Fall Wind Blows
No problem over heating today. During the night a cool front passed through dropping 1.23″ of rain at my house and the temperature as well. By the time I left at 11:11 the streets were dry. During today’s ride it was in the lower 80’s with a 15 mph wind from the NNW. This made riding north to New Caney challenging but not impossible. Once I reached New Caney and turned west onto FM1485 the wind was not as much of a problem. On Gene Campbell Road the wind was not much of a factor. When I was riding on FM1314 back to Porter the tailwind helped me get my speed up to 20+ mph.
The deep blue sky seemed to go forever. My polarized sunglasses probably enhanced the effect.
Riding 38.17 miles was slightly longer than usual for what I label the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route. I added a few streets before I left Kingwood. Since this is the second ride after our vacation I did not expect my average speed to that great with the headwind. I did not get my average speed up to 15 mph until 20 miles into the ride. By the 35 mile point it was up to 15.7 mph. Once I got into Kingwood for the last 3 miles or so it dropped down to 15.5 mph. I am pleased with my efforts and look forward to riding the Pineywoods Purgatory in Lufkin tomorrow morning. It could be a little chilly at the 8 AM start but the forecast calls for upper 70’s to low 80’s by noon. The problem is getting up at 5 AM to drive to Lufkin. I figure to leave home at 5:45 to arrive in Lufkin at 7:15.
At the 27 mile mark today I arrived at the Stripes store on FM1314. I am pleased the price of gas has dropped to $2.959 while I was away on our trip. Up north the rices were somewhat higher. With the cooler weather today I sat in the sun while I ate my snack and Gatorade. A breeze would have felt nice but I was on the south side of the store and the wind was from the north.
My year to date miles reached 5604 with today’s ride. That is about 900 from my goal of 6500 for the year. This looks reachable.
Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS for today.
