Dot watching, comparing to lynnes route. Thinking about timings and distances. And drinking coffee.
This is quite a challenging and emotional thing to do.
#lostdot101
#LostDot101Cap133
@lostdot101@lostdot.lowres@fairlightcycles
Took a while to not feel embarrassed about the aerobars on the mtb. Then I realised I'm a mid 40s mountainbiker in lycra with mudguards on my bike. I couldn't be cool if I tried.
Having spent some time doing cpd about hands and wrists, I have been particularly struck by comments by Donald Sammut on @pulvertafthand webinars.
He pointed out that although we sense through vision, hearing, touch etc, the only way we actually interact and can manipulate the environment around us is via touch/our hands.
It struck me that we are what we practice, and I've been getting better and better at sitting around watching YouTube and doomscrolling, which is not really something anyone wants to get any better at. With Prof Sammuts words in my mind, I've been inspired to reacquaint myself with the skill of dexterity. It's a long, slow process, but is very much worth it.
A huge thanks to a friend for lending me this beast.
Somewhat inspired to pick up a bass again after a friend's recent birthday gig... I always wanted a headless bass. Just so achingly cool
Never realised i wanted a 6string though!
What a beaut.
Primus is still a proper challenge for the chops. Maybe I should start with something a little less complex.
Not quite the morning I had imagined.
Originally I was going to cycle to Glossop station with Lynne at about 530ish to see her off on her travels to the Lostdot101 race.
The trains had other ideas.
At 2300 last night we found out that there was a low speed derailment on the line from mcr to Birmingham resulting in delays to trains that most likely meant she would not make her connection, or, indeed, her ferry.
Plans to buy a new ticket from Sheffield to Plymouth, and me getting her there by 5am we're hatched, only for the train not to have any bike spaces.
So the alarm was set for 330 for me to drive Lynne to Birmingham, in good time for her train, but also in time for me to get back home for my first client of the day.
Im back. More coffee is on, I have work in less than 20 mins and Lynne is on her way.
Mission Accomplished.
There was no dawn chorus today. The birds seemed particularly subdued. Smoke lies down Span clough and thr Snake into Glossop, a moorland fire having raged overnight.
There are more people on the hills now and I dont mind them doing new things, getting new experiences. But setting fire to the hills whether accidentally or on purpose is just so so uncool.
The whole thing makes me absolutely enraged.
There is a fairly constant questioning as to why there are more Mountain Rescue callouts these days.
Looking at a 1984 copy of Eric Langmuirs book reminds me of how we were brought up hillwalking, and the background understanding we worked to.
On the hill you are as self reliant as possible. If you see someone in trouble, you help as best you can. Mountain Rescue is called as a last resort.
I wonder if part of the problem may even be TV shows that dramatise callouts. They all seem to end with a helicopter or some such, leading to the expectation that any 999 call from the hill will lead to being flown home.
Definitely not the case.
Are people less independent? Are they quicker to call for help in situations that are easily reversible? Are people simply going further with less preparation than before, or are they simply more reliant on others to extract them from what appears to be a dangerous situation?
There certainly appears to be less appreciation of the potential problems that can occur in the hills, and definitely a lot less preparation to avoid them. Is it caused by ease of access through social media?
I'm not entirely sure, but there is probably an aspect of 'if that person can do it, why can't I? Without necessarily considering the skills needed to do, or judge if something is safe or attainable.
But at the end of the day, if something goes slightly wrong, a call to Mountain Rescue is a safety net. Nothing wrong with that, but is there an over reliance on a safety net that is staffed by volunteers and an under reliance on personal responsibility?
