Have MP3 player, will walk

[torkell]

I was struck by a quote from a news article today:

"I have to stand in a queue here in pouring rain after having walked two kilometres from my hotel"

While I understand about the pouring rain, I don't see the fuss about having walked a bit over a mile. It just doesn't seem like that far a distance to me. Then again, I do walk further than that on a regular basis, as it's about two miles each way to the supermarket.

I also tend to go on long walks, without even realising how far I've walked. Back in Feburary I walked about 9 miles total down towards Gosport and back, at about six in the evening, simply because I was curious what was in that direction. It didn't seem that long, even when I ended up doubling back and taking longer routes than I needed to. I've quite often done the mile-or-so circular walk of the Cams Hall estate (plus another 3 or so miles to get there and back) for no reason other than it's a nice walk and something to do at the weekend. It just seems strange to me that some people consider a mere mile to be a long walk.

I have had this xkcd feeling more than once, though:

Bored with the Internet, xkcd #77

Comments

[pleaseremove.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with this sentiment, I normally walk 2.5Km to goto the pub...

Hell, I have gone on 90mile walks in my spare time for a "bit of fun".

These days i tend to do more of the driving round being a support car as you well know, but still love the chance to go hike after a lost team, it is what makes it all so fun.

Interestingly, that pub trip I normally make in 15 to 20mins which gives me a walking speed of 8-10Km/h... which would explain why I seem not to take long to get into town....

[torkell]

90 miles? That must be a lot of spare time.

I tend to carry a GPSr around, so that I can track distance, speed and so on. I've clocked myself doing about 4mph using that, though the long-term average tends to be nearer 3mph due to pausing to rest, take photos, or just admire the view.

[olego.livejournal.com]

90 mile walks? That's at least 15 hours of walking, even at your brisk pace! If you leave the house at 10am, and all your stops (assuming you are human) total 1 hour, you'll come back at 2am. Hmmm, I envy your spare time, and your comfy shoes!

[torkell]

He was (is) a Scout and good at hiking, so I can believe him doing that, though I'd imagine it'd take more than a day.

[tau-iota-mu-c.livejournal.com]

I know someone who did the 100mile run (here in communist Austria, which is why we still use miles) in 23:58. She spent the last hour not thinking she'd make the 24 hour cutoff.

[pleaseremove.livejournal.com]

I never said in one go! That was over a a few days with a pack and a friend for company. Haven't had the time for that sort of walk in a while. Last semi decent walk I did was through the night through London. it was a charity thing and although it wasn't that long a walk for myself, I was there as one of the organisers and as a first aider.

And thankfully, these days my walking boots are actually about that comfy, but they have been well and truly broken in. Yey Scarpa for nice boots

[olego.livejournal.com]

Phew! I was starting to feel insecure there...

Although I never did manage to walk that far with a backpack. That's because we'd hike with our sleeping bags, tents, and food, averaging at most 12 miles every day.

All that extra weight showed up on about 3rd day, so that even my comfy hiking boots would start giving me blisters.

[olego.livejournal.com]

I walked about 5.5 miles on Sunday. Took me about 2 hours, I guess I walk slowly. Turns out I don't like walking as much as I'd thought, as I was getting tired of my [rather intense] thoughts toward the end. It would probably have been more fun, had it not gotten dark so quickly...

I think it has to do with overworking myself. A 2-hour walk (but probably not longer) on Saturdays and Sundays makes me happy, and I'd gladly ambulate to a supermarket, had I had one so close. On the weekdays, however, good luck making me walk for over 30 minutes - I'm too exhausted by the time I come home, and I'm too sleepy before I come to work.

[torkell]

I think the walked I liked the most was the one I did in the evening, back in Feburary. The sun had set by about a third of the way round it, and there was just me out there - hardly anyone else was out on foot, and most of the distance was on minor roads so there was little traffic. I don't think I had the Populous soundtrack playing, but it would have fit so well (pleaseremove will remember the pair of us driving across the south Downs at night, with that playing).

The supermarket walk I usually do during the week - I'll take the bus all the way into town from work, which shaves about a mile off the walk. Going through town is significantly shorter (by about half a mile), but going round the top of town has a better view and so somedays I'll take that route.