Things were already tense in Moldavia and Wallachia, the Danubian Principalities (now the southern and eastern part of Romania). France and Russia were in a dispute over the rights of Catholic and Orthodox Christians in Palestine. (What, now? Paris and Palestine are more than 1,000 miles away from the Danubian Principalities! War never makes sense.) But on this day in 1853, the Russian Army crossed the Prut River to occupy the Danubian Principalities. The Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia in October, and Britain and France joined the war against Russia in March. In September, 1854, the allies attempted to take Russia's main naval base in the Black Sea, at Sevastopol, Crimea, which is why we call it the Crimean War. Now, I've heard of the Crimean War, but no wars make sense to me. I only know that half a million people died, and it involved religion and imperialism. But at least now I know where Moldavia and Wallachia were! On today's ride, I felt weak right from the start. I can't explain why. I just forced myself to keep going, but only by slowing down for the slightest climb. It was cooler, so I did go down to Sherman Oaks and climbed back up Sepulveda. (I sampled Woodcliff as an alternate way back up, but I quickly found it too steep and narrow and too rough pavement. There's a reason the RideWithGPS heat map shows nobody rides Woodcliff.) Again I had planned about ten more miles, but I felt I shouldn't push it. We'll see if I feel stronger this weekend. Ten days until the Giro Bello metric century in Santa Rosa. I hope it's not too hot there! Credit: https://w.wiki/EdAD