Original

The Sigg original looks rough on the outside, until you touch it. The surface is smooth. I drank three litres from it today. My impression of it is good. The lid takes a little more time to open than other water bottles. It feels compact compared to the half litre traveller I have but it takes up more space.

And Finally

Switching to drinking water wasn’t difficult. I haven’t cut out the other drinks. I reduced my intake. It feels luxurious to drink water because it is unlimited. Simply open the tap. With Coke, Rivella and any other drinks you need to get them at the shops, carry them up, etc. With water the process is simple. It’s on tap.

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On Long Drives

On Long Drives

Byrichard

In Switzerland a three hour drive feels long, but in France or Spain it does not. I drove from Switzerland to Spain and from Spain to switzerland. The drive to Spain is easier because traffic gets lighter as you get further south. Most of the time this is true. This time, as I drove from Spain to Switzerland I came across the opposite. From the moment I started driving I encountered traffic.


The problem with traffic is that some people are driving above the speed limit, while others are driving below it. You have to decide whether you want to slow down behind the car that is blocking you, or go out, blocking the fast car behind you. I usually let my speed go, rather than risk a high speed rear collision, flashing lights and other unpleasant behaviour.


This time when I arrived at La Jonquera there were plenty of cars so I stayed in the car and skipped this refueling stop, to refuel at the next petrol station in price. The difference in price was big but I thought that saving time was more important than money. I wasn’t wrong.


At the first péage in France I lost 20 minutes, and then I had regular traffic jams until 20 minutes or so before Grenoble. From there traffic was easy, and I even began to find driving between Grenoble and France easier. I have driven that route regularly enough. It has become a relaxing part of the drive.


This was especially true, because of how quiet the road was compared to the rest of the journey. I drove from around 0910 or so to 2220, so a thirteen hour drive. Yesterday I was tired from the drive.


Horses grazing, with the alps behind
Horses grazing, with the alps behind


Recent Reading


I read two books during the drive. I listened to them with Audible. I listened to The Jewel That Was Ours by Colin Dexter and finished part two of three of The History Of the Ancient World. The Jewel That was Ours is a reasonable book, although I do not feel that it is ideal for road trips. It requires focus and attention, two things that driving in heavy traffic also require.


I think that listening to books where you can half listen are better suited to long drives. Big Mile Cycling by Sean Conway was a better choice for the drive down. I will see about finding similar books for my next long drive.


Recent Listens


Today I listened to two Le Cours De L’Histoire podcasts. One was about Cretinism and Iodine deficiency, and the other, which I still need to finish is about vertical exploration of the mountains. For a while I found that I had no interest in listening to podcasts but for once I felt ready. I try to find pandemic friendly content, that explores ideas, concepts and history, rather than self-pity. I don’t think self-pity is the right term, but something along those lines. I like to read and listen to things that distract me from pandemic solitude.


JavaScript


It has taken a while, and some effort but I finally feel that I am getting to understand JavaScript better, and that I am more confident with it. I am not rushing, but rather seeing the code, and re-writing it with my own terms, words and more. I am pushing the envelope slightly, to deepen my learning. Today I played with encoding letters to learn about functions. Tomorrow I will experiment with something else.


And Finally


Tomorrow I get my booster, so we will see how it affects me. I want to eat a raclette, to see whether my dreams are more interesting, afterwards. 🙂

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.

A forest walk by Chavannes Centre
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A forest walk by Chavannes Centre

Byrichard

When I cycle towards Geneva i often pass by a forest near Chavannes centre. Usually I only skirt the exterior of the forest but I have twice passed through it on a bike on my way back from Geneva. Yesterday I drove the scooter to Chavannes centre and parked it where scooters and bikes can be parked.


I walked from there towards the roads that are closed to traffic and at first i tried going downwards towards the motorway and found a path through the woods but it was blocked by a sign saying, forbidden entry, danger etc. I don’t know whether it was put there by children or whether it was serious so i turned around and went back up the road, towards the jura. I passed by a road but skipped that path. I then found a path cut through the forest overgrown with vegetation so I pushed through.


The path i walked down Tall grass, trees on either side
The path I walked down


I am curious about the origins of this path. It is wide enough for vehicles to go through but it is so overgrown that you need to go from one side of the path to the other. There are plenty of fallen branches, twigs and other things to watch out for. The other thing to pay attention to are the sounds.


I could hear cuckoos in at least two parts of this forest and I could also hear another exotic bird. I caught a glimpse of it but no more. Another sound that I heard was the sound of rustling before something large ran away from me. As I was barely into the forest i questioned whether to continue. I think it was a deer or doe.


So far this spring I have seen three deers or does, a hare and plenty of birds of prey. I’m obviously walking where people are not having conversations and scaring away the animals. It’s funny to hear rustling and see an animal run away.





As you can see from the GPS trace I could have walked twice as far. It would be interesting to see whether there are smaller trails that we can walk along. What I’m looking for are small trail paths that we can walk along, without driving too far. If you do the walk I mention then make sure to have jeans, as there are thorns and tall grasses at moments. Also be aware that some sections are waterlogged so you need to walk on the side of the path.


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Listen for the cuckoo.

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Get Up – A Book Encouraging Us to Stand and Move More.

Get Up – A Book Encouraging Us to Stand and Move More.

Byrichard

What do snails have to do with chairs, I wondered as I listened to a book speaking about our addiction to sitting and chairs. It turns out that snails and other animals are programmed to move, walk, slither or other in an individual way. He started, by discussing sleeping in class, and having chalk thrown at him. Movement is an integral part of our lives and apparently, and as we have seen, children move a lot more than adults.


I have barely started the book Get Up but I’m writing about it because I find it amusing. There is a typically British sense of humour in the book. It also feels like you’re reading a story, despite it being a factual book, It’s the type of book that you can enjoy relaxing to. Such books are entertaining to listen to. Style is important with audiobooks, because it makes the difference between books within a few days or a few months. Books should be pleasant to listen to.


I set myself the goal, this year, of reading 25 books. So far I have read 24 and I am on track to reaching my goal. The aim was to read an average of one book every two weeks. I see someone else who has read one hundred this year. Two books a week. I know, reading, and standing up are a strange combination, but due to audible and other services you can read, without sitting comfortably. In so doing you can read at moments, or in places that are not associated with reading. During a run for example, or while you’re cooking.


A few months ago I was contributing to a read and review project and I found it interesting until I found that I could simply use my audible subscription to get plenty of books, lending libraries, and specifically Kindle Unlimited. I didn’t mind reading books to give a review until I saw how much was being charged per book. At this point I thought this was far too much.


One reason for this is that I often got PDFs and PDFs are a pain to read because you have to log what page you’re at if you don’t want to lose your page. The second is that I had to do the work of contacting an author, getting them to send the book and then read it within a short time, losing the freedom to read what I wanted, when I wanted.


I would consider dumping Waze for the same reason. A game where you are encouraged to drive to earn points is not worth playing. I prefer for walking, running and other activities to be gameified.


An Outdoor Workout
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An Outdoor Workout

Byrichard

We are in the middle of a pandemic and governments see no urgent reason to end it by rational means like soft lockdowns. As a result of this we can pay 1100 CHF per year to go to an indoor gym, rebreathing the same air as other people, using the same machines, and the same washrooms or we can go for the cheaper 49 CHF per month option but run the same risk. I found Option three. Some Freetness machines were installed in Celigny by a children’s playground.


These are just the type of machines that I like to use when I am at the gym. They’re not as resistive as I would like. They require workouts using our own body weight. Today, to escape noise pollution I found the motivation to try the machines. At first I did three reps of ten before following their recommendation of 12 reps, 4 times. I could definitely feel the effort by the last machine.



It’s nice to have machines like this outdoors because they can be used at any time of day or night, as long as you’re quiet. The other nice thing, is that if you have your own disinfectant you can clean your hands and the machines, before and after you use them, as well as your hands. There is plenty of fresh air, because you’re outdoors. The sun, rain and morning dew should help to keep them clean too.


The two machines I didn’t really like are the eliptical machine and the rowing machine. The rowing machine only works the upper thigh muscles, not the entire core. The eliptical machine felt far too light for me so within two minutes I stopped.


If the body weight machines are not to your liking then you have the body weight lifting bars where you can work on lifting your entire body while hanging from some bars. I didn’t use them today, because I was blown from the other exercises. If you went every two to three days you would soon see some gains, and you do have variations of excercises, to keep it from becoming boring.


There is an app, but I haven’t looked at whether it allows you to track what you’re doing, or whether it is just video tutorials on how to use the machines properly. I can check that before my next session. I might throw this into my daily walk, rather than driving to it. I feel a double workout would be more advantageous. This workout takes 10-15 minutes for now. That is too short.


An Ingress Photo Walk Before The Rain
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An Ingress Photo Walk Before The Rain

Byrichard

Today I went for an Ingress Photo Walk before the rain and I eventually did have to go home because the phone was starting to get wet and there was no urgency to continue playing the game and walking.


I did spot a few things that were slightly out of the ordinary. The first thing was the mushroom beneath. I have spotted a few of these but this one did not have a bite taken out of it. They’re large and flat and you can see the corrugation, or whatever the correct term is, beneath. They have had enough moisture to grow over the last few days.


Mushroom with the Alps in the background
Mushroom with the Alps in the background


The next unusual site was this burned-out house. It appears to be fresh. I could see a ladder going to the first-floor window.


Burnt out house
Burnt out house


The next unusual sighting was fountains with the sign “fountain stopped due to lack of water. You don’t often see this type of sign but due to the lack of rain of this summer, this might not be surprising. It might also be due to a lot of water being used to extinguish the fire, but I have not checked.


Fountain without water due to lack of water
Fountain without water due to lack of water


The final and most interesting sight is this one. It takes us back in time to when rural meant agricultural. We see nice wooden doors, aged with time and reflecting a different age. We also see plenty of fresh firewood above as well as the small boxes below. I don’t know whether these were for charcoal or tools.


Without Ingress, I have cycled, walked and driven through this village plenty of times without exploring the small side streets. This time I did and I spotted some unusual sights. What is also of interest is that despite this village being quite small it has a lot of portals.



Initially, I thought of posting these pictures to Instagram but chose not too because I’d rather provide you with the images and their context. We need to go back to writing blog posts and sharing content from our own websites.

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