I got started earlier today thanks to no flat tire. Wheels rolled out the driveway at 9:13 on the way to Stroker Road south of Huffman for a ride through the grass farms. Along the way I met 20 or so bikers coming back from their ride probably through the same area. I didn’t quite make my before 9 AM goal but it was close enough.

The plan was to ride at least 37 miles and I actually biked 40.6 miles averaging 15.8 mph. The weather conditions were hot under scattered clouds. The humidity was in the 55% range. Whenever I stopped for more than 10 seconds I poured out sweat. Moving I did not notice the sweat so much. I stopped at an Exxon station on FM2100 south of Huffman to refill my water bottle and during the 3 or 4 minutes it took to walk inside and back out I was dripping. Back on the bike I rode south on Fm2100 and the light wind plus my riding speed seemed to dry me off some. According to the weather report it was 95 degrees with the heat index around 105 or more. Riding east on Stroker Road was better with the wind coming from behind helping me to get my speed up close to 20 mph. On Ramsey Road going north the wind was still somewhat favorable coming from my left rear quarter but when I turned left onto Old Atascocita Road heading to FM2100 I rode into the wind and my speed went down to 15 or 16 mph. Once I got to FM2100 and turned right again the wind was helpful for the 1 1/2 mile ride to the Huffman Chevron where I took a break.

While I was at the Chevron station sitting outside eating my snack and cold PowerAde I noticed how much water the paper towels absorbed from my arms. Normally the towels get damp but today they were extra wet.

Starting the ride back home from the Chevron station around 12:54 I rode to the west. As I got close to the Shell station before E. Lake Houston Parkway another bicyclist pulled out from the Shell onto the shoulder heading west. i caught up with him and said hello and waved. He answered back. I moved in front of him and he followed me across Lake Houston until Atascocita Shores Drive where he turned left and I went right. I checked my mirror a few times as we were riding on the causeway and he was about 10 or so behind me. A Pace line into the wind was okay by me.

Regular visitors may notice a new look in the slides below for my home weather station. Rather than camera shots of my weather station I now have an online weather station at Acu-Link.com. Recently I noticed my Oregon Scientific weather station was not working correctly and when I was at WalMart in Porter on August 1st I wandered over to their weather aisle. Looking at several boxes I found a professional weather center from AcuRite. The price was $99.95 which was much less than a replacement Oregon Scientific one. I bought it and set it up. On Saturday I was looking around WalMart.com and found the same AcuRite item for $69.91. At first I thought maybe the WalMart store would price match the online price but they do not. I then ordered the same unit from WalMart.com and did a store pickup. After getting the lower priced one I then returned it using the higher priced receipt. Then I looked at the AcuRite.com website and found something I have wanted for many years; an accessory that would show my home weather online and upload it to Wunderground.com as a personal weather station. Previously my search for this feature turned up $300 to $400 hardware and software. AcuRite.com has what they call an internet bridge that does the same thing for $79.95. I bought it and it arrived yesterday. The setup took all of 10 minutes. I created an account at Acu-link.com and now my weather station posts data there and links to Wunderground.com as well. The link to my Wunderground PWS. I also added a weather widget to Texbiker.net below the Upcoming Events to the right. Weather is important to bicyclists so I have had an interest in it for a long time.

Riding statistics to date:

• 224.11 miles this week
• 325.12 miles for the month (520 miles left to reach my August goal)
• 4537 miles year to date

I am not planning on riding tomorrow (Sunday). I have a noon time meeting at church and I have biked 11 days in a row. Maybe a long ride on Monday.

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.

[wppa type=”slide” album=”388″ size=”auto”]Any comment[/wppa]