Groups

Two days in a row I participated in activities that pushed me physically. On sunday it was a 60km ride with 900m of climbing and a 25km/h wind and the next day it was a 9.4km walk which is pushing my endurance further than usual. I found myself thinking that I should participate in hikes because hikes are easy. I’m used to walking. Walking and hiking were my specialities.

Regular Challenges

By cycling on Sunday, despite the wind, and running on Monday despite the fatigue I pushed myself, and I remained true to my word. I saw on Whatsapp that the group that organises sedentary activities were complaining about no-shows in activities that involve sitting, drinking and talking.

Yesterday I went for a bike ride. When I looked at the route I thought “this looks like a nice calm, relaxed ride. It wasn’t. I rode with group 2, which is a fast group, going uphill at 20-40 km/h on certain segments.

You might look at a cycling route and think “this looks flat, it doesn’t go to the top of the Jura” but don’t let that mislead you. When you’re riding at the foot of the Jura it’s easy to climb, and then descend, and then climb again, and then descend, and then climb yet again. In the end we did 1100m of climbing over 80 kilometres cycled.

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.

I love to hike fast. I also love to walk fast. When I am hiking I love to hike my own hike, and then wait for people at regular intervals, so that they may catch up, rest a little, and then continue.

When cycling with some groups I will be left alone during the climb, and I will arrive at the top last. I have no concerns about making it up. I am just slow at climbing compared to people ten to twenty years younger than me, with bikes 2-4 kg lighter than mine, and with several extra thousand kilometres in their legs per year.

Yesterday we left Nyon through the “secret” passage that takes you from near Place St Martin to the lakeside. We had to take this route because of the défilé des enfants. Roads were blocked so some drivers might have been trapped for an hour or two. On a bike I was blocked from going one way so I went another way, and then I walked to the meeting point.

Tête de Course is a group that meets on Wednesday mornings, at 06:30, Thursday at 18:00 and on Saturdays it depends, in so far as I can see. I am still new to the group.

Recently I joined a cycling group and they require us to provide In Case of Emergency Information so that if we have an accident our phone provides people with names and numbers to call. At first I thought “Why would I want this, I have no In Case of Emergency person” due to being single and living alone.

Now I believe that this is a useful idea. Nothing bad has happened that affected my point of view. It’s that it’s easy on iOS and Android devices to add three or four people to contact in case of emergency. It’s not that you have to give up this information.

This weekend I cycled 160 kilometres with the Bike Club Switzerland Group via Meetup.com. In the process I find that I appreciate the community more and more. I appreciate that the groups are small, but also that people are like-minded. By like-minded I mean that people are sporty.

Today we went for a Moderate recovery ride and it took some effort to keep up. I was at the limit of my comfort zone, but not out of it. I enjoy cycling with people because talking with someone, while riding alongside them is enjoyable. On the right stretches of cycling paths, and roads, it’s as good, if not better than hiking.

This weekend I went on two hikes. The first was from Jaun to Gruyères across fields filled with flowers. The second was a loop around the Aiguilles de Baumes. Both hikes were interesting although I prefered the size and pace of the second group.

This weekend I was reminded of the “Hike Your Own” phrase that American thru-hikers like to remind themselves of. I had to remind myself of this phrase on Saturday, but also on previous group hikes with GoSocial. The concept is great. A group of people follow a chat on Whatsapp and when they see an activity they want to join they join a sub-chat. In this sub chat discussions take place about logistics, photo sharing and more.

I find that GoSocial and Meetup are great social networks. It’s an easy way of finding people to do things with, every single weekend. It means that rather than sitting in bars, listening to people talk, hoping for a fun activity, that is not drinking, to be mentioned, you can find a group to do things with.

The flipside to this is that you meet 12-25 people per activity. Sometimes you will meet the same people again, more than once, but more often than not you meet a new group each time.

I considered going for yet another hike yesterday. I didn’t, for two reasons. The first reason is that I had to commit on Wednesday night and I wasn’t ready to commit on Wednesday for Saturday. The second reason is that the group has a black list for people that don’t turn up with a valid reason. I much prefer the “If you’re late we won’t wait” school of punctuality.

I decided instead to join a Bike club Switzerland ride. I have been thinking about joining them for a few weeks, but because of hikes, or logistics I didn’t bother. The logistics are ’needing a light for an evening ride’ or having to get Geneva, going for a ride, and then having to get back.