Why on earth would one drive into the forest with his bicycle to cut some wood? Why not take a car, a pickup or at least a SUV like other timbersports enthusiasts? Just because I’m lazy. It’s much more convenient to go with the bicycle. It doesn’t need much place to be parked, so I can drive right next up to the trees I have to cut.
Equipment: chain saw, gas and oil, spare chain, tools for the bicycle and the saw, safety gear, phone, water & some snacks for the break. Just enough for a day in the woods.
Chainsaw strapped to the front carrier, and off into the forest
After last weeks paddling on Lake Zurich I went for Lake Thun this weekend. For convenience I took the train to Spiez, and after a short walk downhill from the train station I arrived at the harbour of Spiez. The plan was to paddle all the way to Thun – roughly 10 kilometers, and then travel back home with bus and train. This is a big advantage of having an inflatable sup board: one way trips are much easier.
When I arrived at Thun, I run into a group of stand up paddlers performing a long distance race from Neuhaus-Interlaken to Thun. They were going fast, much faster than me. But hey: I’m doing no sports, I’m just having fun!
Todays starting point: the harbour of Spiez
A fisherman watching his net with the eyes of argus, as not to catch one of those &#!-stand up paddlers.
This weekend a family party let me to the Lake Zurich. I took the opportunity to go for some stand up paddling on early Saturday morning. At six thirty I was on the water, and to my astonishment I wasn’t alone. There were already some rowers out on the water for training.
My plan was to paddle from Thalwil to the island of SAFFA. But plans are made to be changed. Here some impressions from my first trip on Lake Zurich.
At the pier in Thalwil, ready to go
No wind, the water was flat as a mirror. On the horizon there will be the city of Zurich.
A double scull crossing the waters early in the morning.
The pier of Kilchberg-Bendikon. Here the head wind was forcing me to turn around and head back to Thalwil.
The factory of Lindt & Sprüngli. The smell of their famous chocolate was hovering all over the water.
The beautiful Sulzer estate in early spring colours.
The guys in this eight had quite some fun watching me loosing the fight with the wind.
Back at the pier in Thalwil just in time before the rain started.
The weather didn’t improve much during the day. Here an impression from the Limmatquai at noon.
temperatures: 10°C air, 14°C water
wind: 10-30 km/h NW
distance: 7 km
Last week the temperatures reached 25°C. This made me dreaming about doing some stand up paddling on the weekend. But just in time for the weekend the temperatures fell down to 3-4°C in the morning. And on saturday morning there was even some fresh snow outside my home, and thick clouds obscured the sun. But I was still longing for some stand up paddling, so I put everything in the car and drove to the Domaine des Iles in Sion.
Ready for action
picking up some garbage (coca cola bottle) out of the beautiful reed
nice and calm water, with just 7°C a little bit too cold for swimming though
nature can’t read. Sign says: caution, high voltage, danger of death. But a tree starts to grow there.
When I bought my first Brompton Bicycle back in 2001 it was to get me quicker to the train station, and to give me some mobility at the destination. Of course there was already the possibility to put a bicycle in a bag and to take it along in the train. But the package was huge, it was not easy to find a safe place in the train to store the bike during travel, and often there were discussions with the conductor. For years I practiced this procedure with my mountain bike, greasy fingers included. But with the Brompton this is so much easier and faster: fold it, take it into the train, hide it under the seat
And then, almost 10 years after I bought the Brompton, the tablet computer appeared on the market. Small, compact and versatile as a swiss knife it should just make traveling easier. My experience with the iPad was very similar as with the Brompton. Instead of taking kg’s of books and journals, or the laptop, with me now I just take the tablet. It fitted perfectly.
Easy and flexible to use, light and compact – the combination of both of them for travel just feels, and is, perfect for me. With the Bromson as my own electric power station and can even charge the battery of the iPad while cycling around in the city. Just as it has to be…
Thanks to people like Andrew Ritchie (“My strength is my eye for detail and an obsession with getting things right.”) and Steve Jobs (“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”) with an eye for simple & easy to use design, and with a strong ambition for perfection such products exist. I am looking forward what, or who, else is going to come in the future.
