We started out from Del Rio for a nice 43 mile recovery ride. It was cool and overcast and though the breeze was from the east, it wasn't unpleasant. Some folks stopped in town to visit the bike shop and other stores we haven't seen for a while, but I was just enjoying the ride and didn't really need anything, not even retail therapy.
The first 20 miles were very nice, town traffic, but manageable. Smooth roads instead of chipseal. Tanked up at the SAG stop, ate my banana and trundled down the road, riding by myself today. It soon became chipseal. This is tar with gravel pushed into it and comes in varying levels of roughness. Today's was the "shake your fillings out" variety. And as is typical in the southwest, the sun came out and the winds increased, though still at tolerable levels (where are those westerlies?).
I started having some visual disturbance in my left eye. Small smudged or pixelated ovals that weren't always in the same place. Since the surface of the chipseal also looks rather pixelated and the vibration was fairly severe, it became rather disorienting because I couldn't tell the difference between "normal" and "distorted". I gave up in frustration and took the SAG the last 10 miles. VERY annoying. I am waiting for it to be my turn to ride my bike from point A to point B with no problems. I think I'm due.
Tonight we are staying at Fort Clark Springs. This is an old Cavalry post that was decommissioned in 1946 but the old buildings have been preserved and are now privately owned. It reminds me a great deal of Ft. Huachuca, AZ which was my first assignment in the Army. The pool is spring fed - a creek runs in one end and spills out the other. I stomped around the place this afternoon working off my irritation and found a few places that I wouldn't mind living - like the Commanding Officer's quarters.
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