Physical

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.

Yesterday I expected to be quite comfortable on a ride but I wasn’t. The climb was steep, with bits that were at 17 percent according to others. You pedal, and pedal. You feel the muscles in your legs fatigue. You think, “if only I could stop for a few minutes”, but you don’t. You keep going. You keep pushing. You get to the top.

You rest for a bit, while waiting for others to join. Finally the group is reunited so you continue the bike ride. You descend, but as you descend you take a detour back up to the Chemin Des Crêtes. Yet more uphill, before heading back down. Finally you’re in the Vallée de Joux valley, but there’s a problem. There is a strong sustained wind pushing against you. The group pushes on fast.

I have gone up to Leukerbad at least three times for the via ferrata and this could have been the fourth or fifth time that I do it. I chose not to do it. During the pandemic I spent a lot of time hiking, with little to no exposure to heights. As a result of this I lost the habit of being high up.

I realised this when I was just three or four meters up on a sea defense in Javea/Xabia and felt afraid of the height I was at. In the past I would have been oblivious to it.