Sweat Gets in My Eye

Forget the whole tears get in my eyes thing, I was having enough problem with the sweat today.

Maybe I need to start wearing a headband rather than a cycling cap. Maybe I need a new cycling cap. Maybe my sweat was especially potent this morning. I must have ridden half the loop with my right eye clamped firmly shut because it was stinging too much to have open. I must have stopped so often to wipe the sweat away, that I spent more time standing than I did pedaling. 

two hours later, and after a quick trip to Lowes, it was still stinging

That problem got me to thinking about other nuisances that bug me while riding (turns out "bug," proved to be the optimal word) for this. A slow uphill grind where you can't outride the gnats circling in front of your face. Being the first to ride a particular trail in the morning and hence "volunteering" to clear it of spider webs. The ever-problematic yellow jacket down the jersey. And then there is the bug [fly?] that somehow finds its way "inside" your sunglasses and starts ricocheting between the lens and your eyeball, desperately seeking a way out. The most recent instance of the latter annoyance happened while riding a particularly rocky bit of trail; when I absently removed my hands from the handlebar to solve the problem, the only thing that kept me from crashing down on those rocks was some superior bike handling skills. 

I'm guessing you didn't buy that last part, and you'd be right, it was just dumb luck.

i gotta admit, this one is pretty impressive - did someone use an adhesive?

off to the East Fork Fire, i'm supposing

finishing up the usual loop through the wash with a trip down Powerline and the Dirty TCT

six!?! i still haven't seen a single one this year, and i'm Out There all the time