Posts from — June 2021

Position: 09.6N 46.3W [10:00PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West [280°] near 23 mph [37 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Wind Gusts: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1008 mb.

Currently about 1020 miles [1645 km] East-Southeast of the Windward Islands.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, and Martinique, .

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Guadeloupe.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Changé > Laval Espace Mayenne

Distance: 27.2 kilometers.

An Indivual Time Trial stage with no climbs. Intermediate times are taken at Saint-Jean-sur-Mayenne (8.8 km) and Bonchamp-lès-Laval (21.2 km). Riders leave the start every 1½ minutes (about 4½ hours for all of the riders to start, and under an hour to the finish.)

Mathieu Van Der Poel (AFC – 101 ) [Yellow] 16 hours 51 minutes 41 seconds
Mark Cavendish (DQT – 055 ) [Green] 89 Points
Ide Schelling (BOH – 078 ) [Polka Dot] 5 points
Tadej Pogačar (UAD – 001 ) [White] 2

Stage winner: Tadej Pogačar (UAD – 001 )
Team: Jumbo – Visma ( TJV – 011-018 ) [Yellow numbers]

Tadej Pogačar’s average speed was 51 kph (about 30 mph). This was the first stage in this year’s Tour without accidents or withdrawals. Everyone started and finished the stage. The sign waver who caused the major accident on Stage 1 is in custody.

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Redon > Fougères

Distance: 150.4 kilometers.

A real “Flat” stage with no climbs.

The intermediate sprint is at 114.4 km at Vitré.

Mathieu Van Der Poel (AFC – 101 ) [Yellow] 16 hours 19 minutes 10 seconds
Mark Cavendish (DQT – 055 ) [Green] 89 Points
Ide Schelling (BOH – 078 ) [Polka Dot] 5 points
Tadej Pogačar (UAD – 001 ) [White] 6

Stage winner: Mark Cavendish (DQT – 055 )
Combative: Brent Van Moer (LTS – 158 ) [Red numbers]
Team: Bahrain Victorious ( TBV – 161-168 ) [Yellow numbers]

Caleb Ewan (LTS – 151 ) did not start as a result of a broken shoulder blade in one of many crashes. Geraint Thomas (IGD – 021 ) dislocated his right shoulder in a separate accident yesterday, but a medic popped it back into the socket.

As a result of all of the crashes, the riders stopped for a full minute in protest of the conditions on the route.

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Lorient > Pontivy

Distance: 182.9 kilometers.

A “Flat” stage with two Cat 4 climbs

• Côte de Cadoudal 91.1 km (cat 4: 1.7km @ 6.3%)
• Côte de Pluméliau 148.6 km (cat 4: 2.2km @ 3.1%)

The intermediate sprint is at 118.3 km at La Fourchette.

Mathieu Van Der Poel (AFC – 101 ) [Yellow] 12 hours 58 minutes 53 seconds
Julian Alaphilippe (DQT – 051 ) [Green] 80 Points
Ide Schelling (BOH – 078 ) [Polka Dot] 5 points
Tadej Pogačar (UAD – 001 ) [White] 6

Stage winner: Tim Merlier (AFC – 103 )
Combative: Michael Schär (ACT – 127 ) [Red numbers]
Team: Bahrain Victorious ( TBV – 161-168 ) [Yellow numbers]

Another demolition derby on narrow, wet, wandering roads. The carnage continued to the finish line. When you are riding 30+ mph on a bicycle almost everything can land you in the road.

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Position: 32.3N 80.3W [ 7:00PM CDT 0000 UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [290°] near 16 mph [26 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Wind Gusts: 55 mph [ 90 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 35 miles [ 55 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1010 mb ↑.

Currently about 15 miles [ 20 km] East-Southeast of Beaufort, South Carolina.

The storm made landfall just North of Hilton Head on Pritchards Island, South Carolina.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the coast of South Carolina from Edisto Beach northeastward to South Santee River.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Perros-Guirec > Mûr-de-Bretagne Guerlédan

Distance: 183.5 kilometers.

A “Hilly” stage with four Cat 4 and two Cat 3 climbs and a finish at the summit of the final climb:

• Côte de Sainte-Barbe 72.8 km (cat 4: 900 m @ 6.6%)
• Côte de Pordic 103.2 km (cat 4: 2.1km @ 3.2%)
• Côte de Saint-Brieuc 115.3 km(cat 4: 1.0km @ 8.0%)
• Côte du village de Mûr-de-Bretagne 165.2 km (cat 4: 1.6km @ 4.1%)
• Mûr-de-Bretagne 168.2 km (cat 3: 2.0km @ 6.9%)
• Mûr-de-Bretagne Guerlédan 185.3 km (cat 3: 2.0km @ 6.9%)

The intermediate sprint is at 85.0 km at Plouha.

Mathieu Van Der Poel (AFC – 101 ) [Yellow] 8 hours 57 minutes 25 seconds
Julian Alaphilippe (DQT – 051 ) [Green] 66 Points
Ide Schelling (BOH – 078 ) [Polka Dot] 4 points*
Tadej Pogačar ( Slo – UAD – 001 ) [White] 3

Stage winner: Mathieu Van Der Poel (AFC – 101 )
Combative: Edward Theuns (TFS – 048 ) [Red numbers]
Team: Jumbo – Visma( TJV – 011-018 ) [Yellow numbers]

At the end they climbed the same peak (Mûr-de-Bretagne) twice.

*Van der Poel is actually the lead climber and Schelling is number two. If a rider qualifies for two or more Jerseys, he chooses the one he will wear and number two in the other categories wear the jerseys of those categories.

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Brest > Landerneau

Distance: 197.8 kilometers.

A “Hilly” stage with four Cat 4 and two Cat 3 climbs and a finish at the summit of the final climb:

• Côte de Trébéolin 8.6 km (cat 4: 900 m @ 5.1%)
• Côte de Rosnoën 27.2 km (cat 4: 3.0km @ 4.0%)
• Côte de Locronan 61.5 km (cat 3: 900 m @ 9.3%)
• Côte de Stang Ar Garront 115 km (cat 4: 2.0km @ 3.4%)
• Côte de Saint-Rivoal 150.7 km (cat 4: 2.5km @ 3.9%)
• Côte de la Fosse aux Loups 197.8 km (cat 3: 3.0km @ 5.7%)

The intermediate sprint is at 135.1 km at Brasparts.

Multiple crashes resulting in three withdrawals today and possible “Did Not Starts” tomorrow. The largest was caused by a woman waving a sign that distracted riders and caused a massive crash. Lawyers have been consulted and Le Tour says law suits will be filed.

Julian Alaphilippe (DQT – 051 ) [Yellow] 4 hours 38 minutes 55 seconds
Michael Matthews (BEX – 171 ) [Green] 43 Points
Ide Schelling (BOH – 078 ) [Polka Dot] 3 points
Tadej Pogacar ( Slo – UAD – 001 ) [White] 6

Stage winner: Julian Alaphilippe (DQT – 051 )
Combative: Ide Schelling (BOH – 078 ) [Red numbers]
Team: Jumbo – Visma( TJV – 011-018 ) [Yellow numbers]

BBC Sport profiles all 21 stages of Tour de France 2021 for previews of coming attractions.

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Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, the race starts with the Grand Départ on 26 June in Brest and will finish on 18 July in Paris, so I thought I should explain some of what I’ll be ranting about.

The cartoon characters from my header are wearing the various colored jerseys that indicate the leader in the different classifications in the race.

The Maillot Jaune, Yellow Jersey is worn by the rider with the lowest time overall in the race. The eventual winner of the race may never have come in first in any stage, but was near the lead throughout the race and achieved the lowest time over the entire course of the event. The winner is normally an “all-arounder”, someone is very good at the sprints and the hill climbing, even if they aren’t the best. “All-arounders” show up on the lists of the sprinters and the climbers, while staying in the top ten for overall time.

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Position: 39.0N 69.0W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: East-Northeast [060°] near 29 mph [46 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph [ 75 kph].
Wind Gusts: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 175 miles [280 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1004 mb.

Currently about 160 miles [ 260 km] South-Southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on this system.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 34.7N 80.4W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: East-Northeast [070°] near 20 mph [31 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Wind Gusts: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1008 mb.

Currently about 150 miles [ 240 km] West-Northwest of Cape Fear, North Carolina.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the North Carolina coast from Little River Inlet to Duck, including the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from South Santee River, South Carolina to Little River Inlet.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Today at 10:32PM [CDT] is the Summer Solstice, technically considered the “first day of Summer”, but the mid Summer by much of Europe.

Many Wiccans celebrate the day as Litha, while computer programmers honor their predecessors, the druids, who built the first solid-state computing devices, the megaliths, like Stonehenge.

The Slavs celebrate St. John’s Night, Иван Купала [Ivan Kupala], the battle between the White god [Белобог – Belobog] and the Black god [Чёрнобог – Chyornobog] for control of the Sun. The Black god always wins and the night begins to expand.

The sound track to the battle is Иванова Ночь на Лысой Горе [Night on Bald Mountain ] by Модест Петрович Мусоргский [Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky], which everyone should play very loudly.

Position: 32.6N 87.0W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northeast [050°] near 14 mph [22 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 30 mph [ 45 kph].
Wind Gusts: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1005 mb.

Currently about 120 miles [ 195 km] West of Columbus, Georgia.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the North Carolina coast from Cape Fear to Duck, including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.

The storm finally gained tropical characteristics at 4AM CDT as it was making landfall in southern Louisiana.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Juneteenth

… On the morning of Monday, June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived on the island of Galveston, Texas, to take command of the more than 2,000 federal troops recently landed in the department of Texas to enforce the emancipation of its slaves and oversee a peaceful transition of power, additionally nullifying all laws passed within Texas during the war by Confederate lawmakers. The Texas Historical Commission and Galveston Historical Foundation report that Granger’s men marched throughout Galveston reading General Order No. 3 first at Union Army Headquarters at the Osterman Building (formerly at the intersection of Strand Street and 22nd Street, since demolished), in the Strand Historic District. Next they marched to the 1861 Customs House and Courthouse before finally marching to the Negro Church on Broadway, since renamed Reedy Chapel-AME Church. The order informed all Texans that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves were free:

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

Some people are attempting to make this something that it isn’t. Having Juneteenth as a Federal holiday has no impact on any other Federal holiday. Some people seem to believe if something new is created that something old is destroyed. They assume that life is a zero sum game. They are ignorant and pathetic, but there are a lot of them so they are dangerous.

Position: 28.9N 90.9W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [010°] near 13 mph [20 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph [ 75 kph].
Wind Gusts: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 205 miles [330 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1007 mb.

Currently about 60 miles [ 95 km] South-Southeast of Morgan City, Louisiana.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Gulf Coast from Morgan City, Louisiana, to the Okaloosa/Walton County line in Florida, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Metropolitan New Orleans.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]