Back on the Road

Today we got up at 5 AM and were rolling by 6.

The darkness and wind were oddly calming. The only distractions were the little obstacles the headlight pointed out. I could not see my navigation unit and therefore I had no idea of how fast or slow we were going. I decided to focus solely on the effort my legs were putting forth.

Without regard to change of wind speed or pitch in the road, I kept my legs feeling a constant effort. All I had to do was shift my gears to keep the focus. Pretty soon all my thoughts were about maintaining that focus; that effort.

That is, until "The Boxer" popped into my head. Odd as there are no Simon and Garfunkel songs on the old Ipod. I realized I could maintain the effort focus and half hum, half mumble the song.

I wondered if I could keep the focus once sunlight revealed all the distractions with which I normally ride.

Predictably, the answer was no. Despite a rather dull 83 miles from our campsite near Del Rio to Uvalde, wind, hills, sights and sounds were all convenient alibis to lose focus.

We passed through one town, Brackettsville, 40 miles into the ride and that was it until Uvalde!

Well almost... the sole picture of the day was a historical marker noting the site of a bygone settlement called Delores. Apparently some Land Baron named the town after his Mexican wife. Perhaps they would have lasted had he only named it after his favorite aunt, Mulva.

I think Jerry Seinfeld would agree.