It’s always kind of strange to bike in the sun while it rains. I experienced that on today’s ride while on Rebawood Drive on the way back home. It started as a few sprinkles when I crossed Legend Oak Drive. The rain increased as I rode west on Rebawood until I reached the next intersection at Sunny Shores Drive. Then the rain stopped. The pavement on Sunny Shores was damp for a few hundred feet but then turned dry. I made a left onto Country Club Drive thinking I might need to look for shelter. I kept riding though and that was the last of the rain.

All this took place while I rode the “Atascocita South – Walden – Huffman” route. It was about 90 degrees over the 33.58 mile long ride. High clouds dominated the sky and the wind seemed a lot stronger than the 6 mph from the ENE. Every direction I rode felt like a headwind until I got to FM2100. My legs were not producing the power necessary to get my average speed above 15 mph. Riding north on FM2100 I was finally able to hit 18 to 20 mph and my average speed increased to 14.9 mph. When I stopped at the Chevron station for refreshments the breeze was cooling while I sat under the metal canopy. It didn’t take log for the perspiration to dry up. The newspaper I sat on though was soaked when I stood up to leave.

Riding towards home from Huffman I picked up my speed and lifted the average speed to 15.0 mph and at one point it was 15.1 mph. This segment enjoyed a tailwind and I was glad for it. While I was riding over Lake Houston I saw other bicyclists; one each going opposite me as I crossed. I waved but they didn’t return it as far as I could see.

Yesterday was a rain day. While I took the day off (it rained until around 11 AM) I researched on my rear wheel not staying centered. I found a few other people asking the same question. The conclusion is the rear skewer does hot hold the rim in place tight enough allowing the rim to slant towards the left chain stay. Two solutions I found: add a star washer to the rear skewer between the dropout and the threaded end of the skewer; or use a DT Swiss RWS skewer. The DT Swiss RWS uses a ratchet rather than a cam lever like most skewers. According to one website this increases the pressure by up to 50%. A secondary benefit is the red and black color goes with the Stradalli RP-14 colors. These are not inexpensive though. I ordered one and will see if this fixes the problem.

Sunday ends the week. A progress report: 230.45 miles for the week, 475.37 miles for the month, 2708 miles for this year. 493 miles left to reach my goal for June ((68 miles).

With today’s ride the Stradalli reached 7995 miles. Not bad since buying it on 3/5/2014.

Huffman Weather during the break

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