Heat

One of the strangest things, in my observation of other people, is that they dress as if it was warm when it was cold. They dress in shorts and t-shirts to walk in the mountains in spring. That’s quite absurd, given how the mountains, in April tend to be cold.

Others dress in shorts and a t-shirt to go running when it is barely above freezing and I find this behaviour absurd too. In theory you don’t need to dress if your body is going to be hot and sweaty after a quick run.

Over the last week I have cycled, and climbed over 3000m. Yesterday I climbed 1664 meters over an 89 kilometre ride. It was divided into the first climb, from the Léman towards La Cure, then a flat bit, ridden fast, before getting to the climb to Marchairuz and that is when I ran out of power.

I wasn’t hungry, or thirsty. My legs were fatigued, after climbing up the Jura on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Thursday was a very hard ride, after which I felt fine, until the sprint back to Nyon. That’s when I was knackered.

People think that to be comfortable on a hot day you need to rush to an air conditioned room or building but that idea is wrong. When I worked on one building, for three years, I called it “air conditioned hell” for a simple reason. For the body to cool it needs air flow to help evaporate water. When there is no air flow it feels stuffy, and we interpret this as being too hot.

Usually I like to go out in the afternoon because that was often when I felt the need for a mental break. This morning, and yesterday, or a day or two I went out in the morning. Part of the reason for this is that summer temperatures are arriving. We are getting back to 30°c or more, and running in that temperature is not as pleasant.

Noise and Comfort

There was little noise pollution yesterday so I opened the balcony door in the morning, and a velux and I had a nice cooling draft in my apartment. When there is little noise pollution, and when the neighbour who smoked has moved away summer is slightly less uncomfortable. The temperature in my bedroom is still 28°c but at least I can cool down the lower floor. I also made sure to get a draft from the stairwell to evacuate the heat from the centre of the building.

Recently it has been feeling warmer as spring is making an appearance. I noticed that buds and leaves are getting ready. Orchids are flowering and trees are ready. I also noticed that there is quite a bit of pollen in the air and it’s warmer. Warm enough to start thinking about cycling.

I went for a bike yesterday and I felt warm enough for almost the entire bike ride. This feels good. It feels good to be able to leave the boring winter. Boring for the lack of snow. It’s not that winter is boring, but that mild winters are. I like when winter looks and feels like winter.

This weekend when I hiked to Valangin I thought that I would found a water fountain along the way, so I took just 600ml of water. A few weeks ago when I went to Charmey I took the same amount of water because I didn’t want too much weight for the Via Ferrata. The result is that I have run out of water twice recently.

The paradox is that this isn’t because I lack water bottles. I have a collection of them. I have 1l bottles, 500ml water bottles, 600, 850, and more. I have one 1L water camelbak and one 2L camelbak. I could easily use them in rotation.

I live in a Minergie, which, in theory, means that I never need to worry about climatisation because the building keeps itself warm in winter and cold in summer. In practice the features that make a flat fantastic winter make it awful in summer.

Good in Winter

Large windows, in winter allow heat radiation in, so you use the sun to heat your apartment. From Spring until Autumn it has the opposite feature. It turns a room into a sauna, rather than giving an enjoyable temperature.

We are currently in a heat wave. During heatwaves my velux heat up in the afternoon sun and radiate heat both into the apartment during the day but also at night after the sun has set. I have found that during a heat waves it is wise to close the blinds and close the windows as soon as it is hotter outside than inside.

When it is hotter outside than inside closing windows keeps the apartment slightly cooler, but not much cooler. As I write this it’s 11am and the bedroom is at 30°c. I had cooled it down to 27°c earlier this morning but as soon as I close the windows the apartment temperature shoots up because the core is hot.

For as long as I remember I have enjoyed summer heat. For a long time I lived in a house that was like a cave in summer. It would be 30°c outdoors but 21 to 25°c indoors. It felt like stepping into a cave when I got home. For a summer or two I lived in a apartment on the 5th floor in Meyrin and during the 2003 summer heat wave I would open the windows on both sides of the building and get a nice draft.

For five years it was sunny almost every day in Switzerland. It was sunny so often that the water tables declined and village fountains dried up, as did fields. Clouds of dust could be seen rising when tractors worked the fields. It’s because of this excellent weather, for years in a row, that I stopped looking at weather apps.

Now, weather is interesting again. Two or three weeks ago Geneva flooded. A few days ago Zermatt flooded, and, now Morges has flooded too. So many places are flooding. This is due to weather weirding on one side, but also climate change on the other. With more heat the clouds can store more water, and when they meet a cold front a deluge may ensue.