After riding to the south yesterday I headed to the north today going through New Caney to turn back when I reached Roman Forest Blvd. Nearing Roman Forest Blvd. I crossed the railroad tracks to a street that follows the railroad tracks to Roman Forest Blvd. To my surprise a barrier was across the road. I have biked on this road since 1979 and now it looks like it will disappear as Friendswood Development builds the new community along US59.

Barrier across the road at Roman Forest

Turning back across the railroad tracks I moved to the US59 service road to get to Roman Forest Blvd. I wanted to see how the construction work was progressing there. I thought I could ride east on Roman Forest Blvd but was greeted by this scene:

Looking east at Roman Forest Blvd and US59

The picture cuts off the left lane where the inbound and outbound traffic goes while the construction proceeds. I had seen this construction several months ago and thought it would be done. I wanted to take a picture of the entrance but decided not to ride down the two way road with several cars moving around. Also the workers were creating some dust clouds.

Up to this point the wind was not an issue (from the S 13 mph, 21 mph gusts when I left home at 12:55). The temperature was a pleasant 79 degrees according to the Weather Underground app on my phone:

Weather at Roman Forest entrance at US59

That changed when I turned south under US59 for the ride to Valley Ranch. My speed almost immediately dropped to 11 or 12 mph and the pedaling effort increased to keep it there. It felt like I was crawling along the service road on my way to Valley Ranch. There was a short stretch south of FM1485 when the wind let up. I think the line of trees back from the road provide the relief. With that ending I thought it would be good to take a couple of pictures of the Grand Parkway fly-over construction at Community Drive and US59.

The Grand Parkway at Community Drive and US59

Riding around the construction concrete work was rampant. To the west some big equipment worked on the roadway leading to the fly-over.

Biking through Valley Ranch all I could smell was skunk. I don’t know if a herd of them moved through and wanted to leave a calling card or what. Later on Northpark Drive I saw one dead in the gutter. Maybe this was one of them?

Reaching the Stripes store at FM1314 it was time for a break from the wind. The weather warmed up a couple of degrees from Roman Forest:

Weather at the Stripes store on FM1314

After eating a snack and downing a Diet Pepsi I got back on the bike to ride through Briar Tree and then Oakhurst. This time I missed the school bus parade into but not out of Briar Tree. Taking the back streets I rode to Kings Manor where it was not quite time for the school to let out. The parents were starting to line up though.

From there I was about 4 1/2 miles from home. The rest of the ride wove through residential streets. Overall the ride was 32.62 miles at a 14.7 mph average speed thanks to the wind.

February miles are adding up: 251.40. This means only 119 to the 370 mile goal. Year to date: 580 miles.

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