Yesterday we were under the clouds for the entire day. Low lever clouds or fog kept us away from the sun. I noticed that someone on Strava had managed to get above the clouds by going for a bike ride. I decided to try to do the same thing, eventually, by running. This is the longest distance I have ever run. It was uphill for the first part.

I ran from the height of Nyon towards Tranchepied, and from there I ran up towards the Domaine de Bonmont before turning to run along the foot of the Jura towards Trelex, before running back down towards Nyon and home.

The biggest improvement you can make to walking and cycling mobility is to avoid having cyclists, and pedestrians blocked by car traffic. This can include traffic lights but also busy roads where it is impossible to cross. If you’re on a walk, or a bike ride, and you get blocked by cars, then the temptation is not to walk that route, or walk a shorter distance.

Millions are being spent to make roads more cyclist and pedestrian friendly but they’re making changes that look good on paper but do nothing for cyclists and pedestrians. Between a village and a town they spent two months to add a pavement on one side, and a cycling/pedestrian path on the other. It should have taken a week. It took ages, and the net gain for pedestrians and cyclists is cosmetic, rather than useful.

Yesterday afternoon I was trolled by an American account of a person living in Germany. I commented on the absurdity of bicycle lanes that are just two hundred meters long and the troll account said “be happy to have that”. I felt like answering in a hostile manner. I refrained from doing this. I deleted my threads account instead.

You might see this as overkill, but there is something to be said about dumping toxic antisocial media sites. We invest our time and attention on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky and Threads and if we report accounts, over and over, only to be told that they do not breach their codes of conduct rules, then they have squandered their chance to keep us as customers.

I was thinking of taking a break from Whatsapp for three weeks. I have this desire, and need because I am tired of how people use Whatsapp. They create groups, where strangers are added. People with no deep knowledge of online communities delete posts that are sometimes not spam. Other people complain when people try to have conversations. The result is that WhatsApp is emotionally draining because it doesn’t feel like a healthy, tight knit community.

Yesterday morning I woke and looked out of a window and saw fog. For some, the reaction is “oh zut alors” as we think that we’re in for several weeks of being under the clouds, with the mountains as a weekend escape from a sun deprived time spent in fog.

An Indirect Walk

I took it as an opportunity. I could have walked from A to B last night. Instead I walked my usual walk. Along the way I looked for interesting photo opportunities. The fog was thick, and you could see water droplets floating in the air near lights.

When it is rainy and overcast going for a walk at sunset is not rational. On a sparsely cloudy day this makes a lot of sense. On a day where the sun is shining, to go for a walk at sunset, is an opportunity to see golden hour colours. Last night that’s what I did.

It is unusual for me to take so many pictures but the light was great. It’s just a shame that I was in an urban landscape rather than a natural one. We see power lines and cars parked. We see traffic. I tried to avoid having too much traffic iin shots but to do that I had to climb on one thing or another. I had to hold the camera up above my head, to get certain things out of shot.

Yesterday I was asked why I went to an ice rink, to stand around while people skated. The reason is that I wanted to go for my daily walk while the sun, or at least daylight, was still around. If I had set off later, then I would have been caught by the night, and I would have missed walking in daylight.

At this time of year, if you don’t go for a walk before 17:00 you’re likely to walk in the dark. In a city walking in the dark is fine, because there are usually quite a few lights, and because in a city night is lively, whereas in a village or town things are quieter.

In the physical/real world it can be quite fun, but noisy to play with a kärscher cleaning device. It also wastes a lot of water. It is for this reason that PowerWash Simulator, availble in the iOS arcade store for “free” is interesting.

A few seasons, or even years ago I watched someone play this game on YouTube because YouTube recommended this type of content, which is part of my reason for dumping premium, and losing interest in videos recommended by YouTube.

Yesterday I went for two walks. The first walk was after lunch because I had something to drop off at the post office. Usually I would have printed the label at home, rather than doing this walk. I desired to go for a bike ride but the chore was more important. In the process I learned something.

If you need to print something, you can go to the post office, and via an app you can print the label for a package there and then. You can then send the package, without dealing with a person. It’s quick and efficient. It’s thanks to speaking with a person that I learned this.

In Australia, and England, and Ireland, and Switzerland there are talks, in some cases that are being implemented that seak to block children and teens from using the Social Media Giants.

“As of December 2025, the Australian social media ban specifically targets major commercial platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Kick, and Reddit. The ban requires these platforms to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts.” Source: Le Chat by Mistral