The jury was not in today. I was summoned for jury duty today but I was not selected. This allowed me to get an earlier start on this evening’s ride. With the fabulous weather we are continuing to experience I could not stay inside. I even ate lunch outdoors. In our backyard I watched a hummingbird land on a tree limb and sit there for many seconds. I do not think I have seen one sit that long if at all. I noticed when I rode on the McKay Causeway over Lake Houston the water is starting to get shallow in places with herons standing water they could not before. The drought continues. The humidity is below 30% which is very unusual for southeast Texas. The temperature during the ride was in the low 80’s with clear skies.

My repaired Koobi saddle arrived this afternoon. I mounted it on my Motobecane Le Champion road bike and riding bliss returned. The repair brought the saddle to like new condition. My riding comfort has returned.

Today is four days riding in a row. This is not my usual pattern but due to schedules and weather they have wound up this way. This afternoon’s ride started with a nice tailwind of 17 mph and gusts over 25 mph. This probably why I was able to average 15.1 mph during the ride because my legs sure did not feel like they had that much speed in them. In fact on the way back when I was headed north on W. Lake Houston Parkway over the San Jacinto River there is a slight rise in the bridge to allow boats to pass under. when you combine that rise with the 15 mph and 23 mph gusts I slowed done to almost 10 or 11 mph. The old legs just did not have any more power. My top speed was 21.5 mph and average cadence was 79.3 rpm. I was trying to get 30 miles in today but settled for 29.71.

My miles for May are 341.86 and year to date I have ridden 1844.53. This is a good pace. My goals for May are in sight. Tomorrow is a rest day.

5-16-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

5-16-2011 Home Weather Finish

[nggallery id=227]