Early fall

Just casually flipping through the bike log I cannot recall every losing four days in a row to sickness before. Well, to be fair, it rained at least one of those days but I wasn't strong enough to ride anyway. I awakened during the night Friday feeling a bit punk but did not think a great deal about it. However, when I got up Saturday morning I definitely had the low grade fever, sore throat, sniffles and general body soreness characteristic of upper respiratory infection. I didn't feel horribly sick and I still spent most of the morning trying to talk myself into a bicycle ride. Finally by shortly after lunch I admitted to myself and to TOPWLH that I was sick and bicycling was officially off the schedule. Sunday I was the sickest, a little better on Monday, quite a bit better on Tuesday, and today I was well enough to go to work and to take a ride afterwards. The truth is I felt pretty crappy at work and the bike ride was hard. But life is a series of processes and the sickness process seems to be at an end for this occasion.

I got a picture of the neighbor's early turning maple tree. It is a handsome tree and later it will be quite orange and even more handsome than now. But the early turning maples usually turn early because of some sort of stress. I am no silviculturist so I have no clue what the stress might be in this case but I suspect it is the usual problem for urban trees. They do better in a forest than they do in a city.

On Tuesday before a sparse 5pm crowd of less than 11,000, Nantes defeated CS Sedan by 1-0 to advance to the third round of the Coupe de la Ligue. The game was even into the 59th minute when Sedan's central defender was given a straight red card for bringing down attacker Thomas Dossevi while in the position of last defender. Claudiu Keserü, in a starting role for the first time this season, took the ensuing free kick from 18 meters and found the back of the net for the game's only goal. Sedan finished the game down a player. Keserü had several later opportunities but the Sedan keeper was able to keep the difference to only one.

The drawing for third round opponent and site will be held on Friday, game to be played on September 25. The next round will reduce the field to 16. Nantes returns to league play on Monday on the road against Bastia.