Friday, March 14, 2008

Pi day 2008

3.14

Or slightly more precisely, 3.1415926.

But close enough is twenty-two sevenths.

I have previously opined that the first ride of the year is always a hard ride. And it was.

It might have been nice enough to ride yesterday but circumstances conspired and today was the first day I was ready. The problem was today was 12 or 14 degrees colder than yesterday.

It was 38 with a NW breeze. Verdict? Too cold. But I rode.

Here is the seldom photographed and generally underappreciated Lake Josephine, about 6 miles from home.That funny looking surface water is water in its solid form.

The last French veteran of World War I, Lazare Ponticelli, has died. I wrote something about this last year on Armistice Day. Even so I admit to being a little unprepared for how rapidly these last few ancient warriors are departing. There were 22 WWI veterans remaining last November 11 but there are now apparently only 13 remaining worldwide, including just one, Frank Buckles, who is a veteran of the armed forces of the USA. It should not be a surprise, obviously, as these guys are really, really old. Ponticelli at the age of 110 at his death was the oldest living person who was born in Italy and he was the oldest living man in France. Buckles is 107 and has said that it startles him to be the last.

The season has begun. In the words of Ms. Wireless, this bicycling thing is totally bloggable. So here we go again.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

38 with a NW breeze is cold, especially when said breeze is coming across cold ground, snow and ice. But congrats on the new season. (Will March 14, '15 be an even bigger Pi day? Or '16?) Will we be too old to care?

I am pleased to have some company out there. W00t.