Yesterday I walked to a Coop shop in Nyon by foot, to shop for a day. Rather than taking the car I chose to walk down from Eysins, across the narrow, really dangerous road and bridge to get to the other side. Along the way I saw two dog walkers question whether to walk along the glissière or whether to cross. They crossed the dangerous road and walked with their backs to traffic....
Posts tagged “mobility”
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A Bridge Too Far — Apr 21, 2026 -
The Diminished Need for a Car — Apr 14, 2026Last Sunday I cycled betwen Nyon and Geneva, not once but twice. I cycled from Nyon to Geneva, passing close to my old school, before getting into Geneva. Once in Geneva I joined a group ride and we cycled from Geneva towards Divonne along a similar route to the one I had taken. We then stopped for coffee, and a pain au chocolat in my case, before riding back to Geneva, via the top, this time. Once this was done I cycled back towards Nyon along the lake until Mies, before climbing towards Coppet, and then heading back to the lake and Nyon. I then chased cars and managed to keep up, despite 100kms in my legs....
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On Valuing Social Networks Over Social Media — Mar 26, 2026I believe that is wrong for a society dependent on cars to ban children from mobile phones and related tech. I believe that it is wrong because you create two problems. The first is that in a car centric society, where we go to school, is not where we live, so if we want to be social on weekends or after school we need transport. The second reason is that with car-centric societies we are isolating those that do not have simplified access to going out and seeing friends....
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Getting the laptop back (possibly) — May 28, 2008Tomorrow I should have a clearer idea on why the laptop decided to die on me but a phonecall yesterday points towards dust. I’m not sure what the dust may have destroyed but that’s what may have caused the fault. Without the laptop it’s been an interesting week. It’s seen me playing witgh two versions of linux and portable devices such as the N95 and the touch. Both have their merits and it’s got me thinking about phasing out laptops from my use of the world wide web. What if i could get all podcasts, all e-mails and media content to both these devices without a computer? With Nokia podcasts I can get all the audio files, with interbine I can get all the videos. With S60 I get some browsing for flash content and with the ipod I get a nicer display for browsing content. Both are easy to carry. Both charge quickly with the right charger. At the same time neither of them has a good typing keyboard, being perfect for short form but a nightmare for writing a blog post for example. With time the experience should improve....
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Thoughts on Cycling and Walking in the Age of the Car — Nov 14, 2025I often walk between towns and villages and in so doing I notice how overwhelming cars have become. If you walk from a village to a town, you have to contend with busy roads. These busy roads are often like deep rivers. Sometimes you need to wait for several minutes before you can cross. At other times you notice that cars see you at a crossing but they don’t slow down in anticipation of your wanting to cross.... -
Getting Around by Foot Scooter — Nov 7, 2025Walking three kilometres one way, and then back is easy. It takes about half an hour for me. If I walk fast then it takes less time. For me, walking is easy. Using the foot scooter is more of an effort too because it requires the use of different muscle groups, than walking, cycling, and running.... -
Discussing E-Scooters — Apr 16, 2025Yesterday I was uninspired by an AI talk but went anyway and I didn’t get as much out of it as last time. That’s why, when it came to the networking part and talking about oneself I vanished to pay for my hot chocolate to have a conversation with other people. In the process I discussed electric vehicles and electric foot scooters.... -
Self-driven Cars and Failing Infrastructure — Oct 11, 2024In the US people are obsessed with the lure of self-driving cars and robotaxies but I think these are looking in the wrong direction. If you’re looking in the right direction you improve bus services. You improve their frequency and you improve their coverage. You also improve the bike sharing infrastructure....
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Stress Testing the Ocean Drive Street E-Scooter — Jun 12, 2024Yesterday I had to drive from Nyon to Founex to do a favour for someone. Normally I would have used the car but it was in for a tire change. I was switching from winter to summer tires at last.... -
Playing With the Switzerland Mobility App — Sep 9, 2023Yesterday I was planning to walk from Nyon to La Barillette but rather than take the usual route that takes me via a set of cabins where there is sometimes a dog I wanted to try an alternate route. In the end I used the Switzerland Mobility app and website because I can trust that the paths they suggest actually exist....
