Virtual Bling

Fit To Ride

 
The bling is real. The competition is virtual.

Walking

Gaelic Gallop, BreyerFest 5K Run/Walk, July 12, 2020

I signed up for this in the before times. Breyerfest holds a 5k run on that Sunday. They offer a virtual option. I would do laps of my pasture, practice my 5k walk [Proof of Concept], and get what I suspect will be a cute, horsey medal. I doubt they will have the virtual run without having Breyerfest. I don’t see how they will be able to stuff 30,000 people into KHP by July. But what do I know. Website says the run will be switched over to virtual, if needed. Restrained yay.

Cellcom Green Bay Marathon, May 17, 2020

After falling down one Internet rabbit hole or another, I found this. Oooh, changed to virtual instead of canceled. Clever. I know nothing about Green Bay. Except, now I know that “For Green Bay, fall means football season and Lambeau Field is dedicated to football, whether there is a home game or not.” [ibid, Why can’t you just postpone it?]

Motivation to exercise combined with an excuse for a virtual trip to Wisconsin. I signed up as something to do and as a gesture of support for folks scrambling to find viable options in a world gone mad. No reason to do it on the date of the original run, but I probably will. The 5K walk option, naturally. Update. Changed date. I had it wrong.

La Jolla Half Marathon & Shores 5K, April 26, 2020

The Green Bay adventure led me to look for others. I chose this one because a) I lived in La Jolla, at UCSD, for three months during college, and b) pretty medal. Despite being the third one signed up for, it will be the first one I do. Will walk on the original date as well.

I liked that fact that WI & CA were both “real” races, or at least had been real at one point. Straight up virtual races didn’t interest me.

Except.

Biking

I have decided to go on virtual bike rides. The above walks are activities I will do specifically for those events. I walk a lot. I don’t walk 3.1 miles in one go. Unlike the walks, I’m planning to use the VR bike rides to count miles I would accumulate anyway. I like that the rides are grounded in IRL places. I’ll read about the places that I virtually ride by.

The Conqueror Virtual Challenges: The Inca Trail Virtual Marathon, Peru, 26.2 miles

I would love to say this was a test of concept. Mainly, I thought the medal was cool. Plus immediate gratification.

The Conqueror Virtual Challenges: The Alps to Ocean, New Zealand, 180 miles

This will be a lead up to 2020 Worldcon, CoNZealand, which has also gone virtual. At 5-10 miles per ride, I should be able to get thru 180 miles by July, provided outdoor exercise is still allowed. People, behave yourselves! Stop congregating. Don’t ruin this – any more horribly than it already is – for the rest of us.

The Conqueror Virtual Challenges: Route 66, USA, 2280

If the New Zealand virtual ride works out, I’ll signup for this as a virtual tour of the US, from Chicago to LA. That oughta keep me busy for a while. National Park Service: Route 66, Historic Route 66

Any books, blogs, websites, or articles to recommend on Green Bay, La Jolla, Machu Picchu, New Zealand, or Route 66?

Update
[Strolling Along, Walk Report, La Jolla Shores Virtual 5K 2020]
[Come Away With Me, Virtually]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott