Mike and Frank on the American Pickers TV show talk about “breaking the ice” when they make their first buy at a picker site. Last Saturday, Sunday and Monday were my breaking the ice days from 21 days of not biking. Then I took three days off with rain on Tuesday, drying out on Wednesday and taking my wife to the medical center on Thursday. Back riding today I had to start earlier than I have lately to get back home to meet the Dish technician to install a new dish and receiver.

I rolled out the driveway at 9:05 and got back home at 11:48 about 15 minutes before he arrived. When I started the air was heavy with humidity at 80% and the temperature was 75 degrees. By the time I finished the humidity dropped to 57% and the temperature moved to 84. Unlike most of my rides this year thanks to the humidity I was perspiring heavily at the end. I wiped off my arms and almost immediately they were wet again. Welcome Houston humid weather.

The route I chose was going to the north to Roman Forest Blvd and turning south through Valley Ranch. After a stop at Stripes for a Gatorade I continued through Briar Tree and Oakhurst. Today is the last day of school for the New Caney ISD but I am not sure about Humble ISD. I rode past all of the schools before they let out early today.

Riding out of Kingwood on Adams Street I had brief encounter with a young lady driver. I think I might have over reacted and owe her an apology. She was stopped at the railroad crossing waiting for the train to pass. I waited on the side street until the train was gone and then pulled behind her thinking she was going to cross the tracks. Instead her backup lights came on and she started to come back to mean. I pulled from behind her up to beside the driver’s door. She had the window down so I explained that she was going to back into me. She said she was backing up to make room for a large truck to come over the tracks but I said she wasn’t paying attention to me behind the car. She had a phone or iPod in her hand and I thought she was looking at it and not what was behind. She said she checked both mirrors and did not see. This could have been true because I was not in the middle of the of the car or I might have been pushed back. After going back and forth a couple of times I told her to go ahead and I continued biking.

Riding the route totaled 33.17 miles and I got my average speed up to 15.6 mph from the 14 mph I biked the last three rides. May miles total 233.28 so I will not reach 300 let alone the 400 mile goal I set at the beginning of May. Too many days off and the rain did not help. I really needed Tuesday off to catch up on a pile of things from our vacation. The week to date shows 65.21 miles and year to date I biked 2370 miles. Hopefully I can bike tomorrow. The forecast calls for a 75% chance of rain.

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Link to RideWithGPS map and metrics.

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