Tarred and gravelled

As if uphill and into the wind were not bad enough, today we added no shade and the worst road in America. For about 5 miles the road was full of tar--very thick tar in spots. So thick and soft was the tar that our tires sunk in. Then the road hardened and was covered in gravel. Our tires, caked with tar, now picked up the gravel to the point we could no longer pedal.  We had to stop and clean the thick tar/gravel mixture off, which was pretty much impossible. Once I got enough off and found a hard road, I just rode fast. Much of it is still on the tire.