Dark Green Radar Blobs
Today I would normally ride to the north since the last ride was south and east but looking at the gray clouds and the weather radar made me rethink that direction. I kept watching the dark green blobs move around on the radar and they stayed west of US59 but riding north would put me closer to the green blobs which could turn and get me wet.
So I headed out south and east to Huffman. I hoped the rain would stay to the west and north. One thing that I struggled with almost all the way to Huffman was the 16 mph wind. It seemed that no matter what direction I rode it was a headwind. While I pedaled east over Lake Houston on FM1960 I saw another biker riding west on the other side of the causeway with almost no effort and I looked forward to that leg on the return trip.
While the temperature was 71 degrees the wind made it feel cooler so I was glad I wore a long sleeve jersey and my windbreaker jacket. Pedaling into the wind increased my heat output so I did not notice the wind chill so much but when I stopped at the Huffman Chevron for a Diet Sunkist finding a spot out of the wind was not easy. They had a door held open and standing behind it offered some shelter. By the time I finished the drink I had cooled down enough that I felt chilly when I got back on the bike and headed out for the last 11 miles. These miles were the ones I had been waiting for: that tailwind going west over Lake Houston helped me to ride around 20 mph and regain some of the speed I lost battling the wind before. I knew why the other rider rode effortlessly.
The sky was still a dark gray as I headed home and I wondered if I would get caught by rain.
Looking west from the Lake Houston Causeway
I made it home dry but wind blown.
The ride was 32.13 miles long. Due my legs not sending enough power to the pedals my average speed was 14.7 mph. I did better speed wise once I turned back towards home in Huffman. November miles are now 64.72 and year to date I biked 5611 miles. With the number of days left in the year I potentially can reach 6200 for the year, maybe more.
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