Early Start After a Day Off – July 5th Bike Ride
After taking a day off for the 4th of July parade and fireworks I got back to riding today. Because of some other commitments I needed to leave earlier than I have lately so I was out the driveway at 8:39 and back at 11:17. The temperature was a pleasant 79 when I started and climbed to 89 by the time I finished. The partly cloudy sky and calm wind helped to make the ride enjoyable although not particularly fast as I averaged 15.5 mph over the 33.41 mile route.
I modified my planned route slightly to add a mile or two. The route took me south through Atascocita before crossing W. Lake Houston Parkway into Walden. Traffic was light I think because some people did not work today. The garbage trucks were out though. From Walden I rode east over Lake Houston around Huffman with a stop at the usual Huffman Chevron. I thought about just stopping long enough to refill my water bottle but I gave in to a Diet Pepsi and resting under the canopy outside.
Up to this point the calm wind had provided resistance whenever I rode east or south. Now that I biked to the west on FM1960 the calm wind was just that and I was able to increase my speed some. When I was riding east over Lake Houston on FM1960 there were two bicyclists going west. I waved but they were concentrating on pedaling and did not see me wave, I guess. Later as I rode north on West Lake Houston Parkway on the bridge another bicyclist went the opposite direction on the sidewalk and we exchanged waves.
July mileage now stands at 146.13 and year to date is 3472 miles.
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