Sunglasses

My first trip on the bike into the dust clouds of Kathmadu reminded me that I needed to buy a pair of shades, I had forgotten to bring a pair. I was squinting both from the bright sunlight and the dust so I picked up a knock-off pair of Oakleys. However, once I started touring I preferred not to use them. The dark shades seemed to act like some sort of veil, separating me from the locals as I passed by their roadside houses. There is something about that part of the face that is so descriptive. It is why professional cyclists use shades to mask hurt from their opponents and also why poker players wear them to shield the twinkling in the eye of a good hand. Speaking of poker it is that part of the face that casinos in Vegas use as the basis for the face recognition technology that is used to weed out the disguise-wearing card counters early in the night. It is impossible to disguise the bone-structure of the mid-section of the face.

For some reason shades have been spreading like a rash on our faces in recent times. Wrap-arounds are now the size of the visor of a motorcycle helmet. It makes it very difficult to discern how good looking a girl actually is … perhaps that’s the point? Our eyes can communicate so much it did not seem right to be riding like a diplomat in his blacked out Mercedes. The whole point of bike touring is that it brings you closer to the people of a country, when they see your face you are no longer a robot but a weary blood-shot traveller in need of food and water. Having said all that, I reserve the right to wear shades when I choose; they remain useful for checking out girls discreetly etc.