# Outdoor activities
Now that the good weather is here I have been going out a bit more
and considering what activities I would like to do this year.
## Walking
Realizing I was not getting out of the house very much in the winter
months and my general fitness was going down hill, I decided to start
walking for an hour or so once a week.
There are plenty of places locally to walk, due to being in a fairly
rural location, and I had never really explored the local area
very much before. Walking in different directions over time gives
you a pretty intimate knowledge of your area, which can only be a
good thing.
Sometimes I will take along my hand held transceiver, other times I
listen to my phone playing CW to practice my ability to copy while
also enjoying the natural surroundings.
Walking can be enjoyed in most weather, where as cycling is pretty
miserable in the cold and rain.
## Cycling
I commuted to my hospital appointment last Wednesday by bike. There
were two reasons, the first was that the weather was glorious and I
was conscious I hadn't been out on my bike for months. The second was
that, I didn't really want to pay for parking...
The ride there and back was very enjoyable in the fresh breeze and
sunshine, even if it was only for a short commute. I felt encouraged
to get back to a regular cycling schedule.
Weather permitting, I plan to do a short 8 mile circuit tomorrow.
## Motorcycling
The year before last myself and my brother had two or three day
excursions into Wales.
There is some beautiful scenery in the land of my forefathers and it
was a real pleasure to view it from the seat of my bike with that
elevated view above the hedgerows which you just can't experience
from a car. Combined with some joyous twisty roads to keep the rider
entertained it made for a very enjoyable day out, with brief stops at
some more prominent locations and a few roadside cafes for
refreshments.
## SOTA/POTA
Last Saturday I organized and participated in my first SOTA[1] event.
It was a good opportunity to enjoy the early good weather, get some
exercise and to field test my portable radio setup.
To challenge myself, and let others operate 2m and 70cm, I had
decided to attempt the activation on 40m and 10m.
Having recently purchased a JPC-12[2] vertical antenna for portable
HF operating, I was looking forward to seeing how well it performed.
I have deliberately tried to keep my equipment minimal and man
portable. There are many operators I have seen with so much gear, yet
they rarely operate. The hobby for them seems to be one of collecting
equipment rather than operating the radio. I think this often happens
with hobbyists of varying kinds. There is a danger that the
intentions result in purchases rather than in the activity itself.
We started at the advertised time but unusually for a Saturday
morning I could barely hear any UK stations. I had been warned the
previous Friday that conditions on the HF bands weren't good due to
sun activity but having already put a SOTA activation alert on the
website, I didn't want to bail out. The weather was also too good to
miss the opportunity so we went ahead anyway.
I managed the required 4 contacts to activate the summit on 40m using
the club call-sign. Once the activation was achieved I switched band
to try on 10m but I couldn't hear any other stations. After maybe 20
minutes of calling CQ without reply I went back to the 40m band to
activate the summit with my own call-sign. There I managed a further
5 contacts to achieve my goal.
All in I enjoyed the day but was a little disappointed with the lack
of contacts, which I am putting down to poor band conditions.
I am already anticipating trying again Saturday 19th (Easter weekend)
and have bought myself a 7Ah LiFePO4[3] battery to lighten the load.
Last Saturday I took a 10Ah lead acid motorcycle battery which I
managed to drop on my leg that morning when a cable tie, that I'd
made a makeshift handle from, broke. I'm just glad it didn't land on
my foot as I was only wearing flip-flops at the time!
## Camping
I only camped overnight once last year but enjoyed it, seeing as I
didn't get too cold. The only thing that really makes me miserable
when camping is being cold and not able to sleep.
Last year I took a sleeping bag, duvet and thermal underwear. I slept
pretty well and hope I can manage similar comfort this year, but
maybe cut down the bulk by not having to take my duvet.
My brother loaned me a small 2 man tent last year but apparently it
has pretty much now fallen to pieces. I guess I will have to purchase
one.
The Vango banshee 200 looks like it could be my next tent and
possibly a sleep system upgrade from the Coleman sleeping bag I have
been using that has a comfort rating of +10C.
## Summary
I will have to find some way of combining some or all of the above,
maybe that will multiply the enjoyment but it seems like an awful lot
of gear to carry!
Having seen the ROOPHLOCH activity of writing an article while you
are away at some place that you wouldn't ordinarily be and being
offline, I considered it. But then I thought about having to take yet
more gear to facilitate it and not really maximizing my enjoyment of
being there due to writing about it.
So, I have decided I will not participate in that. I will instead
write about the memorable moments, that people would probably find
more interesting, when I am back home.
I just use a desktop computer these days, when I am seated at it I am
connected. When I'm not, I am offline and reachable only by phone or
SMS, occasionally on the amateur bands...
## References
[1](
gopher://gopherpedia.com/0/Summits%20On%20The%20Air)
[3](
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124067183749)
