Finally winter is over, the snow is melting away, flowers are coming up and the via ferrata season is starting once again. I will be in the mountains every second weekend from now on to explore via ferratas and hike.
The next via ferrata I will explore is the Via Ferrata Lavanchy. From what I read this is an easy and short Via Ferrata (VF). We will see if it would be a good place for beginners to try this enjoyable sport.
Before you start playing with WP Rig make sure that you have installed Composer. Composer is required to use WP Rig during the build process. Composer itself requires that you have PHP on your machine. After that it should be easier to use. I also ran npm-install-peers because I kept getting error messages.
During the daily walk today I saw that the grass along the side of the road is dry and dead. It crunshes as you walk on it. As you look at other fields they are dry and probably crunchy too. We had some rain a few days ago, but within minutes of the rain stopping the landscape was dry again. We never get rain. I am impatient for a day of rain. I am impatient to look forward to good weather, rather than bad. It seems to be absurd to want rain in Switzerland. In winter skiers and snowboarders want snow.
I managed a 179 day reading streak with the kindle before I broke it. It wasn’t that I didn’t read, but that I didn’t read using the kindle. It’s frustrating to lose such a streak because it will take 179 days to get back to the same point. It makes no sense to reach for such a goal in the first place. These apps that get you to do things for an unlimited days in a row detract from the pleasure of doing certain things habitually. I have read a book every day for many months, probably years, but I use Audible, Kobo, physical books and the Kindle. I need to find an app to track reading streaks without it being locked in to one book store.
Today I went for one of my walks, but rather than turning East as I normally do, on that route, I went West, and as a result I went for a longer walk than usual. I too this route because I wanted to look at the books in a new phone box that was turned into a lending library.
I often say that I have too many book already, and that I don’t need to get more, and yet every single time I feel the compulsion to look at the choice, and usually want to pick up a book or two. Today was no different. I picked up quite a few books, and we will see if I get around to reading them. I think I might.
Cows eating grass between Switzerland and France
We are in the middle of a pandemic. Although my interest in books, and in drinking vessels may seem eccentric, and it is, there is rationality nonetheless. I pick up a lot of books, but I also start reading many books at a time, and leave some unfinished for weeks or months. I think that I may find the books interesting, even if I do not read them instantly. I also don’t spend money when I find free books. I only spend time and energy, and those are both used up by the walks anyway.
For drininking vessels it is absurd, in winter, when we do not get thirsty during walks, and when walks last for shorter periods of time. At the same time I suspect that if I did not have a choice of water bottles then I would quickly grow bored of drinking water and revert to Coke and Rivella.
Another thing that is not discussed, is the habit of buying bottles of coke, water and other recipients. There is also the habit of drinking hot chocolate from a machine and always using a new cup. One recent purchase is to ensure that when I am in an office again I will be able to have hot chocolate in the same recipient over and over, without filling a bin with empty paper cups.
In my experience of hiking, especially in summer, you often want at least two bottles of water, of differing sizes depending on the duration of the walk, effort, and temperature. I have one 500ml for my daily walks, one 600ml, one 750ml and two one thousand ml bottles. Those are for walking. For cycling I now have two new 500ml bottles. I have one 300ml vacuum travel mug for take away drinks and one 500ml cup. I boil water before my walk, and drink it when I need to warm up again.
When I get my 0.47ml travel mug with a screw on lid then I will have what is required for road trips. If I used the 300 or 500ml cups I would spill the liquid either on myself or in the car. With the one I just ordered I have a good option for road trips.
I did buy a lot of water bottles recently but they last for years. It is only because my 1L and 0.5l aluminium sigg bottles seem to have suffered from not being used during the pandemic, after years of loyal service before the pandemic, and because my camelbak forge was damaged by overuse that I replaced it. With the cycling water bottles I am replacing them because they always get black mould and I’d prefer not to risk my health. This time Almost everything I bought is machine washable. I will find an excuse to get new toys eventually, but for the forseeable future I should no longer have any excuse.
And in summary. This year I have spent 388 hours hiking 1929 kilometres, burning about 142,987 kcals. In total I have spent 486 hours doing sports, covering a distance of 3248 kilometres and ascended 25,708 meters. Not too lazy after all.
Today I noticed how quiet the world, or at least the area in which I was walking, was. I saw very few cars, very few people walking, and very little noise from other people.
This doesn’t mean that people weren’t out and about. Although my route was for the most part deserted of people I did encounter crowds at two or three points. I think a man said “hello” but I ignored him for the cardinal sin of not walking single file, down a path, with his companion during the closing days of a pandemic.
“What does it matter?”, you may ask. I would love to do a group hike or a group Ferrata but I can’t because from a scientific point of view Switzerland is not yet clear of the virus. Meeting in groups of more than five is currently still forbidden. The groups I usually go with could be up to twelve people or more. I don’t know how long I will have to wait for the opportunity to do social activities once again.
How often do you see blobs guarding the entrance of an old town?
Today I walked around Geneva and in at least three locations I spotted these blobs guarding various places. These two are guarding the entrance to the old town. I like the contrast between the modern blobs above the gate to the old town of Geneva and the statue of Pictet De Richemond.
Two more of these blobs were playing by a merry go round where you walk up from the new town to the old town.
Two more of them were playing on the columns of St Pierre’s. I don’t know what they’re part of. I don’t know whether they’re part of an art exhibit or some other form of activity. It’s amusing that they would choose to climb up the columns as they’re shown to be doing.
The weather was cold and cloudy this lunchtime so going up to the mountains for lunch was feasible. If the restaurant had been filled with people, and if we had shared a table with others, then I would have skipped and driven home. Luckily the road was closed to go up to the mountains so that stopped some people from going up. There were also the benefits of clouds and cold air temperatures. Combined these things meant that the restaurant was less tempting for large crowds. We ate a fondue.
View of La Dole from the other side
I did not plan to go up. It was spontaneous, and I had my own car, so that if I saw that it was too busy I could turn back or walk to the summit. We’re still in a pandemic, so if I feel a risk is too great I bail.
Today is interesting because it seems quieter than it should be. The restaurant was quieter, but the villages and other places are quieter too. It’s as if people are hibernating or hiding. I saw that all the cars are goine from the garage for example.
Two weeks ago, it looked as though next summer we could be out of the pandemic. This weekend, it looks as though the pandemic will never end. Every single time Europe looks as if it has a chance of ending the pandemic, it breaks for either Christmas or the Summer holiday. Every single time Switzerland stands an excellent chance of stopping community transmission, it reopens things.
To add insult to injury tonight 65,000 people are going to watch a football match in a stadium, and retail unions are requesting that masks are dropped as a requirement in shops. My entire reason for going exclusively to food shops is that we’re in a pandemic and I don’t trust people to behave appropriately during a pandemic.
Months ago while trying new walking shoes I had an individual and a child standing right beside me. I still tested the shoes, but it was months before I attempted to go to that shop again. The issue with shops is that a) people don’t respect COVID rules so we have to actively keep ourselves safe and b) this requires going as soon as the shops open, rather than at a time that would be more comfortable.
Now back to the topic of solitary bike ride. For as long as people do not understand pandemic dynamics, we are going to be in an endless loop of self-isolation and lockdowns. The sooner people understand that this is a socially transmitted disease the sooner we will be back in an open, rather than closed society.
The sooner the pandemic ends the sooner we can go on group hikes, group climbing and group via ferrata activities. For as long as the pandemic continues in the current loop, the more single people living alone, will have to be happy to go on solitary bike rides.
“oh but you don’t need to do things alone”. In Holland the number of infected went from 1000 to 10,000 new cases in one week. The delta variant spreads extremely fast.
And now for a little humour, people are queuing from three to four hours to get tested for COVID-19 because they are not vaccinated yet, when they could go and get vaccinated, without waiting. Going to get tested if you feel sick is excellent, but if you’re going to get tested, to clear your conscience, before taking a risk, like travelling for holidays to a place where you will be surrounded by crowds, or to be in a nightclub without proper ventilation, then you are clearing your conscience before taking a risk. The data from Holland, England and Israel encourages me, to personally keep self-isolating. If my interpreting of current affairs is correct, then Switzerland is heading into another wave within days, not weeks.
At the end of the day, what does another two years of pandemic solitude change? As long as we are not reminded of the standard model, it changes nothing. With the current behaviour we are in for another two or more years of pandemic where the vulnerable get a booster every six months.
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