[jyl]

My cycling story for today.

I went to the eye doctor. I like going to the eye doctor. My opthamologist is a very pretty brunette with a remarkable shape under her modest smock. She looks deeply into my eyes and asks me to talk about myself. Swoon. The climax of our annual assignation is when she dilates my eyes and pronounces them healthy. I leave with a head full of fantasies involving exam chairs, eye charts, and lingerie. Then I step outside, and try to ride home in the unbearably bright sunshine, with eyes that can't focus. The route home involves streetcar tracks, heavy traffic, bridges, narrow bike lanes, and today, it seemed, an inordinate number of large trucks. I can't focus to see in my helmet mirror. When I turn to look behind me I see white glare. Looking ahead is a shifting blur of gray roadway, large moving things, and blinding light. I know the route well so I rode it mostly from memory. Of course today happened to be a blazing hot day with not a speck of cloud to attenuate the midday sun. Somehow I made it to the refuge of my shady neighborhood pub where I gave thanks for my survival with a thick black pint. My eyes were almost normal after that, and the three squinting blocks home were drama free. I hope it was as good for her as it was for me.