From 54 degrees at 7 AM to 81 degrees at 12:27 when I left on today’s ride covers a lot of temperature territory. I guess this time of the year temperature ranges like that can happen. Along with that movement the clear sky became mostly cloudy during the same time. By the time I finished at 4:12 the temperature difference from 7 AM came up 29 degrees to 83. The SSE wind helped for the north bound start of the ride at 15 mph and 21 mph gusts. This would turn into a headwind when the time came to turn back towards home.

I wanted to ride at least 40 miles today so I chose a route I had not used for awhile going north on US59 to SR242. Going west on SR242 still kept the wind at my back like it did on the US59 north service road. When I got to Old Houston Road I turned left to head to FM1314. This put me into the wind for the first time. I checked the Garmin Edge to see what my average speed was and what a surprise: 16.9 mph at the 21.5 mile point. I figured with the strong wind this would drop like a rock but when I checked again at 35 miles I averaged 16.2 mph. The route ended up at 40.57 miles, just over my goal. The max speed came in at 21.9 according to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com (SportTracks shows 28.2 mph which I like but I don’t think realistic). The Splits-Time slide in the gallery shows my average speed for each 5 mile section. Once I hit the headwind the split speed dropped. The 10 to 15 mile split averaged 18.1 mph which helped me get to the 16.9 mph average speed.

While I was gone 3 hours and 45 minutes my actual riding time totaled 2:34:48 plus 1:09:29 time stopped. A big chuck of the time stopped happened at the 10 mile point when I suffered a pinch flat, the first one in a long time. When I inspected the tire before pulling the tube there wasn’t any wire or other thing sticking out. Once I got the tube out it took several attempts to find the snake bite from the pinch because it was about 4 inches from the valve stem. Once I found the holes the patch kit solved the problem. I made a mental note to replace the patch kit when I got home since all of the glue was used up. (Hopefully no more flats during this ride.) After airing the tire up I got back to riding. No more tire issues. Once I got home I topped off the tire pressure.

Back the bike I maintained a steady pace until I hit the headwind as I mentioned above. My energy started drain and by the time I head southeast on FM1314 it required a lot of effort to battle the headwind. I thought about changing my planned stop at Star Stop Express Exxon in Porter to the Valero station on FM1314 but when I got to the Valero station I thought I could make it. I knew I needed to eat something but I did not want to pay the higher prices at Star Stop so I hit the Family Dollar store on FM1314 and got a package of 8 Oatmeal sandwich cookies for a $1. When I got to the Exxon station I bought a 44 oz Diet Pepsi to wash down the cookies. (I only ate 4 of them)

When I arrived at the Exxon station there was a man filling up his red Chevrolet Blazer and he asked if the wind was bad and I said yes. After he finished he walked over to me at the store doors and we talked about bicycling. His name was Eli and he lives in Oakhurst, a subdivision I ride through frequently. We discussed the wind and some of the roads we both ride on. I told about some streets that avoid heavy traffic areas. He was thinking about riding to Conroe when he got home but after hearing about the strong wind I think he changed the direction for his ride. I mentioned my website for ride information and news. He said he rides with other bikers at West End Cycles and some other groups on the west side of Houston. He is looking for some riders closer to his home. I told him about some groups I know of in the area.

After drinking and rest I headed back home, refreshed to do battle with the headwind. Good thing because the 21 mph gusts seem to come at me often as I road the south bound US59 service road to Kingwood Drive. Once I got there I turned back north for a short section before heading into Kingwood amongst the trees and house. These helped buffer the wind. After this ride my mileage totals: 173.80 miles this week, 522.91 miles for October, and 5819.75 miles YTD.

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