The weather is weird around southeast Texas. Yesterday it rained until afternoon. No biking on Thursday then. I woke up this morning to 64 degrees, overcast sky and a 10 mph NE wind. The forecast called for a high of 82 but by the time I left on the ride at 11:33 it was only 69 degrees. Who would predict these temperatures so late in May. The temperature has not officially reached 90 degrees this month, more than 20 days past the normal first 90 degree day. Rain comes down someplace each day but not where I rode today. Attempting to make up some of the lost time biking I went on a 40.43 mile ride on the “FM1960 to FM686 – Back” route. I extended the route further east than usual going past FM686 about 6/10 of a mile to get me over the 40 mile mark by the time I finished at 2:40.

Going east on FM1960 was difficult thanks to the NE to ESE 10 mph wind. It took 22 miles to get my average speed up to 15.2 mph. Once I turned around and headed west the wind helped me get it up to 15.8 by the time I stopped at the Huffman Chevron at the 28.8 mile point. With the chilly temperature and wind I gambled that it would warm up some as I rode. I wore a long sleeve and short sleeve jersey atop shorts but no leg warmers. At first I was chilly but as I heated up I didn’t notice the coolness as much. At the Huffman stop Action Sign’s time and temperature banner reported 73 degrees to 75 degrees. The screenshot below shows 71 degrees. I sat in the shade at the Chevron station eating some snacks and drinking Powerade and it was a little chilly as the wind moved across my wet jerseys. The sun was approaching where I sat but the clouds didn’t let much warmth get through. I left before it reached where I was sitting.

Leaving the Chevron station for the last 11 miles back home I was chilly but it didn’t take long to recover the warmth as I sped along at 20 mph or so. This allowed me to build up the average speed to 16.0 mph. I was able to keep it there most of the ride back into Kingwood. Not long after I turned off of FM1960 on Atascocita Shores Drive I saw the only other biker of the day. We exchanged waves going opposite directions. Later on I think I saw him in my mirror until he turned onto a side street.

Weather forecast for Saturday: chance of thunderstorms, rain 50% around noon. Not sure if I will be able to bike. Sunday and Monday look wet again.

Mileage as of today: 107.15 miles this week (3 rides), 361.42 miles in May (10 rides), 2030 miles year to date (60 rides).

Huffman weather at the rest stop 28.8 miles

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