I almost got started before 9 AM today but I missed by 4 minutes and started at 9:03 AM. Even then the temperature was on the way up at 81 already. By the time I finished at 11:45 it increased to 91 degrees. The sky was clear and the wind a light 5.8 mph with the humidity at 55% at the conclusion of the ride. One reason I got an earlier start today is not getting a newspaper. I also wanted to get a jump on the heat. Drinking liberally from my CamelBak and a 44 oz. Diet Pepsi I still weighed 2.4 pounds less after the ride. Perspiration flowed abundantly.

Choosing today’s route had me going back and forth from several but I ended up choosing New Caney and then northwest to Gene Campbell Road. I ride this route at least once a week and no surprises today. At the start while I was riding on Ford Road I could see another biker in the distance and I closed the distance some but when I turned on a side street and then returned to Ford Road he was gone. Depending on which exit route from Kingwood I take this route can either be 32 miles or 36 miles. Today was a 32.29 mile route. This puts the weekly miles at 217.41. I haven’t ridden over 200 miles since the week of August 1, 2011. July now totals 542.20 miles and YTD 3855.62 miles. I plan on Sunday being a rest day so that leaves 2 possible riding days this month. Unlike today I have a route planned for Monday. Riding time today: 2:07:20, stopped time: 34:48. So far in July the total biking time stands at 36:14:43 at an average speed of 15.0 mph.

Previously I mentioned that the right shift/brake lever did return completely when I squeezed it. Last night I got a new brake cable and installed it. After the installation the lever still hung up so I looked for the reason and found some rust and moisture damage. I oiled the pivot points and the lever now works like it was new. Noticing the rust I figure this comes from the sweat that runs down my arms and soaks my gloves. This then runs into the lever mechanism. At some point this could require the levers to be replaced. I will pay closer attention to this now that I know about it.

A switch on the ride data. The link to RideWithGPS.com data and map.

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