90 percent

An obsessive compulsive slavish devotion to accumulating miles comes inevitably to moments like this. Today I passed 3,600 for the year, achieving 90 percent of the goal that I set for myself at the beginning of the season.

Be forewarned, as the season winds down there are plenty more milestones coming. A month ago achieving the annual goal was a foregone conclusion. My back condition now makes it less certain than that but I somehow feel that the remaining miles are few enough that somehow or other I can do the necessary rides.

The craziness in Nantes grows. Nantes players and staff arrived at the club's training complex on Sunday morning to find buildings, floors and even an employee's car covered in graffiti in the wake of their 3-0 loss to Caen the night before.
The caption in French is: "Image forte hier matin à la Jonelière. Un gendarme de la section d'identification criminelle examine les dégradations commises à l'intérieur du centre sportif à la recherche d'empreintes. Le club déposera ce matin une plainte pour dégradation et violation de domicile."

A policeman from criminal identification examines the evidence within the training center.

There is a precedent for this, of course. The Nantes fans rioted and invaded the field on the occasion of the final home game of 2007 when Nantes was relegated. This seems a little bit more sinister. For the benefit of the French speaker who reads this blog, here is an account in French from Ouest-France. There is a bit in there that I take to mean that the current players have not earned the right to wear the jersey, that their play dishonors the team's reputation and legacy ("mouillez le maillot, trop payés, ça suffit").