[HN Gopher] A joyless trudge? No, thanks
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A joyless trudge? No, thanks
Author : thinkingemote
Score : 61 points
Date : 2021-04-03 12:24 UTC (10 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theguardian.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theguardian.com)
| ulisesrmzroche wrote:
| "It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth."
| --Nietzsche
|
| Check out "the Philosophy of Walking". A lot of great thinkers
| saw "going for a walk" as something central to their practice.
| But this article doesn't mention any of that, how much our modern
| world was shaped by walkers.
|
| edit: lol downvotes
| globular-toast wrote:
| All I can say is I hope she enjoyed writing this pointless
| article as much as I enjoy my pointless walks.
| underseacables wrote:
| I lived in Australia for a year and very much enjoyed the walk to
| the bus stop each day. So many colorful birds, meeting people,
| everything was always interesting. Perhaps because I was in a
| different country, but gosh it was fun.
| unixhero wrote:
| Australia is fucking great. A shame about their draconian
| immigration VISA laws.
| gonzo41 wrote:
| Just be rich, that's the trick. Like mastercard, being rich
| works everywhere too. :P
| pestatije wrote:
| Nah. Come here for study, work part time, find sponsor,
| you're done!
| unixhero wrote:
| Well I did. One degree. Then another. A sponsor will lets
| your ass survive for 5 years, maybe 10 if you get an
| extension on your sponsorship. Then you're out. Forget your
| old life, because you're going back wherever you came from.
| "In fact we don't care, just get out of our borders."
| nicbou wrote:
| It's the same in most countries isn't it? My presence in
| Germany still depends on my ability to pay taxes.
| JoeAltmaier wrote:
| Lots of folks butt-hurt that somebody doesn't share their
| enthusiasms. But honestly, my favorite hikes are to a cabin,
| where I _stay for several days_. Some of us don 't enjoy the same
| things. I identify with the author.
| [deleted]
| simonebrunozzi wrote:
| If you don't like walking, do something else... But let walkers
| be walkers.
|
| I personally love walking, and am doing more and more of it
| ("thanks" to Covid and my current personal situation). I'm
| happier. I'm healthier. I have more time to wander with my mind
| and think about things that can only surface in my mind while
| walking.
| maxrev17 wrote:
| The Guardian really couldn't get any worse could it. Article for
| the sake of an article. Yes I'm British, walking is exploration
| and time to think, to socialise. I don't understand the
| motivation of someone, like the author, to live in a country they
| clearly dislike.
| Veen wrote:
| The Guardian certainly does get worse than this article. It's a
| light and humorous look at a British cultural quirk from an
| outsider's perspective. I quite enjoyed it. We should think
| ourselves lucky it's not yet another tedious exploration of
| how, for example, hiking is racist and we should all be
| ashamed.
| Neil44 wrote:
| Every time you think you've seen Peak Guardian...
| dtf wrote:
| There's "We should celebrate walking in Britain now more than
| ever" [1] from the Daily Telegraph if that's more your bag:
|
| _" At 9pm, with only the faintest glow left in the west, the
| birds stopped singing. Venus blazed and, as darkness deepened,
| others joined: Arcturus, Procyon, the Plough. A breeze riffled
| ink-black trees. Bats swooped. Something scuttered in the
| hedge. I knew exactly where I was; I'd walked this circuit of
| country lanes many times, and since lockdown almost daily. But
| I'd never done it at night. This time I wasn't just walking
| with my legs; I was walking with every pore, every nerve. ..."_
|
| Could almost be written by Boris himself.
|
| [1]
| https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/unite...
| maxrev17 wrote:
| Equally pointless.
| conistonwater wrote:
| Isn't it some kind of an opinion fluff piece in the "Lifestyle"
| section?
| morsch wrote:
| I like how it goes on and on and on. Aimlessly, like the walks
| she dislikes.
|
| Looking forward to the next article on how she doesn't like
| sushi. Having fish and chips? A joy. A good Bouillabaisse? A
| delight! But raw fish with soy sauce and rice? Thanks, but no.
| Ok.
| binbag wrote:
| It's a humorous piece. Take it less seriously.
| maxrev17 wrote:
| It isn't funny though lol, just pointless. Certainly not
| worth posting to HN. Maybe I'm missing some super high-brow
| wit here...
| znpy wrote:
| Yup, I too wondered how it ended on the front page
| nonetheless
| maxrev17 wrote:
| The chuff is this downvoted? Haha
| bengale wrote:
| Purple articles are from the lifestyle section. They're not
| really meant to be hard hitting news or anything.
| throwawayboise wrote:
| Reminds me of the "walking meetings" one my former PMs used to
| like to do. One of several reasons I quit that job.
| conistonwater wrote:
| > _Running outdoors had all of walking's problems, but faster,
| and with sweat._
|
| The Japanese (I don't know if this is true or not but I heard
| it's a true fact) have a term called _forest bathing_ , meaning
| to spend time surrounded by greenery soaking up the views. If you
| run, you can soak in twice as much greenery per unit of time.
| morsch wrote:
| I don't know that it's in the spirit of forest bathing to apply
| this kind of efficiency mentality to it...
| jniedrauer wrote:
| This is one of the reasons I took up trail running. It's hard
| to disconnect for very long when working at a startup. But
| after a few years of training, I can cross entire mountain
| ranges in a day and see things I would never otherwise be able
| to see.
| binbag wrote:
| I'm British and I found the article funny and relatable. I'm sick
| to death of aimless walks.
| pitspotter wrote:
| Clearly you are a golfer.
| TheOtherHobbes wrote:
| It's not the aimlessness. Real British walks are rarely
| aimless. They're often mapped and planned.
|
| It's more the fact that apart from three weeks a year, British
| weather is relentlessly miserable.
|
| So a "walk" - always in the country, because no one walks in
| cities - means shivering joylessly around an obstacle course of
| mud, rain, fog, marshy ground, drizzle, sleet, and snow.
|
| For reasons I have never understood, this is considered a fun
| thing to do.
| downut wrote:
| From "The Birth of The Modern" by Paul Johnson:
|
| "So people walked, women as well as men. When Keats went on
| his tour of Scotland in 1818, he went by public coach as far
| as Lancashire and on foot thereafter. Worsworth, his sister
| Dorothy, and Coleridge began a similar Scottish tour together
| on foot, Coleridge branching off by himself at Stirling and
| continuing for nearly 300 miles until there was nothing left
| of his shoes. Dorothy Wordsworth, with a friend or relative,
| regularly walked from Penrith across the Pennines and moors
| to visit the Hutchinsons near Halifax. Hazlitt would walk
| from London to his writing base at Winterslow in Wiltshire.
| His first wife Sarah, while waiting for her Scottish divorce
| in Edinburgh, walked a total of over 200 miles to vist places
| of interest. Painters were great walkers, too, like the
| 'Ancients',who walked from London to see their friend Samuel
| Palmer on the Kentish coast at Shoreham, or Michael Angelo
| Rooker, who spent his summers 'pedestrian excursions, 18
| miles a day.' So were musicians: The young Richard Wagner,
| despite his short legs, walked from Dresden to Leipzig and
| back. Saving money was one motive, seeing nature another,
| exercise a third. When the painter John Hoppner stayed with
| the nautical Duke of Clarence at Petersham, he was taken off
| every day after dinner for 'a walk of 10 or 12 miles."
|
| No mention of the weather. I have more than once on
| reflecting on this passage wondered at the quality of their
| shoes.
|
| [edited some egregious typos]
| Mediterraneo10 wrote:
| Whenever I hear stories of the 19th-century great English
| walks, I can only assume that that was a much more tolerant
| era where people could stop and sleep in the open air, or
| successfully ask random local people for a night's shelter.
| Today, England is so hostile to travelers who aren't able
| to stop at formal accommodation every night, that bicycle
| tourers have to be very stealthy when free camping (as
| compared to Scotland, where free camping is still allowed).
| binbag wrote:
| Yeh I'm actually Scottish (I previously said I was
| British - it's context dependant ;). I always find the
| English rules around private land quite funny. Camping
| when cycling or walking in Scotland is way less
| stressful. Just find a remote plot and set down. In
| England every footpath has a notice beside it saying you
| really ought to stop for a moment and feel very grateful
| that the Lord Such and Such allowed you passage.
| fartcannon wrote:
| The worst is when the walk has achieved its natural climax and
| mercifully you're on your way back home, and someone suddenly
| suggests a new route to explore some unknown space adding
| unknowable length to the death march.
|
| Even worse is camping. Once youve trudged to a treeless brown
| spot in the middle of the woods, set up a tent you're left with
| nothing to do. So what do you do? You walk.
| nickkell wrote:
| I agree about the humour, I even found it quite British! Maybe
| the author is being assimilated without their knowledge, and
| will soon become fond of aimless walks.
|
| The people in the comments here seem to think this innocuous
| article is a personal attack on them or their hobby, or that
| people aren't allowed to have a good moan if they feel like it
| (moaning being another great pasttime of the British).
| babygoat wrote:
| It's entirely optional, no? Surely you're no sick to death of
| other people having them?
| twic wrote:
| In some circles, such walks are viewed as an axiomatically
| good thing. You're expected to go on them, and to do so
| enthusiastically. You could decline, or do so under protest,
| but that would be seen as deviant.
|
| I think the author is attacking the normalisation of such
| trudging, rather than the trudging itself.
| nickkell wrote:
| Not sure why you're being downvoted. I would have hoped
| that the introverted savants here would have more sympathy
| for being forced to take part in social activities
| babygoat wrote:
| I've never heard of anyone being forced to take a leisure
| walk.
| ur-whale wrote:
| >In some circles, such walks are viewed as an axiomatically
| good thing. You're expected to go on them, and to do so
| enthusiastically. You could decline, or do so under
| protest, but that would be seen as deviant.
|
| You just described my entire family.
|
| The advantage of being surrounded by folks like this is I
| get to exercise (as in "keep it in shape") my built-in
| aversion to peer pressure daily.
| babygoat wrote:
| Normalization implies that there's something abnormal about
| going outside for some light exercise, fresh air, and a
| change of scenery. I enjoy those things but it's not hard
| to abstain from other normal activities that I don't.
| tinus_hn wrote:
| In the Netherlands gyms have been closed for months and if
| you complain the excuse is 'just go for a walk'. It's not
| entirely optional if the only option for exercise is going
| for a walk or (adventure!) a bike ride.
| ncallaway wrote:
| It's not the only option. You can do a wide variety of
| exercise without a gym or equipment.
|
| Body weight exercises are a great form of strength training
| you can do anywhere with no equipment. You can replace
| walks with runs, sprints, or interval training. If you have
| an appropriate body of water near you, you can also go
| swimming without going to a gym or pool. Start intervals of
| boxing the air (if you haven't done it before, you'll be
| shocked at how long 45s is while you're punching as quickly
| as you can).
|
| With a minimal investment, you can take up jumprope. An
| excellent cardio exercise. Alternatively, grab a hula hoop,
| and learn to hula.
|
| There are tons of exercises you can do that aren't walking
| or going to a gym. It's not a binary option.
| helij wrote:
| Push-ups, sit-ups and some aerobics is another option.
| watwut wrote:
| I doubt the lockdown rules say "only walk or bike".
| tinus_hn wrote:
| No, it's just the government wondering why the population
| is becoming obese. You know, that risk factor that makes
| corona ten times as deadly.
| yellowapple wrote:
| I think it's more the social pressure to engage in these
| walks, in spite of one's preferences, that's more at issue.
| At least that's how the article seemed to portray it.
| jpcooper wrote:
| The article's a bit of a troll piece, so I'm going to ignore it.
| One of my favourite pastimes in London was picking somewhere on
| the map I'd never been and just walking there. Sometimes just the
| centre of a borough I hadn't been to before. Sometimes more than
| 10 miles in one go. Canal routes, hidden pathways, a new park,
| busy high streets. Lots of time to think or just watch.
|
| I've been doing quite a bit of walking in Istanbul recently, but
| I'm running out of options. Maybe someone can suggest some
| interesting, out of the ordinary routes.
| nicbou wrote:
| You can start further out!
| odiroot wrote:
| > The article's a bit of a troll piece, so I'm going to ignore
| it. One of my favourite pastimes in London was picking
| somewhere on the map I'd never been and just walking there.
| Sometimes just the centre of a borough I hadn't been to before.
|
| This is how I approach travelling in general. Worked for me
| very well in Milan, Barcelona and Rome. Probably wouldn't work
| so well in less dense cities.
|
| The best thing is casually stumbling upon something with a
| historical significance.
| hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
| You may be surprised that the article pretty much agrees with
| you. That is, it states that walking is an excellent way to get
| to where you want to go, or to explore new things. It's
| basically just arguing that "circumambulation for
| circumambulation's sake" is dull and boring.
| fnbr wrote:
| Especially London, which has to be one of the world's great
| cities to walk in.
| thinkingemote wrote:
| It really is a great city to walk in. Often walking is
| quicker than taking the tube I've found.
|
| One route (slower than the tube this time) I liked was
| walking from the Thames near Charing cross to kings cross (or
| was it Liverpool Street) following the line of an underground
| river. It's remarkably quiet and not that long, maybe an
| hour? At one point you can put your ear to a manhole cover
| and hear the river beneath!
| jpcooper wrote:
| Was it the Kings Cross and the River Fleet?
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Fleet
| thinkingemote wrote:
| That's the one!
| bartread wrote:
| I don't know if it's _that_ much of a troll piece (remember, it
| 's talking about the UK specifically). Going for a walk _to_
| somewhere is fine. The article is bemoaning not really going
| anywhere at all, which has been the substantial reality if you
| 've stuck to the rules of not going outside your "local area"
| (whatever the hell that has actually meant this entire time).
|
| I live on my own and my bubble friends live about 12 miles
| away, because that's the reality of living in what's basically
| a dormitory village and working/socialising in town. I meet
| them about once a week for a walk, but options are limited
| because the county I live in isn't exactly known for its
| extensive network of public footpaths.
|
| The whole "local area" thing is doubly ludicrous because I have
| to drive more than 5 miles to get to a supermarket. There _is_
| a shop in the village but, whilst it 's OK for bits and pieces,
| it's not sufficient for a full grocery shop.
|
| Nobody's ever stopped me or challenged me for leaving the
| village, which is overall a good thing because if they ever
| tried I doubt I'd be very kind to them. I've stuck to the rules
| for the last 12 months willingly enough but I'm getting
| seriously fed up of it. I haven't seen my family since October,
| including my nephew who recently celebrated his first birthday:
| you don't get that time back.
|
| Not forever will I tolerate living under rules that infringe
| basic freedoms to a level that I doubt have been seen in Europe
| since before the Iron Curtain fell, whatever the situation with
| the virus or the vaccine might be.
| dominotw wrote:
| > One of my favourite pastimes in London was picking somewhere
| on the map I'd never been and just walking there.
|
| You would prbly have been dead by now if you did that here in
| chicago.
| drewcoo wrote:
| > The article's a bit of a troll piece, so I'm going to ignore
| it.
|
| It's what we call "humor," actually. Ignorance of humor
| acknowledged.
| dTal wrote:
| I read it with an increasing series of delighted chuckles;
| it's a fine example of the kind of cultural observational
| humor that Bill Bryson is so famed for.
|
| And now I think I shall go for an aimless walk...
| Veen wrote:
| Actually, we call it "humour".
| telesilla wrote:
| When in a new city with plenty of time to see how it works I
| pick someone who looks interesting and follow them, until they
| get on what is clearly commuter transport. Or, in a city like
| London, Amsterdam or Berlin you can follow someone on the
| bicycle for extra long rides to new places. Another thing I've
| done is look for a cafe on the other side of town and go
| exploring. Of course, keeping safe means always being aware
| where you are. As a woman it's always been heightened not to
| find myself out after dark on foot for example.
| tkgally wrote:
| Once, around fifteen years ago, I had a day free at the end
| of a short business trip to Seoul. I decided to explore the
| city randomly. I got on the subway, rode a few stops, and
| went up to ground level and walked around. I repeated this
| several times.
|
| Each area turned out to be interesting in a different way,
| and I encountered things--a wholesale textile market, a maze-
| like residential neighborhood--I never would have seen if I
| had been following a guidebook.
| Tomte wrote:
| > Of course, keeping safe means always being aware where you
| are
|
| There is also the other side of the coin: if you do this,
| make sure you aren't noticed.
|
| Especially with women. Especially especially in the dark.
| It's not nice to make other people feel threatened.
| Footkerchief wrote:
| Some semi-formal methods for this:
|
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9rive
| jpcooper wrote:
| Nice link. Will Self wrote a book called Psychogeography.
| Haven't read it yet, although it sounds interesting:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychogeography_(book).
| Klwohu wrote:
| Why does HN allow Guardian submissions at all? What's next, links
| to 4chan threads?
| buttscicles wrote:
| I enjoyed the article. I do think the author should take up
| photography though, if only to give those aimless walks a purpose
| :)
| cjbenedikt wrote:
| For a better understanding:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notes_from_a_Small_Island
| newdayrising wrote:
| There are many pleasure walkers here who seem to be so upset at
| the guile of someone who dares criticize their beloved pastime
| that they completely missed the point of the article. The
| author's issue is with walking "culture" that encourages walking
| _for walking 's sake_. In other words, walking that ignores
| surroundings and is more concerned with either the concept of
| walking or an interior journey where surroundings are just a
| backdrop to encourage thinking. I completely agree. These type of
| walkers aren't walking to see nature or observe new surroundings,
| they're walking to just "be". It reminds me of running hikers or
| mountain bikers that blow past you on beautiful hiking trails
| oblivious to the beauty around them. Walking or hiking to these
| people is more about the personal narcissistic pleasure they can
| wrench out of their surroundings rather than being receptive and
| "taking in" the beauty of nature. It's about "running" or
| "walking" and consuming views. I actually prefer Instagram hikers
| over runners. At least the Instagrammer is looking for beauty to
| share with others. The runners, pleasure walkers and mountain
| bikers are blazing over nature, the rest of you be damned.
| globular-toast wrote:
| I think this all boils down to "why do you like what I don't
| like?"
| bot41 wrote:
| A really useless article. Walk or don't walk, it doesn't really
| matter. The author suggests doing some HIIT training with friends
| instead... It just doesn't make sense to compare the activities.
| ChrisArchitect wrote:
| long but enjoyable piece from back in February
| babygoat wrote:
| I can't stand the thought of lifting weights. So I just don't do
| it. It's never crossed my mind to write a 5000 word essay about
| it.
| brudgers wrote:
| Until now?
| Rendello wrote:
| > A cucumber is bitter. Throw it away. There are briars in the
| road. Turn aside from them. This is enough. Do not add, "And
| why were such things made in the world?"
|
| -- Marcus Aurelius
| danaliv wrote:
| Just want to thank you both for the delightful irony of these
| comments.
| Rendello wrote:
| I'm no Stoic ;)
| ricc wrote:
| People try to write just about anything today for "content".
| diimdeep wrote:
| You are welcome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plogging
| sdwr wrote:
| Lovely, thanks.
| poopypoopington wrote:
| One of my favorite things in the world is going for a long walk
| or bike ride and listening to a good podcast. I would love to do
| that in the places the author is moaning about.
| loloquwowndueo wrote:
| It's a fun read but I concur with other commenters about it being
| a sarcastic rant about something the author doesn't enjoy
| (probably because they are doing it wrong - also surprised a
| Canadian would complain about not having the right shoes given
| the "no bad weather, only bad clothing" mantra Canadians live by.
| ).
| ckdarby wrote:
| I'm Canadian, I don't think I've ever heard another Canadian
| say that mantra and it does make sense to some degree.
|
| There is absolutely "bad weather" because I don't think anyone
| will call -30/-40C plus wind in the middle of winter as "good
| weather".
| claudiulodro wrote:
| It's actually a Scandinavian mantra. Basically something moms
| tell their kids to make them go outside and play regardless
| of weather.
| loloquwowndueo wrote:
| I have heard Canadians say it - so it's your anecdata vs. my
| anecdata :)
|
| Thanks to the replier who helpfully pointed out the saying
| originated in Scandinavia.
| goatinaboat wrote:
| _It's a fun read but I concur with other commenters about it
| being a sarcastic rant about something the author doesn't
| enjoy_
|
| It's the Guardian. The thought that anyone, anywhere might
| enjoy something means they want it banned.
| siliconc0w wrote:
| I enjoy hiking (what we call it in the states) but I don't always
| have the time or access to an ideal trail without a lot of
| travel. To 'hack' around this I use a weighted backpack (a.k.a
| ruck sacking) and either just wander interesting neighborhoods or
| hit the easier nature walks/trails. After about an hour you kinda
| get similar physical exertion and the feeling of a longer hike
| without the time or trudge costs. I still like to do some 'real'
| hiking when I can but rucking is a nice way to squeeze in a
| little outside time when I can.
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(page generated 2021-04-03 23:02 UTC)