Sunny and gorgeous

The sun came out and the temperature rose. As I finish my ride it has reached 64F (18C) to make today pretty much the nicest day so far this spring.

Except for the early morning finger surgery which someone else will have to blog (not my finger), it has been a most excellent day.

Here is Grass Lake. It has a limestone path which I never ride on my road bike so early spring when I have the wide tire cross bike I try to include this lake on one of my rides. According to a newsletter I recently read, much of that vegetation in the middle of the lake is actually a floating biomass. Sometimes, as it is in the photo, it is near the far shore, and sometimes it is quite near to the photo vantage point. Also depending on rainfall and I suppose other hydrology issues, sometimes the lake can be almost dry, more a swamp than a lake. And sometimes the water level is even higher than it is now. It is almost always a pretty spot.
So, the biking. It is still pretty early in the season obviously but I feel pretty good. My legs seem better than I expected considering the mostly inactivity of the winter. My back was a bit stiff this morning but it resolved itself without any problem after I started to move around. The only sore part I have is my right arm, specifically the tricep which just doesn't seem to want to be doing all of this biking just yet. But it is only soreness, not anything actually serious and all in all I feel pretty good.

Lastly, I have been having a problem with the blog software. I tried to post a profile photo. I followed the directions but every time I sign off the photo disappears. I went to the blog help page and they give quite specific directions for what to do if this occurs. It involves posting the photo to this blog and then editing the HTML. Well, I'm up for that. So here's the photo:
This is my new Paris momento. It is a jersey from Cycles Laurent. Cycles Laurent is a three generation bicycle shop in Paris (9 Boulevard Voltaire, just a block from Place de la Republique if you must know) founded by Marcel Laurent, two time winner of the Bordeaux-Paris bicycle race. Bordeaux-Paris was a one day event of 560 km (350 miles) which in its heyday was considered one of the classics. It began at 2am in Bordeaux and finished approximately 14 hours later in Paris. It was an important event and winners of the race include Jacques Anquetil who also was a winner of the Tour de France.

My dafter, who speaks French, corresponded via the internet with Cycles Laurent and obtained this jersey for me as a gift.

By the way, I love Paris.