Easy to accomplish (at least for me). One word: Dog. I walk daily 90 minutes at least. There was a time (and another dog, but thats not the reason) where it was more like 120-200 minutes a day outside. I live in a fairly populated town in east Germany. We have a solid forest and lots of lakes around. Its great and like 20 years+ later I know most of them, but not all.
My coworker and I worked like a year together at my place. He came around, we drank a coffee together and started working. Like 3-4 hours later, depending on schedule, we took a good 60 minutes+ walk with my dog. We talked project related things sometimes, but it felt never like "we have to talk about work", We were kind of friends so we had lots of other topics. Then back at my place we continued for 2,3 or even 5 hours. We had no issues stopping after 2 hours, but did often way more. We were very productive.
We were a good match, but those breaks outside enjoying life (forced by my habits to go at least 60minutes outside with the dog) helped a lot not burning out and making room in the brain.
I am similar and walk my dog for about an hour before and another hour after work every day. It’s amazing how much you can think through with dedicated time and space to do so, not to mention physical health benefits
I find the anti-backpack mindset interesting, because I started urban walking after getting wilderness backpacking experience. I can't imagine walking around without a daypack, and I often bring it with me even when it's empty. On my morning commute today it held a Kindle, a spare set of headphones, and a plastic bag for when I buy more groceries than can fit in the pack. I'm probably not going to use any of those before I get home, though.
Backpacks are magic for longer trips. Food, water, coffee, all go in. Unsure about the weather? Layers layers layers, all in the pack. I also use LL Bean's PrimaLoft Packaway (I own two, one black and one orange), and have a shell for rainy/snowy weather. Unless it's both cold and rainy, one of the two goes in the backpack.
I've also never worried much about pocket preferences on my shorts and pants. I instead care about pockets on my packs. My current big pack is an Osprey Exos 58 (but the newer version doesn't have hip belt pockets or a shoulder strap pocket), and my daypack is an REI Flash 22 (with easily accessible side pockets, and a top pocket that you can reach with an awkward shoulder movement).
Edit: The big floppy hat comment was absolutely spot-on
I cannot deal when a backpack when the temperature is above 65 degrees Fahrenheit, for the very reason Arnade gives -- a sweaty back. I've been using a Nittany Mountain Works fanny pack on bike rides recently (the larger model will carry A5 notebooks, which is plenty big for my non-work commuting since I'm remote full time now). I guess I will still deal with a sweaty lower back, but that's better than my entire back.
That said, I agree with you -- I could imagine walking (or riding) with stuff in my pockets.
Getting a good hiking pack designed to sit off of your back a bit was a godsend to me. I'm with you that I won't carry one if it's hot out, but I'll gladly carry a smaller pack all the time otherwise.
Fanny packs are sweet, except the part where you're wearing a fanny pack.
> Fanny packs are sweet, except the part where you're wearing a fanny pack.
Hear me out:
Sport coats. (edit: and blazers)
Very light linen ones for hot days, which keep sun off your skin without really making you hotter. Cooler days, break out the wool.
All those extra pockets are wonderful. Grab some thin old mass-market genre paperbacks and discover why they made them that size :-)
They're like purses for men, that you can wear instead of carry, and that make you look better. Similar storage capacity to a fanny pack, I'd say. Maybe a little more.
You could grab one or two from a thrift store and see how you like it, then upgrade if it seems like something you want to keep doing. Nice and cheap way to try it out. Difficulty: a nice light linen jacket's probably gonna be a little hard to find at a thrift store, so it may be best to start this attempt in the Fall.
In my experience, when you go on very long (10-20mi) walks in hot weather, you need a backpack even more, since you have to carry around large amounts of water (either in water bottles or in one of those hydration pack things).
Biking is different, of course--you're not outside for as long (at least for a given number of miles), and you can store your water bottles on the bike itself.
Hydration bags tend to be slightly less problematic as many incorporate some amount of airflow-management and moisture-wicking, and the water itself tends to be somewhat cooler, at least initially.
Sir/madam, have you ever tried an Osprey that suspends the weight of the bag off of your back with a sturdy piece of mesh and very minimal metal internal frame?[1] (I think Osprey pioneered this, other manufacturers now have it too). It has been life changing for me. I use it daily for commuting, and just finished 3-week tour through 3 countries with laptop, Kindle, and everything else packed inside this one bag. I’m sure Osprey has smaller versions if 34L is too much.
The metal frame must be the key. I have an Osprey backpack without it, and the mesh alone does almost nothing to help with sweat, even though it was sold to me as being better. A friend in high school found an old Vietnam-era? US army rucksack with a metal frame that was less comfortable in the short term but not bad in the long, sweaty term.
Cross body bags are a nice midpoint between a backpack size and a fanny pack size and they don't sit on your back causing sweat - I got an adidas one for like $30 and I can easily fit a 32oz water bottle a folded light jacket plus other small things.
I fixed that by using a small gym sack for longer (mostly urban) walks and hikes. There are some with rather thick ropes, and they are quite comfy if you don't pack them too heavyweight. Also lets your back breathe due to the smaller area covered, and the ropes are narrow enough to not leave a sweatmark (as opposed to straps).
I can't stand sweaty back either. Each of my bikes has some sort of rack or basket.
With that said, the college kids tend to prefer a backpack because it's their mobile office, and they don't want anything on their bike that can get stolen.
I am coming from same path as you describe - hiker to the core. Be it 2 hours or 3 weeks in himalaya. That's my past 14 years of life described (with some climbing, ski touring and few other sports on top, but this is the solid base).
I have 2 small kids now, and they are really not in best shape for long hikes or anything more extreme. Son on baby backpack would be 20 kilos without any further equipment/food required.
So I switched to long evening walks during work week after they go sleep. 2-3h, up to 10km. Luckily there are some nice options around me, so I try to variate things a bit every time, join things in loops and so on. Often music in the ears, very dark, walking in the forests where path surface is not really visible, rather than just very weak line and I trust my feet (and know the surface is not really tricky since I walked it 100x already).
Walking fast, as fast as my legs allow it for prolonged time (one gets this sense after some time spent doing it, pushing oneself too much is very bad idea). Also not fan of backpacks for this, rather stuffing pockets of jacket with everything required.
Its magical, clears head, tons of ideas come to me, for family, work, anything. Sometimes I struggle to write it all down and not forget anything. Sometimes smoking a bit of weed which makes this process more smooth. One activity that keeps such previously-active person as me still sane, even if kids sometimes try hard to push me the other way.
My bike commute to work used to be this time for me, though it was pretty short by the clock (25mins each way), and obviously was lost with the pandemic/WFH. In the last few months I've reclaimed that space somewhat with recreational evening walks, and that's been really great— sometimes with a friend, often on my own, usually in silence. Currently these are around 40-60mins, but your post is for sure inspiring me to step that up.
I'm a fan of the small backpack when I'm out with my kids, particularly for a water bottle, tubs of snacks, a place to put that pinecone they found, etc. But just me? A wallet and phone in my pants pockets is more than enough.
Depends on how hot and humid it is outside. Even in breathable clothing like Nike Dryfit or any of the thousand knockoffs, in 90+ degrees, high humidity weather, a backpack blocks perspiration evaporating off. It literally becomes a hot spot on your back. He did have one tip I don't entirely agree with to use Vaseline, but instead I use Glide just because I don't care for the consistency of petroleum jelly. Although he mentions long sleeves shirts and a hat with neck guard, he said nothing explicitly about skin or eye protection; people in the sun day after day should be wearing polarizing lenses and high SPF clothing along with sun screen.
Even during monsoon season in AZ, I still find an all-mesh marathon vest like Ultimate Direction Marathon Vest V2 plenty comfortable. I put my phone, flashlight, ID, hand sanitizer, tweezers (for cactus thorns) and keys in it. If I need to I can also put something like a Patagonia Houdini in it for windy / light precip.
Nice! Good tip. Anything to prevent the advance of macular degeneration and cataracts. [1] Maybe that's not settled science - not sure - but it's a cheap preventative. And it's settled enough at least that good sunglasses can be purchased through some FSA/HSAs.
Perhaps an odd thing to ask, but what are you packing in your backpack for coffee? That sounds lovely, but between the need for hot water, the subpar quality of most powdered coffees, etc, it has seemed out of reach.
For day trips I brew coffee at home and carry it in a vacuum insulated bottle. The bottle smells like coffee even after cleaning, so I have one that I always use for the task.
For multi-day trips I already have a small camping stove (MSR PocketRocket or an alcohol stove), and I pack instant coffee. I heavily prioritize saving weight on longer trips, so I generally drink my coffee out of the same light plastic bowl that I just ate oatmeal out of, which doubles as a decent way to clean the bowl.
For wilderness backpacking I'm a big fan of Jet Boil and their clones. You can make your own freeze dried / just add water meals pretty easily, only using it to boil water for that and drinks. They make a french press insert that actually works ok. Personally I just converted over to earl grey tea. It's crazy convenient to just do one boil for food, one for coffee / tea, and nothing to clean or pack out but a zip lock bag.
For urban backpacking the more high end thermoses are really effective at keeping stuff hot once you've made it.
Not the OP but I take every opportunity to brag about my Zojirushi SM-KHE insulated mug. I use mine every day -- cold coffee and tea are a thing of the past.
I have several friends that really like their Fellow Carter Everywhere mugs if you want an alternative.
+1 for the Zojiroshi. I've owned a variety of vacuum flasks and it's by far the best. Years later and my tea is still scalding hot ten hours later (I usually let it cool a bit after steeping before I put it in because it protects too well). It's gone on dozens of flights and journeys with me and other than a few scratches looks and feels as good as the day I got it. It's also trivial to disassemble and clean.
I take my backpack [1] on my daily 1.5+ walk. Typically, with just an iPad, and a water bottle, but when I get to the destination in SoHo (Manhattan) it gets stuffed with fresh baked Bagguete, and some other minor daily grocery etc.
In addition to the ones I had in my ears. It's not a normal thing for me to carry. I had thought I lost a pair of earbuds. I keep an extra set of cheap headphones at home, so I put them in my backpack. And then it turned out my main earbuds were in my jacket pocket, so now I'm carrying two pairs until I get home tonight.
After walking to and from work for 5 years along the same route, I found that I prefer walking without listening to anything on headphones.
Just thinking increases awareness of my surroundings, allows me time to process existing thoughts as opposed to consuming more inputs, and connects me to the people I would inevitably see on a semi-regular basis.
Personally, I have found that 1 hour + is a good threshold to aim for for some really quality thinking. After about an hour I've already processed normal stuff about family or work and have moved on to deeper topics.
> allows me time to process existing thoughts as opposed to consuming more inputs
This can't be stressed enough.
With phones and the Internet today, most of us consume way more information than we have time to really process, organize, and reflect on. It's like we do a shopping spree every single day and never spend any time in our house unpacking any of the grocery bags. Our minds are a chaotic mess of piled up worries, news, unmade decisions, etc.
Walking (without audiobooks or other media) is the single best solution I've found to give my brain the idle time it needs to run a defrag and work through that backlog.
There is a benefit of re-listening to certain audiobooks, lectures or podcasts. If there was a sophisticated way to just have content on-repeat, that would be cool. New content all the time is over-consumption, while repeating could be used for learning.
Also if walking alone, people should try calling friends and family. It's a great way to reconnect and stay connected with friends. Handsfree, heads up, it's good fun. I also feel much more chatty when on a walk.
In seasons of life where there are a lot of new things happening I tend to re-read books or re-listen to familiar music whereas other times I find myself in more of an exploratory mood.
The Count of Monte Cristo is my current go to re-read.
I just picked this back up last week for similar reasons. I have so much going on in my life right now that I wanted something to read where I already know the story well and can allow parts of my brain to "defrag" while still enjoying a book.
What I like to do sometimes is spend the first 10-ish minutes listening to a book or podcast to plant some ideas, then let these ideas percolate, let my mind wander, and if I get to somewhere interesting and actionable, I take a note.
Same. I start with a book/podcast and if my mind likes it, I keep it on. But often my mind wanders (may it be a distraction or inspiration from whatever it is in my headphones) and I'll go ahead and operate sans audio.
This is an excellent articulation. I’ve read dozens of books and articles about the cons of using technology too much and it’s never quite clicked like it did when I read your shopping analogy. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you’re a stranger on the internet and I don’t have any underlying worries about your stance being motivated by selling books or building an audience on social media.
I just do whatever I feel like on that particular walk. I'd say 40/20/40 on whether I want to listen to a podcast/audiobook, listen to music or walk in silence.
I used to listen to music and stuff a lot while walking or even commuting but a few years ago I decided to give up on most idle listening, preferring to listen to music or podcasts with intent now: eg to enjoy some music, not just passively.
I used to walk a lot (I still walk a good bit but because I work from home I don’t walk to work each day anymore) and I found the quiet time to be the best time to come up with solutions to problems, to reflect on my life or day, to just wind down and switch off, to enjoy nature (when I walk to walk, as opposed to walking to reaching a destination, I typically walk along a river near my home). I think we are overstimulated far far too much and some quiet time and boredom is good for the brain and certainly it’s good for creativity.
How I read what they wrote is that instead of mindlessly listening to anything just to listen to something as the default, they prefer to instead be selective if they decide to listen to something.
Sibling comment is correct. What I meant is I don’t listen to music/podcasts by default: when I walk, I walk in silence. I don’t use audio as background noise.
Instead, when I listen to music, it’s usually by sitting down deliberately to exclusively listen to music. The music isn’t idle background noise but rather the point of that activity. I enjoy music a lot more now, I find.
In general I try to have silence where in the past I would have had audio playing in the background. So definitely while walking but also while working (since I’m working from home and don’t need to drown out office noises).
When you set out do you have a mental agenda or do you find that your mind gravitates toward worthwhile topics once you're walking?
I'm more a mind wanderer, though for a season I tried to mentally prepare myself for the transition from being at a controlled work environment to walking into a house with two young kids at the end of the day.
Unless there’s something specific on my mind beforehand (eg I’m trying to solve a problem I’m working on or having), no, my goal is generally not to purposefully think about anything and let my mind wander instead. I found often my best thoughts come in their own, when I’m not actively trying to think them.
> Personally, I have found that 1 hour + is a good threshold to aim for for some really quality thinking. After about an hour I've already processed normal stuff about family or work and have moved on to deeper topics.
I find this kinda pointless for myself. Most of the time I just revisit the same subjects over and over and come to the same conclusions no matter how I try to solve it. Once I’m done with the menial tasks - the “deeper” topics just make me upset to think about because they make me realize how hopelessly fucked I am. I’d rather not focus on that and instead do a bit of hedonism while I can.
Interesting, the way I think I think while walking/hiking is much less wrestling one specific topic to come to a conclusion and more bouncing around between many things. Maybe I don't even really conclude things but instead just move an idea along.
Been hiking for a long time and do really long hikes. Eventually an epiphany or moment of self realisation will appear out of the blue. I had one at the weekend which was somewhat life changing.
It's a good time to let thoughts resurface on their own, consider them for a moment and let them go. It gives me time to zoom out, to untangle my feelings, to make sense of them.
It's a sort of personal retrospective slash backlog grooming session.
We need that idle time. When I go on long motorcycle trips, I return with a clear head and a much better idea of what I want to do next.
Maybe you should try the reverse of listening to audiobooks/podcasts. Use your phone as a voice recorder, and just talk about anything that’s going through your mind. Basically an audio brain dump. Since you know that your thoughts are being recorded, you are much less likely to “run in circles“ mentally.
When I lived in NYC, my commute was about 45 minutes. As much as everyone hates long commutes, I found that to be a very ideal amount of time to decompress from work. It's different when you don't have to drive; standing or sitting on a train is much more relaxing.
Driving is very stressful, and inherently risky (most people a cramped up in their car). Also, 45 minutes of walk is near ideal to get endorphins (AFAIK).
I try to double fork my commute, either explore some new path or do some groceries so the 45minutes are not just walk/train.
Right now I do bike - train - bike (but, surprisingly, trains are unreliable this month .. they're the one making me late :)
I started biking to work (only 3 miles) and after a year I switched to walking because I found biking wasn't giving me enough time to separate "home" from "work". Even during Covid, my wife would kick me out of the house for thirty minutes after work so I could decompress. The difference between "coming down stairs" and "coming home from work" were night and day.
I've been taking a walk every day since covid. Part of my daily routine now, early as soon as the sun comes up. It's usuallly 30(ish) mins, but your comment just made me change tomorrow's time to 90 mins.
Just wanted to say thanks, ill seriously give this a try.
For the past year or so, I've walked between 1 and 6 miles a day at my local park (weather permitting). Putting headphones on never struck me as an idea, which is strange because I had them in basically constantly when I was wandering the UF campus all day a few years ago.
I enjoy listening to the animals / birds / insects, and tossing friendly hellos to the people walking by. (Actually, maybe that's why -- at the park where I walk, headphones would feel slightly antisocial)
I do 2 hours of activity per day (cycling, walking, swimming, etc). More in a summer. Since in winter it is more or less routine I just work when I do it. Usually solve some design / programming / planning task which I will implement later when at my desk. Over many years it has become a habit. Sometimes when I come back home for a walk I can't remember a thing about outside because my legs were doing on work and the brain was busy with the other.
I've been the same lately, I already think so much at work so I don't need more things to think about.
However I did have a great time learning Chinese and Japanese via audio courses while taking long walks - without that time it's hard for me now to find the time to do the same.
I actually have trouble thinking while I walk. I have heard quote about it a thousand times, but I think better sitting down. I can't think at all when I run (yes, long runs).
> I will end by saying, as a guy, I have never had any problems from other people. In all my years walking all over. But that it is sadly very very different for women.
He's either only walking in exceptionally safe areas, he's very large, or I have a particularly punchable face. I biked every road in St. Louis a few years ago, which required biking every street in some high-crime neighborhoods. I was frequently made to feel uncomfortable. I was never attacked or anything like that, but multiple times it was made clear to me that I was where I didn't belong. And I was on a bike and could quickly ride away. I think I would have had a lot more trouble on foot.
I remember being in a bar once and some guy started trouble with me for no reason and my buddy, who is 6'3'' and 250 pounds did not believe that detail, because "nobody would start trouble with you for no reason." To paraphrase Don Draper, "no, nobody would start trouble with you for no reason."
I had a conversation with a cyclist who grew up in one of those "high crime neighborhoods" in St. Louis. He said that he received strange looks and comments when he visited his old neighborhood with a road bike attached to his car. He belonged; the bike did not. I suspect that more-than-casual cycling is a cultural oddity in some areas. I'm not sure that walking would garner the same reaction.
Whenever I see a bike in a car I assume the person has a lot of free time and therefore is somehow what well-off. Perhaps people were subconsciously judging his wealth?
I would invert your statement and posit you were riding in very dangerous areas. Most of the US is very safe compared to St. Louis, Chicago, Oakland, Richmond (CA), Detroit, Atlanta, etc.
Don't go to stupid places filled with stupid people doing stupid things and you'll likely be okay — and this includes bars after midnight just about anywhere. Nothing good happens after midnight, but I digress.
I agree with you that it was a good thing you were on a bike and I'm glad you're here to post about it!
I live in a downtown Chicago neighborhood. I would say that outside of certain neighborhoods, it’s pretty safe. I go for long walks all the time with no concerns. Time of day matters somewhat too. I rarely venture out after midnight.
I’m not a particularly imposing person but I grew up in a big city so I know how to navigate one. Less savvy people might have lower thresholds for safety.
I stayed in downtown ATL for a bit and it seemed pretty safe. It’s not a particularly rough city. Downtown isn’t particularly walkable though, with its 4 lane 1 way streets. I ended up driving a lot.
My son likes to relate what he has found going on in the world online.
But I have one injunction: I don't want to hear about stupid people being stupid. There is just an astounding amount of that, always has been, and everybody seems to want everybody else to know all about it, in detail.
Don't go to stupid places filled with stupid people doing stupid things and you'll likely be okay — and this includes bars after midnight just about anywhere. Nothing good happens after midnight, but I digress.
> I biked every road in St. Louis a few years ago, which required biking every street in some high-crime neighborhoods.
He is likely avoiding high-crime neighborhoods. There is a big gap between 'exceptionally safe' and 'high-crime' neighborhoods. Your average and even below average neighborhoods are likely safe for most walkers.
I've done a lot of urban walking in a variety of towns. One time in a town much smaller and lower crime than St. Louis, I had a guy approach me and say "thanks for finding my phone-- give me my phone!" I was holding my own phone, and I ignored the comment and kept walking- at a brisker pace, and watching their actions very carefully. I am 90% sure I could have defended myself if he had attacked me. I'm a very average sized person, if I had been smaller who know what he would have done?
Any way, I agree, its best to always be alert and aware no matter where you are and be smart about where you walk, no matter what your gender presentation is. There are some crazy people in this world.
I am a huge advocate for walking, and I walk a lot, but there is a certain biased assumption of safety.
I live in Chicago. I live in a…oh…let’s say a gentrifying area of Chicago.
I can imagine it would be intimidating to walk around some of the areas near me if I was a woman, or presenting as female/non-binary, or even a smaller man. (The non-binary bit is not some empty bit of woke, it is also a very LGBT-heavy area of town.) It’s easy to advocate walking, and perhaps easy to shrug off alarmism about crime, when you’re not likely to be the target of harassment or criminality.
Fortunately for me, I am easily the most terrifying creature on the street at 4am, and can blithely walk 2 miles to get home when Uber prices spike to $40. https://imgur.com/a/QoTzQr6
I've gained an appreciation for walking through very roundabout means.
For the longest time I found walking even short distances insufferably slow and boring. I ride my bike--a lot. The distances and durations I cover have grown each year to the point that centuries (metric or imperial) are a regular weekend event. Boredom is always an issue when you're out for 5+ hours, but you'd be surprised at how much your sense of time can change if you normalize riding long distances. Interestingly, my mind's time-condensation for cycling never translated to walking.
This year I branched out into winter ultra fat biking, which, as it turns out, can involve a significant amount of walking. In bad snow conditions one can end up pushing a heavy bike for hours at a time. The two races I did this winter had their respective all time worst course conditions. So, I did a lot of walking.
This spring I've found myself opting walk to the gym and office, leaving the bike at home. My mind doesn't count the minutes the way it used to. I actually have no sense of how long it takes me to get to these places. I suspect the exaggerated stimulus of pushing a bike for hours through snow drifts has adapted my perception of everyday walking. I would hypothesize that the author's 20-mile weekend walks makes their long daily walks more doable. If you want to enjoy short regular walks, perhaps it would help to go out for a very long and hard walk from time to time.
> If you want to enjoy short regular walks, perhaps it would help to go out for a very long and hard walk from time to time.
Bingo. Adaptation can do wonders for our perception of an activity. How do you adapt? By pushing the limits a little bit at a time; getting in the zone of discomfort for a short while, and stopping before pain/injury.
Lately, I've been trying to enjoy discomfort by thinking of it as an indication that my limits are now shifting in the right direction.
As for safety, always look left and right when you cross, just like how your were probably taught as a child, really. Because of today's rise of mostly silent electric vehicles, and because of drivers distracted by phones sometimes, you should not cross "by hear", if it ever was a good idea (I used to do that), even if you have the green light. Be extra cautious if a large truck or bus blocks your view. Remove your headset/earphones in high traffic environments.
The author mentions other (hostile) people as a potential problem, one could also mention wild animals or straight dogs in urban environments. I had a couple of encounters with lost dogs myself, thankfully they were not hostile. Advice on how to behave from "pros" would be welcome.
I would add that absolutely do not cross if a car has stopped at a stop sign UNLESS you have an explicit signal from the driver. Most drivers have an almost instinctual stop & go at such stop signs and not in response to seeing a pedestrian. Always wait for the driver to see you and have a nod with them so you are sure they have stopped for you.
My girlfriend used to smirk and roll her eyes at me when I would stop and stare at drivers and wave to them when we would cross in front of them at crosswalks and stop signs and wait for them to wave back, until someone almost ran us over the one time I didn't. Now she's a waver like me.
And even then, you have to be careful of the cars behind them. Was crossing at a cross walk once- the first car stopped to let me cross- the car behind them swerved around them and blew through the cross walk- at about the time I would have been there, had I not been paying close attention and stopped!
I always do this anyway. I figure if they're stopped I can be decent and let them go, I'm usually not in any hurry when I'm out walking, no reason to hold up the person in the car and like you said it's much safer.
So much this; It's really easy to be upset at others for not conforming to your expectations in a car. Stepping into another mode of transportation (walking/cycling/even a different kind of motor-vehicle) can do a lot to expand your awareness of others constraints.
watch the freaking turning lane like a hawk too. I got hit by a police car, of all things, once because he was turning and just didn't see me. I had to do the whole ninja roll across the hood and off the other side. I wasn't injured too bad, just a sprung wrist.
It definitely makes the situation feel a lot lower pressure to me. After all, the chief activity is taking a hike/walk, so if the conversation lulls it never feels awkward and there's always something new to see and remark on.
I had a manager who (back when we were office workers) liked to do outdoor walking 1-on-1 meetings. TBH, I really disliked it, but not enough to ask to stay indoors. I found the noise and sights rather distracting.
It's true, but in a busy city environment, you're pretty much forced to form pairs. Because of the noise, it's very hard to hear what the person on the other side is saying.
I always have the problem that I can either focus on the conversation or on the environment, but not both. When I concentrate on the conversation, I completely blind out my surroundings. Trying to repeatedly switch between both is exhausting.
I started walking regularly (averages to about 9km a day) over a year ago. It transformed my life.
I was walking a little bit before, but not regularly. Since I started doing it every day I lost 35 kg and got much happier. I just can't continue to be angry about anything after walking for 1 hour with a good book on the headphones.
Now I'm usually doing about 5-10 km on work days and 20-35 km on free days. I skip if the weather is too bad but it's rare. For example I love walking when snow is falling as long as it's not the heavy wet variety.
I agree that sometimes it's better not to listen to anything - you can recognize these days by the fact you don't actually listen to the stuff on the headphones. Then I just turn it off or put some instrumental music instead.
As for where to walk - I prefer countryside nowadays, but that's probably because countryside here is very walkable. Small roads have pavements or the traffic is so low it doesn't matter. And the expectation is that people walk on them so it's pretty safe. There's only one road nearby that sucks for walking as I've learnt the hard way. Never again.
I used to be an avid walker, at least an hour a day back and forth to work, and long walks with the dogs around my home (lucky to live in a beautiful area in the PNW with close beaches and lots of trees, so plenty to enjoy.) I've been walking since I was a kid, as it was the only way to get back and forth to school and town growing up in the Berkeley hills. Though I resented it as a kid, I grew in to loving walks.
I've been developing severe osteoarthritis in my knees over the last decade since I hit my 40's, and now it's so bad, I'm unable to walk more than about 10 minutes. It's had a tremendous negative impact on my physical and mental health, especially as it was coincident with the pandemic. I've "replaced it" with biking, but for some reason, it just doesn't do as much for me as walking did. I've gained about 30 pounds, I'm tired all the time, and for the first time ever, feeling a little blue now and then and not doing other things I used to enjoy (very mild though, my wife has major depression and mine is a blip comparatively.) I guess I'm a living testament to how important walking is.
I like the timing of this article for myself. On the bright side, I'm getting one of my knees replaced next week, and the other hopefully in 6 months if recovery goes well. I am really looking forward to daily walks again and getting back to that healthy place I was in for so long!
It's probably several factors, according to the docs. Partly genetics, partly taking up running later in life (about 35, loved it, but the knee pain started in about 5 years in), partly being tall, partly weight issues.
The problem with biking is that people tend to exert themselves unlike walking which tends to be more leisurely done. The solution could be an electric shopping bike, the type they use in Japan or Holland and such places. Very comfy seat, upright sitting and much more relaxed ride overall. Another option is rowing which is much less strenuous on the knees, either outside or with a machine at home.
Interestingly, I just got a VanMoof electric bike a few weeks ago as part of a commuting program at work. I'm able to use it for leisure too, so I hope you're right.
I'd love to have this freedom. As well as a nice cabin up in the Green Mountains of Vermont to explore. But 12mi a day, and you're basically a professional hiker for a living when you include prep time and post prandial hot tub soaks for recovery ;)
You're already talking yourself out of walking and you haven't even started. ;)
12 miles is totally doable, but start with less because you'll injure yourself if you don't walk at all now. Even just 15 minutes of walking is great.
I am more of a bicyclist and luckily there are many trails around me. (I don't like riding on the streets) On a nice summer day I can easily spend 3 hours riding. If you work a full time 9-5, there is still plenty of time in the morning or evening to get a few hours of exercise in . (I should take my own advice here!)
I'm a cyclist too and in the recent good weather I've averaged about 50km per day (split into morning/evening rides) during the week and usually a 70-80km ride one weekend day. Making the most of the weather while it lasts!
Hey I understand the spirit of your message but you don't really have to be a professional hiker. The OP says it takes three and a half hours to walk 12 miles but could be easily squeezed to 3 hours. Then, it could be split. Half of this could be done in the morning and the other half in the evening.
I would kindly urge you to consider this and give walking a fair try. It made a lot of positive change in my life. Best wishes.
The fraction of the population that can sustain a 4 mph pace comfortably for three hours is probably small. That's a pretty good clip. 2.5 to 3 mph is much more realistic.
Yes. I've been walking for a LONG time and 12 miles takes me about 4 hours. That's a lot of time out of your day, plus you likely won't have a lot of energy left for errands or whatever else needs to be done afterwards.
I'm a pretty fast hiker most of the time, and I find that my pace almost always works out to 2 mph once I figure in breaks and miscellaneous stops or delays. Like fishing out sunglasses, taking bio breaks, removing or adding layers, or enjoying the view for a few minutes. (Granted we're not necessarily talking about hiking.)
I've been following Tom Turich on Facebook for years now. He's just about to finish up his 7 year walk around the world with his dog Savannah. I think he was walking around 15-20 miles (24-32 km) a day, somedays upwards of 30 miles (48 km).
The most miles I've done (walking and running) in a day is 105 (169 km). It was a lot. The world record is 192.252 miles (309.4 km). Okay, that involved some running.
I was a little ambiguous there. It was a 24 hour race around a 1.5 mi loop. I completed 105 miles in a combination of walking/running, probably about a 50/50 split between the two. Stopped only to use the restroom and for shoe/sock changes. The race supplied food and drink.
I've also completed 12 hour races (I get to around 62 miles/100 km), and I've done distance races of 50 miles and 100 miles. My best time for 100 miles is 23 hours, but folks complete this distance much faster, say 14:23:13:
It works for me because I'm not a sit-down-and-chat kind of person. I can't sit still - I'm _always_ doing something. I just get ants in my pants and have to get up.
A good hour-long walk is fantastic because it provides a long stretch of uninterrupted time where we can talk about, well, anything! Free from any distractions or time pressure. And strangely, I feel way more open to talking when I'm physically moving.
When walking alone I usually put a podcast on, but most of the time I zone out and end up thinking. It's great because you can carry a long chain of thought and see where it takes you! And the minute I sit down - poof! - it's all gone.
Nietzsche said "all truly great thoughts are conceived while walking".
I wish I could say I had such lofty thoughts are the great philosophers. Usually I'm daydreaming about something useless. But it's nice to think I at least share something in common with them!
I used to ride bicycle with my friend a few times every week 10 years ago. Now it's a distant dream. Both of us have families and full time job so barely getting enough sleep. Weekends are usually spent on chores or personal projects that never get finished.
Amen brother. I walk about an hour a day, most every day, and do some light weights. It's the perfect amount of clear-your-head-and-think time for me, and makes me feel tons better. But it's a tradeoff about what doesn't get done (or that I push off on my wife & family) because I do it. The theme some folks in this thread are pushing that "oh, just take 3-4 hours a day...no big deal anyone can do that...you have nothing more important to do" is seriously defective.
Exactly. It's always trade off. I actually don't spend a lot of time on my kid because my parents are helping a lot. That will change in a year or so and I'd have even less time. Just hope he can sleep throughout the night without waking up so that we can grab more sleep.
I'm a big fan of walking (or hiking). So much that I moved to a mountain town.
For one, creative inspiration often comes to me while walking. Second, it beats sitting on a couch. If you need added stimulation, go with a walking partner or listen to a podcast. Plus health benefits (not going to say it's an amazing workout depending on intensity but it's better than being sedentary) and it's fun.
Yes, it takes time. Sometimes you don't have time. That's ok. It doesn't have to be every day. But it's something you can do with kids, parents, colleagues, by yourself, etc...
I know it's not really the point of this missive, but I average right around 12 miles per day at my treadmill desk. So for anyone who'd like to multitask their walking and work, I'd highly recommend trying it. After about a month the walking bit really becomes second nature.
I recommend trying a decently long slow walk first. The mechanics of walking slowly are not the same as walking at a normal pace. Some people get sore, some do not, better to find out before spending real money on the walking desk. Or be like me, know already from experience walking with slow people that I can't walk that slow and not hurt, buy the treadmill desk anyway, sell it six months later after giving up.
To counter, try standing for a few hours vs. walking slowly and you will be surprised that walking is actually easier. Humans anatomy seems to prefer walking over standing. It's particularly obvious after those long moments where you are deep into woking through some code, where you totally forget to move for about 20 min. The treadmill takes care of that. So if you already bought that standing desk...
I recently bought one of these to pair with my standing desk and I'm losing about one pound per week from walking a leisurely 5-6 miles a day during work. Took me a few days to get acclimated, but after a few weeks I felt fully productive. Wish I'd figured this out sooner.
I don't disagree at all. I can walk many miles at 3mph. At 1.5mph I'll be in pain pretty quickly. But if I really want to suffer, I'll stand for a couple hours.
So I don't have a standing desk, either. I primarily sit when working at the computer. But every 30-45 minutes I get up and go for a stroll, even if just around the yard.
Yeah I gotcha. Don't get me wrong, nothing beats sitting down to work. It's the best. But with kids I don't have time for the gym, and a stroll in the yard wasn't helping my growing waistline.
fwiw my walking desk is set to 2.4mph, which seems to be the sweet spot between my natural walking speed and a pace that I can still comfortably read and type. Pretty much a linear ramp up from 1.0mph to 2.4mph over 1 year period.
For creative inspirations, or even just thinking through a project in your head, a walk outside can be amazing.
What's best is if you can take a full hour-long or more walk, and let your mind wander for the majority of it. You don't need to be actively thinking the whole time, that can actually defeat the purpose of it.
But don't let the great be the enemy of the good, if all you can take is 15 minutes, and you need to be thinking the whole time, do that instead.
During my time as a producer at a game studio, the office was located in a little business park surrounded by grass and rivers and small lakes, with lots of wildlife and some hiking trails. We had a tradition of going out on walks every day before/after lunch, usually a couple loops around the park. I made a point of going every time because I found that lots of conversations would happen naturally during the walk and some of them helped me identify process issues that weren't being addressed or discussed yet - the sorts of things that people were afraid to complain about in meetings because it would make them seem like a whiner.
> I found that lots of conversations would happen naturally during the walk and some of them helped me identify process issues that weren't being addressed or discussed yet
I stepped up to a line manager role (to cover someone for maternity leave) so that I was suddenly line-managing my peers. We had always gone for walks at lunchtime and we very quickly evolved the convention that conservations during the walk were with 'old me' vs those in the office that were with 'manager-me'. This allowed me to vent as well, given that we all a fairly cynical non-corporate bunch.
Sometimes getting out of the loop and going to a coffee, to a walk, or anything that just makes you leave the building but keep talking with coleagues can make wonders for productivity.
I've walked about 12-15 miles a day for >2 months now, while homeless. I found myself unable to perform manual labor on top of the walking for any sustained amount of time. Extended fatigue takes over.
For a sedentary/desk job, I suspect that maintaining this quantity of walking daily would be feasible, and beneficial, long term.
I also love taking long walks on the weekends! I've ramped up over time to around 35 mile walks. I always take the same route, over the Golden Gate bridge and back. With this distance there is a heightened risk of repetitive stress injury, but you can help by increasing distance slowly and doing simple foot/ankle exercises during the week. Besides the potential for listening to music/podcasts, it's also a great time to call friends who may live in other places.
Unlike the author, I do wear a backpack. I really like having all the stuff I might want with me, from snacks to Gatorade to jackets, etc.
It can be very meditative as well. If you walk quietly for several hours, just focusing on breathing and walking, you can be in (almost) another state of consciousness by the time you get back.
I got a portable treadmill in June 2021. I put it under my standing desk and walk at a slow/medium most of the day while I work. I'm at 723 miles so far.
I got 2 actually, one for me and my partner, to see if there was any big differences.
This is mine https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V7F8QYK It's larger. No real complaints other than you can only tip it up against the wall on the heavier end, which makes it top heavy.
This is hers https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0895DRWVY It's a little smaller, but works fine. It's easier to maneuver when tipped up thanks to some omnidirectional bearings built into the edge.
Corona got me into a habit of taking long walks pretty much out of boredom. I now really enjoy doing that and build it into my schedule. I put some podcast on usually and just walk for 1-2 hours; sometimes longer. I also often walk distances I used to use a bike or public transport for. Anything up to 5km is basically walking distance for me. I'll walk it unless I'm in some kind of hurry. Fitting exercise into my schedule is usually tricky so cheating by turning part of a commute or a lunch break into a hike is a great life hack. And if I work from home, I do a fake commute by taking a little walk at the end of the day.
In general, any kind of exercise or mindless activity (cooking, doing stuff with your hands, etc.) is great for resetting your brain. Also if you stop looking at cleaning as chore and start seeing it as an indoor fitness activity, you can basically multi task a bit: reset brain, listen to podcast, get some exercise and my place ends up getting some attention.
Advice: Get out and walk at least once a day, and try to look at things far away once in a while. Otherwise, if you're just staying inside as a resulting habbit of Covid, you can give yourself pseudomyopia (temporary near-sightedness) which can be scary (source: happened to me recently).
We have a guy in Chicago named Joseph Kromelis. He's been walking the city day in and day out since the early 1970s at least. All day, every day. Not homeless or mentally ill or anything, just likes to walk.
I've yet to read the article posted in the OP, but already want to chime in after reading some of the comments.
I tend to walk 5-10mies a day, usually as part of my commute within San Francisco. One of the reasons I love this city so much is the walkability. I'm a fan of the backpack for a book, an extra layer, and in case I buy something on the walk, or in case I find an interesting read in one of those neighborhood share libraries.
My wife will be visiting relatives out of the country for the entire month of July, so I'm planning on a solo trip to some town or city in the United States. Any suggestions on nice, walkable cities? I also like to visit bars and try and see live music.
Most days I walk home from work. I'm up on 98th st, Upper West Side, work is down in Soho. It's about 8 kilometers direct, or I can go up the east side, then wander across Central Park, and make it 9 kilometers, or even 10 kilometers.
This has been my norm for most of adult life, and I recently discovered Chaclas which kinda feel like a cross between Birkenstocks and Teva and are a breeze to walk 15 to 20 miles in. Highly recommend checking out their sandals
Can you link to the sandals you’re talking about? Only thing that comes up for me are the misspelling of chanclas, the generic word for sandals in spanish.
My family is a bit of a Chaco cult. We've climbed 14'ers in Colorado in them, my sister wore Chacos under her wedding dress, and I unintentionally ended up living and working close to the HQ.
I personally have walked 10 miles in a pair, but it was pretty casual walking.
Get them on sale, and send them in to get refurbished from time-to-time. They are fantastic.
I would reverse this advice. See if you're fine with doing frequent walks before getting a (high energy) dog. Too many ppl get dogs and then don't properly walk them.
I was thinking of taking up walking again, despite getting stopped by police more than I would really like.
But I considered getting some kind of MP3 player and have gone down the bizarre rabbit hole of trying to find out if those even exist now, do they use .m3u playlists, and so forth. I haven't had as much time to listen to my music and I am not a user of streaming services (I want to listen to what I want to listen to, rather than some kind of firehose of what someone else decides via algorithm), so this would be a nice time to do it.
I got the Oakcastle color MP3 player for my birthday last year. I had an AGPTek I think, before that. I like them. AGPTek is a good brand in my experience.
I do try to pay a bit higher than the baseline $20 USD range to get a better quality player, and sort by newest-to-market first, to get fresher batteries & firmware.
For walking or hiking the ones with buttons and clips are really great. They are very easy to use without looking at the screen. Mine do support .m3u playlists and have built-in playlist systems as well. You can shuffle files or shuffle playlist entries.
The FM radio features are also usually really convenient if you have wired headphones and any good stations or scheduled programming near where you live.
(I also have a ton of songs on my phone's card and I use Musicolet for that, which is great, but completely different in terms of experience, and I prefer not to walk or hike while holding my phone)
If you don’t mind going with Bluetooth headphones, there are many watches out there that’ll store mp3s and playlists on them. Kill several birds with one stone and get a nice Garmin that’ll also track vitals, map your hike, and measure your pace along with being able to play music and listen to audiobooks ;)
Honestly, I think it is a function of being large and a bit odd-looking. Some big pallid dude walking the neighborhood just sets off something on the cop-dar.
They make it more difficult than they should, but you can totally copy mp3 files in your Android or iphone and use a regular mp3 player app to listen to your own music. Most phones these days have space to spare.
I normally ride my bike to work every day. When the lockdown started, I missed my ride. I heard about the "fake commute" where you pretend to be commuting but end up at home again. I made it a habit to go on a long walk every morning at the same time, to get my blood flowing and clear my mind. During the winter, while I do continue riding to work, I prefer walking if I don't have to cover any kind of real distance.
I would like to read instructions on how to walk — on the act itself.
Sure I have been walking for most of my life, but how do I make sure that I walk with a good posture, without slouching, without looking weird/with confidence/grace/poise/or whatever adjective is appropriate.
I'm sure there are people who walk better than me and I'd like to learn how to do so.
Some of it is just maintaining physical awareness of how you are walking (which it sounds like you're already somewhat doing).
But one actual tip I would give is to lead with your chest when you walk. Oh, and let your arms swing freely, with your hands facing your legs (not turned backwards) and try to place your feet down pointing directly forwards, not having one foot turned outwards, as I often see.
I love to walk, I think people should walk more, but I'm baffled by the logic(?) when the author writes,
> Walking twelve miles takes about three and a half hours. Most people don’t have that time, not people with kids, commutes, and full time jobs. A more realistic goal is around seven miles, which takes about two hours.
Maybe they mean spread out over the course of the day?
I think the idea is to walk for a longer time rather than in chunks to engage in deeper thinking.
If the purpose is fitness, then I agree it can be spread out over the course of the day. Little breaks in the middle also help in thought process but for me it usually leads to focussing only on the immediate problem at hand without allowing the thought process to meander a bit so as to gain a different perspective.
i walk a lot, not 12 miles a day, but an above average amount. Good shoes and good socks go a long way in keeping your feet happy. Also, i have pretty bad posture so i have to make it a point to not slouch while walking or else my back or shoulders eventually start to ache so be mindful of your posture when walking more than 2 or so hrs at a time.
I have roughly the same routine. However, I have been lucky to have two additional components on many occasions:
* Super interesting conversations with my walking comrades.
* LSD / mushrooms / MDMA. Apart from doing garbage collection on my subconscious psychedelics make thinking and talking much more fulfilling and satisfactory.
> My rule of thumb is to try and aim for consistency, and never try to change my total miles walked in a week more than roughly 30% a week
I've read suggestions to keep it at about 10% per week to prevent injury. And more generally to increase in one dimension only (intensity, frequency or duration). Important to know as you get older ...
I’m a big fan of walking. Most days I walk my dog anywhere from 2-4 miles a day. I’m no extreme walker.
I have a day job. That said, it’s my favorite part of my day. If I need to think about things. Either personal or work related, I work it out. If not, I listen to podcasts, and learn more about the world or current events.
Does your library also use other apps? For example mine subscribes to Hoopla so I have access to a lot more content above and beyond Overdrive content.
With Overdrive / Libby I tend to sort by what's available, rather than searching for what I want. (It's similar to going to the library to browse shelves, in that way)
Anyway usually the local librarians know the smartest ways to combine apps and such.
I'm a really heavy overdrive user, and I wouldn't trust the waiting time. Join multiple libraries as well - the limiting factor is if the library has bought the book not the waiting time. Their prediction algorithm seems to assume everyone keeps it for the full 14/21 and many people don't. Also most libraries have multiple copies which speeds things up a ton
Because the best secret tip is that overdrive doesn't encrypt their mp3's. They even admit it at [1]. I don't know about iOS but on android it's just stored plaintext in the android system. So you just get on hold for books and whenever they come in, download then, and don't have to worry about loans. I try to be nice about this and buy the book for author's books I've enjoyed because I want to support artists. But it's nice to not have the limitations of 21 days, especially for longer books
Overdrive is trying to go to libby where they obfuscate the mp3s but they might not push it through
Also don't discount text to speech. It's not as nice as a real narrator but I also walk 5+ hours on weekends and it's nice to be able to listen to arbitrary text. Google's TTS is pretty readable and has a generous free tier
The limitation is the inventory of the library you chose (bizarre and stupid) but why he recommended adding more libraries. Not sure if you have friends in other places you could borrow their card?
The app I use is called Libby, but I imagine it is pulling from the same inventory.
I think this article could use a bit more info about protecting against injury. For example, I'm sure a podiatrist or physical therapist would have a number of things to add about finding a good shoe, or insoles/orthotics, or muscles/fascia/IT band/etc parts to stretch.
I walk about 3 miles a day. I'm interested in trying sandals + socks. I'm concerned about exposure to MOAH substances in Vaseline. Is there a good alternative to vaseline? Shea butter?
Do the Teva XLT2 sandals provide enough shock absorption for walking on concrete?
I'm not sure what else would work for feet and toes, though asking on a running / distance-walking discussion would probably be useful. A chief problem is adding something else that irritates skin at the same time you're trying to reduce the problem.
I was surprised to learn he wears Teva sandals for walking that much, but it makes sense with a little thought. My most comfortable walking shoes are very comfortable on the sides which means no excess pressure. Those Tevas are not restrictive on the sides.
I don't like planning walks. In fact I think it's best to just go out and see where curiosity leads you. This only really works in urban environments, but then you can also drop the supplies and instead just take money with you.
While walking is better than sitting for three hours, if your heartrate is not getting out of zone one you are doing virtually nothing for your health.
Jogging for 45 minutes daily will actually improve your health.
Last year I used the CityStrides website to track and walk every street in my town. All told about 385 miles or so.
Some changes I've noticed since doing this are listed below. Not that they are earth shattering, but just a few things I've observed.
* My resting heart rate fell by about 5 BPM.
* I can now run and walk in my dreams and rarely have the "legs in molasses" thing (if you know what I mean).
* I now wear trail running shoes all the time - a total shift from the old Birkenstock and whatever shoes I wore for years before.
* My town has a number of fun, curious little sidewalk shortcuts between neighborhoods that I did not know about. They aren't secret, just not obvious at all.
Getting to know the area you live is a great reason to start walking.
One of my favorite things to find in Santa Barbara are old concrete stamps marking which company/contractor poured that section of sidewalk. Often these are 100+ years old. I've currently found ~25-30 different ones.
My interpretation is that GP is observing that the benefits do not scale linearly. Most of the exercise benefit happens after a relatively short walk. The extra two hours a day for a long walk is expensive in time, but doesn't multiply the benefits 3x.
Walking is nice in that it's low-impact, although it's probably much more time-efficient to do a shorter, higher intensity exercise like running. (Saying this as someone who primarily walks and never runs)
Great article hashing out the details of implementing regular long walks as a habit.
However, it would be cool if there was a way to get paid for walking. That would motivate a lot more people, even if it is minimal pay. Walk-to-earn crypto game anyone?
Figure out how to convince coworkers to schedule all meetings during a specific 3 hour window each day, perhaps.
On my walks I regularly see a guy who seems to either be doing exactly that, or he just has meetings all day. I've never gone past him when he wasn't chatting away on a phone meeting.
that's smart. We always had 1:1s where we would just step out and walk. In a way, it forced 1:1s to be 30 mins long. Now 1:1s have become "you can have 15 mins back in your day" lol. 1:1s can definitely be done walking, even if some of the other meetings can't be.
agree that walking is a reward in itself. I should have phrased it as - "more people would walk more if they were rewarded more tangibly". Friendly competition might incentivize more people to walk. Just some thoughts since the article is trying to encourage more people to walk.
I wasn’t very charitable with my interpretation there, you’re right incentivizing more people to walk is definitely a good a thing.
I think a lot of the smartwatches have done a decent job at that, though there of course is the overhead to buy and wear one of them.
But even as someone who has been getting daily exercise for at least a decade now and doesn’t need encouragement, the little awards my Apple Watch gives me for hitting my targets feels good.
Some fitness tracker apps and websites such as Garmin Connect have monthly challenges for walking steps or distance. They allow you to challenge your friends and track progress.
My coworker and I worked like a year together at my place. He came around, we drank a coffee together and started working. Like 3-4 hours later, depending on schedule, we took a good 60 minutes+ walk with my dog. We talked project related things sometimes, but it felt never like "we have to talk about work", We were kind of friends so we had lots of other topics. Then back at my place we continued for 2,3 or even 5 hours. We had no issues stopping after 2 hours, but did often way more. We were very productive.
We were a good match, but those breaks outside enjoying life (forced by my habits to go at least 60minutes outside with the dog) helped a lot not burning out and making room in the brain.