High temperature for day retreats

Yesterday was too cold. Today the high temperature retreated an additional 6 degrees. Clearly this was going to be too cold. But the sun was out and the wind was a bit more gentle. I rode.

At the end of last season I had settled on a long sleeve jersey, windstopper vest, medium weight jacket combination that remained comfortable all the way to the very last ride of the year and down into the 30s. Yesterday that wasn't warm enough. So today I tried medium weight fleece jacket covered with a light windbreaker, and mittens instead of gloves. I almost overdid it as it turned out that I had to unzip just a bit to keep from overheating. Mind you it was not a major unzip, I moved the zipper from top up next to the neck down about 2 inches, just enough to let a little cold air onto my upper chest. I was fairly comfortable for the entire ride thereafter except my feet were getting cold at the end. A success.

This is an arm of Island Lake.The geese are still walking on water.

The draw for the quarterfinals of Le Coupe de France has been held and Carquefou has drawn another home game. The game is certain to be played at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes. The opponent is yet another giant from Ligue 1, this time Paris-Saint Germain.

It is not a good draw but it is actually about the best the tiny club could reasonably hope for. PSG is firmly in the relegation zone of Ligue 1 and must soon concentrate every possible effort on saving themselves from being sent down. Le Coupe de France is likely to be of somewhat less importance to the Parisians than it might be to a team safely in the middle of the league. On the other hand PSG has already played at Nantes once this year, defeating Poiré-sur-Vie at the Nantes stadium two rounds ago in Le Coupe de France. But a further distraction for PSG is that this very weekend they play in the final of Le Coupe de la Ligue against Lens at Stade de France.

In a related note Paris FC is only 3 points outside the promotion zone in the Championnat National keeping alive the possibility that both Paris teams will next year be in Ligue 2. In another related note, Carquefou is currently 14th in its league and if they do not soon achieve some improved league results they too will be relegated to an even lower league. However, there is no doubt what is most important to Carquefou at this point and clearly Le Coupe de France will receive the team's best efforts. The game is scheduled for April 16. Who knows, another early goal for Carquefou and anything could happen.

FC Nantes remains second in Ligue 2, 3 points behind Le Havre. But with only 9 games remaining FC Nantes needs any combination of a gain of points for themselves or a loss of points by their pursuers totalling only 14 to be assured of promotion.

And finally, in its final tune up before the naming of the national team to represent France in the European tournament this summer, France defeated England 1-0 at Stade de France. Frank Ribery scored the only goal of the game. Apparently Beckham played for England, earning his 100th and perhaps last cap. Becks will increasingly have trouble finding opportunities to represent his country especially considering the fact that England has failed to qualify for this summer's event.