Sports

The weather is relatively cold but the sun is out so the time for spring cycling has come. Spring cycling is like other forms of cycling, but you want to dress warm enough to be comfortable, but not so warm as to overheat. You also want to find routes that are short enough so that if it is cold you can get home without being cold for too long.

The conditions were mild today. The thermometer showed about 12°c so acceptable for cycling. For years I was cycling with Suunto devices but now I am playing with the Garmin instinct and the Garmin Speed Sensor 2 and Cadence sensor. I switched over to the Garmin Instinct Solar because I am curious to see how it copes this summer, and I got the speed sensor 2 and cadence sensor 2 because the Suunto device has finally failed, and I saw them offered at a good price so I decided to test them. So far I haven’t had to worry about them. They just work, no need to make sure the sensors are in the right place or anything else.

If you are looking for a sport easy walk with a little scrambling, walk to the rock arches. Two holes have been eroded into the rock providing two natural arches.

You can walk up to both arches but it’s better to go on a quiet day. This place is not a good place for big groups. Children could enjoy the opportunity to see geography in action. Children should be supervised on this walk, especially along two sections of the path, and at the arch itself.

Today during my walk I noticed a sticker on a sign for EuroVélo.com. I don’t know how new the project is but I had not paid attention to the URL before. I like the idea of a European Network of Cycling Routes. I don’t need to capitalise these words. I just did, for some reason.

During my walk I was listening to two podcast episodes of a single podcast about hiking the AT and other hikes in the US. It’s interesting and it makes us want to travel to the US to try these walks. The drawback is that A) It requires travelling to the US and getting a visa for long enough to complete the challenge and B) We have plenty of walking and cycling trips in Europe to enjoy, and best of all they should be quieter because fewer people think about using these routes, for now.

Leslie - Jul 3, 2021

When living in the US, my husband would avidly watch the Tour de France because it was a way for him to see France and French landscapes from so far away. He loves cycling as well, so that helped, but I’ve noticed that he watches the Tour much less avidly now that we’re back in Europe and he gets a decent (well, pre-COVID, anyway) dose of France paysages on a regular basis. He still tunes in to see how things are going, but it’s much less a glued-to-the-screen gazing onto France rolling past the cameras than it was back in the day. :)

I like to speak of the Tour de France as the French landscape program. I watch the cycling, not because I care about the cycling but because I like to see the landscapes, the castles, the panoramas, and more. It’s a way of getting travel ideas. Of course I do sometimes like watching the cycling. I liked watching Alaphilipe two years ago as he went towards winning, but not quite the tour de France. I like to watch the echapées that can last for 100 or more kilometres. I like to watch as they go through beautiful landscapes, as they climb on steep gradients as if they were nothing. I also like to be inspired for my own bike rides and progression.

Normally at this time of year, as the snow melts and the temperatures increase the opportunity for spring and summer sports returns. These sports are via ferrata, outdoor climbing, hiking and more. This year is different because although today is Friday no plans have been made for the next two days. There is a excellent chance that I will either hike or cycle alone. Usually I avoid cycling on Saturdays because that is the day when people are anxiously driving between their homes and their shops.

By May we may be able to go back to doing sports in groups as long as they are not “contact sports” in Switzerland. For me this means hiking, running cycling and other related sports. For me climbing is a contact sport because we touch the same hand holds as everyone else climbing the routes, we use the same ropes and we share quickdraws and belay devices.

This being said I also have no desire to do sports like climbing at the moment because they require us to stand around and socialise and I haven’t really socialised in at least 38 days. I need to ease back into the world of the extrovert. Hiking is a good way to do that.

Suunto and Wear OS is a cultural shame. I like Suunto because it’s a European company with a European OS developed in Europe. It’s nice to buy their products because they’re reliable and hardly ever let me down. They’re also great because it’s European tech developers working together to create something interesting and reliable.

It’s not that I don’t like Google as a company. I do. I have liked Google since I first learned about them on my website’s visitor log. I only went from Android to iOS because DJI hated the Sony Xperia that I was using at the time. Without DJI I would still be an Android user.

When in Geneva we can easily walk by the lake, or through the city when we’re not looking after children but when we are walking might be more of a challenge. I am not looking after children in Geneva but as you might there is an opportunity here.

Several exercise machines for grown -ps

You have a choice of machines to play with. You have a rowing machine that uses body weight. You have turntables to work your core, you have a swingy leg thing for leg muscles, an elliptical machine for cardio and another rowing machine that also works your core and arms. I tried the rowing machine and the turntable. The turntable is good. It allows you to go at the speed that’s comfortable for you so that you work your body correctly.

Today I experienced the WeWatt bike wait again. The first time I experienced it was when flying from Alicante to Geneva and the second time is when I was waiting to meet someone for lunch today. The principle is very simple. If you see that a wewatt bike is free for you to use you simply sit on the seat and start pedalling. The first two or three strokes are difficult but after that the resistance is minimal.