I almost made it to the Huffman Chevron without getting caught in the rain. I was riding north on FM2100 headed to the Chevron station and as I rounded a bend I could see the rain ahead about 1/4 mile south of the railroad tracks. Having ridden this route many times I have mentally cataloged places where I can get out of the rain. I passed one at the storage place where a carport offers a quick place. The next one was Lake Houston United Methodist Church about 300 yards passed the storage place. I was going fast to reach the church and large rain drops started hitting my helmet. I thought the rain was going to be heavy so I rode to the porch at the church. This was about 1/2 mile from the Chevron station. A train had just went through the intersection so traffic was backed up too. I waited at the church about 15 minutes while the traffic cleared some and the rain slowed down.

The church parking lot is a mixture of gravel and concrete. I rode slowly through the gravel/mud to the concrete and then to FM2100 asphalt. To keep the mud and grim to a minimum I moved slowly to the FM2100 FM1960 intersection. The light changed so I did not have to stop in the rain. Weaving through some cars on FM2100 north of FM1960 I rode into the Chevron station and a dry area. The rain was not too hard but steady making puddles. It was a good time to have a snack and drink so Gatorade waiting for the rain to slow or stop. By the time I finished the rain stopped and the road started to dry off thanks to the 80 degree temperature. Leaving the station I rode on a wet FM1960 for about 1/2 mile to where the rain ended. From that point to home the streets were dry though the sky looked threatening to the west. The rain was just around Huffman.

I opted for a longer version of the Atascocita – Walden – Huffman route coming in at 33.32 miles. Average speed dropped down while I rode in the rain but I did manage to hit 15.1 mph. My starting at 11:07 probably helped get me in the rain. I was watching stage 20 of the Giro d’Italia live. I checked the weather before leaving and the rain spots were scattered around with nothing really too close. With the rain delay I did not finish until 2:20. The temperature when I started was 80 and 86 at the end. When I went inside the Chevron station to get the Gatorade the A/C was very cold thanks to my rain soaked jersey and shorts. One of the ladies said they would have got the Gatorade for me if I had went to the window. I will remember that if it happens again. After wiping off my bike I headed home.

May miles ended at 266.6, 98.54 miles this week and 2404 miles year to date.

Next week the weather is supposed to warm up to the 90’s and the rain goes away. I will work on my June goal.

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