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How to Walk (12 miles a day)

walkingtheworld.substack.com

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Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#131

Post by perardi »

dionidium wrote: post #83

> 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…

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

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#132

Post by stonewashed »

bradlys wrote: post #117
stevesearer wrote: post #8

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 f…

> 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 t…

This, very much. I need to keep myself distracted, otherwise I get very upset.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#133

Post by timerol »

nahmean wrote: post #128
timerol wrote: post #36

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 be…

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.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#134

Post by dinkleberg »

balaji1 wrote: post #110
dinkleberg wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What service does you walking generate for others that they should pay you to do it? As a daily walker, I have to say it is its own reward.

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.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#135

Post by timerol »

tobylane wrote: post #104
timerol wrote: post #36

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 be…

Is the spare set of headphones in addition to another on you, or secondary to the ones left at home?

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.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#136

Post by exhilaration »

nahmean wrote: post #128
timerol wrote: post #36

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 be…

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.

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.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#137

Post by hombre_fatal »

skrtskrt wrote: post #97
bmj wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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.

That's the cocaine dealer uniform where I live.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#138

Post by exhilaration »

aerostable_slug wrote: post #111
dionidium wrote: post #83

> 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…

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…

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 see we both watch the same YouTube channel!

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#139

Post by technofiend »

mleonhard wrote: post #114
technofiend wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I can't imagine walking around without a daypack 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…

Clear safety glasses block UV as well as tinted & polarizing sunglasses.

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.

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21617534/

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#140

Post by js2 »

12 miles = 19.3 km.

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).

http://theworldwalk.com/

Most updates are on FB, not his web site:

https://www.facebook.com/TheWorldWalk/

Some AMAs he's done over the years:

https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3m7erz/i_am_tom_turci...

https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4sheeq/i_am_tom_turci...

https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/al1elx/i_am_tom_turci...

https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/szksev/i_will_soon_be...

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.

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