This morning's commute and other commuting stories

You conquered Richard's hill, Richardshill.

Taking that!

Just wait till the spring, it’ll be even easier not sucking in 4 degree C winter air. Onwards and literally upwards my friend.

:-)
Next plan* is the full door-to-door commute.
*I have no plan, am just just extending the commute until it's door-to-door. Am going to try this from later next week, work depending.
Basically I'm so happy to be on the bike rather than in a car.

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alpenhorn

Sounds mueslical

Fairly sure I've both heard and read Alpenhorn in der Schweiz. But then Schweizerdeutsch is a very different language to Hochte Deutsch.

Schwyz(e)rdütsch
Hochdeutsch

:)

(You can, obviously, say "Schweizerdeutsch", but I've always preferred the other version, especially with the lovely Swiss "r".)

Go to bed @Oliver Schick, hier werden Bürgersteige hochgeklappt.

Just an excuse to post my second favourite German phrase.

I'll accept Hochdeutsch, but I'm assured that Schwyzrdütsch/Schweizerdeutsch isn't a written language, so you can just make the spelling phonetically as you go along. 'Es ist ein bitzli huggli', for example, if your chosen route proves to be a bit lumpy.

Can't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoMlJjZImTs

All of the dialects of German are written down. There are numerous "Mundart-Dichter" or "-Schriftsteller" who deliberately write in these idioms, to raise awareness, to popularise their use, and to try to raise their status in comparison to idioms like "Hochdeutsch" or the "Amtssprache". See the BAP example above, or this:

http://www.comedix.de/medien/lit/mundart_sammelband_schwyzerduetsch.php

There are also plenty of dictionaries like this one:

https://www.schweizerdeutsch-lernen.ch/blog/schweizerdeutsch-woerterbuch/

It's certainly true that there aren't official spellings for most and perhaps all dialects. I don't know what the state of Swiss legislation is on that count, i.e. whether Schwyzerdütsch has any kind of protected status.

This explains:

Schwytzerdütsch

Das Schweiz Deutsch (Schwytzerdütsch) wird in den deutschsprachigen Gegenden der Schweiz gesprochen und ist für viele Ausländer eines der eigenartigsten Phänomene der Schweiz. Es ist im eigentliche Sinne keine eigene Sprache, sondern eine Ansammlung von lokalen Dialekten und Akzenten.

Falls Ihre Muttersprache Deutsch ist oder Sie Deutsch im Ausland gelernt haben, werden Sie am Anfang wahrscheinlich kein einziges Wort verstehen, wenn die Schweizer unter sich kommunizieren. Machen Sie sich hierüber keine Sorgen: Aufgrund der Vielzahl von regionalen und lokalen Dialekten haben selbst die deutschsprachigen Schweizer untereinander Verständigungsprobleme im Schwytzerdütsch.

Viele Schweizer sprechen zudem Hochdeutsch, obwohl Sie dieses oftmals nicht mögen und als Fremdsprache betrachten. Da sich die deutschsprachigen Schweizer bis heute nicht auf eine offizielle Schreibweise oder Grammatik einigen konnten (selbst das Wort Schwytzerdütsch wird unterschiedlich buchstabiert), wird als Schriftsprache Hochdeutsch genutzt.

Falls Sie in der Schweiz studieren oder arbeiten wollen, kommen Sie mit Hochdeutsch normalerweise recht weit (solange Sie nicht als Radio- oder Fernsehmoderator arbeiten wollen). Allerdings können Sie bei den Schweizern einige Sympathiepunkte gewinnen, wenn Sie den Schweizer Singsang nachahmen können und die lokalen Anwohner in Ihrem regionalen Dialekt verstehen.

https://www.justlanded.com/deutsch/Schweiz/Landesfuehrer/Sprache/Sprachen

Schwyzerdütsch has no official status but is de facto what is meant by "Deutsch" in Switzerland, with the exception of the use of Hochdeutsch as the "Schriftsprache". Perhaps someone told you about this term and it caused confusion; it doesn't mean that the other dialects aren't written down, just that Hochdeutsch is used for official use--official documents can also be known as "Schriftstücke" or "Schriftsätze", which I think is where the "Schrift-" bit comes from.

All of the dialects of German are written down.

Glaswegian is written down, but it's written down phonetically, as there's no 'official' spelling. Same with Geordie. Never ask a Geordie how to spell 'dut' (hat) as a fight will start shortly afterwards. Definitely don't ask what it means, as a riot will swiftly ensue.

It's certainly true that there aren't official spellings for most and perhaps all dialects. I don't know what the state of Swiss legislation is on that count, i.e. whether Schwyzerdütsch has any kind of protected status.

It doesn't, at least not in the Académie Française sense. I started reading a Schwyzerdütsch dictionary (yeah, go me), and it had more possible spellings for each word than the number of words used in the definitions. It's madness out there, I tell you. Madness.

Oh, and in bits of Valais, the Schwyzrdütsch/Schweizerdeutsch pronounce 'drei' to rhyme with the English word 'tree'. Madness, I tell you. Ordering three coffees never used to be this hard...

So i was riding along at past 1am and decided it was safe enough to risk the dual carriageway road over the tram line (which used to be my direct route home before i got pasted by a van a few years back now i take a 10 minute detour usually)

so as i am level with the concrete bollards on my left here (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4085749,-0.1922428,3a,75y,172.32h,52.28t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqlf1-FuK5ebRr-Z5qtFFfg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 ) a bus zooms past and squeezes me (given there's literally no space for overtaking)

I catch up to the bus on morden high street and as I pass I shout 'nice close pass dickhead' and carry on. I hit the next set of lights and turn left (not a road most buses take) when I hear a roaring engine behind me just as I swing right into the residential street off the main road and the bus screeches past having tried to catch me up

the the driver shouts out the window 'fucking wanker'

so let's tot up the infractions.

we cross paths at a single lane narrow junction where he nearly smashes me into a concrete bollard (anti terrorism concrete to stop cars going on the tram tracks below)

he then stops on the high street, I pass and shout a single phrase at him (nice close pass dickhead)

he rapidly accelerates, turns off the main road and chases me down a side road and (already has the window open) to shout at me "fucking wanker" when literally the only thing instigated by me was calling him a dickhead while he was dropping passengers off .

luckily I was able to gain the upper hand and shout "nice dead end job while everyone else is asleep you loser cunt" as he (very closely) sailed past the back of my bike as I veered into the side street.

Technically not a commute but cold as hell walking home from the pub in Edinburgh. Yes, the canal has frozen over.

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bits of Valais

Any good cycling round there? My parents have a chalet and I'm well up for cycling up hills but am keen to know which ones are the good ones as I've never ridden a bike there.

Sorry for derail of the topic, but to be fair you were already well off topic anyway

Loads. PM me for more details, but Lac de Hongrin, the Dent de Morcles and Lac d'Emosson are particular favourites of mine. The first two might be in Vaud, but they're close to the border between Vaud and Valais if they are. There's some good cycling around Crans Montana too (the UNICEF ride is worth doing if they run that again), and MTBing around Verbier and Champery if you're into off-road stuff.

Back to commuting, I felt rather smug yesterday riding home from the station on my Brompton as I overtook a Mercedes taxi struggling, and failing in a slithery kind of way, to make it up the precipitous East Face of Mount Ely (summit 26m ASL). A lot less smug this morning as I rode to the station over the smoothly polished ice all the cars had left from the night before. Some snow, much slidey.

Changed the bar setup on my road bike so thought I'd ride it in this morning. Underwhelming legs, sliiightly slipping bars and a lost bar-end. Dissapoint.

Change of weather = change of bars

You are @skrtluv aicmfp

Thought I'd picked up a pebble/stone in the tread but scuffing didn't remove it so stopped and pulled out a (maybe) plastering nail from the rear tyre. Air remained within. 1kg MTB tyres ftw!

After a week of hard work at the gym, I was sore and thought I would treat myself to a warm friday train commute...What a fucking stupid idea. Missed first train as too jammed to get it. Second one better enough to get in but still fucking awful. As usual, ride is ALWAYS better no matter the level or soreness and cold.

If you're going to catch a train you have to be chill. You have to be fully prepared to zone the fuck out in a book and look on nonchalantly as the rammed train pulls in and leaves without you. You cannot be thinking about "being late", there is no late, there is only you, a book and a possible arrival time or not, it doesn't matter because you are zen.