A longer ride today on the “Kingwood – Hare Cook Road – Kingwood” route for 44.51 miles. This was the 5th time riding this route this year. (see a comparison of the rides below.) I started at 10:43 and returned back home at 2:37. I watched the Eneco Tour before leaving on my ride. I took a 30 minute break at 32.7 miles pulling into the Huffman Chevron. It wasn’t quite as hot as yesterday thanks to a rain storm late last evening when we got about .33″ of rain. For change it wasn’t in the mid-90’s at the start of the ride. Home weather at the ride start time.

It felt a little like fall for the first few miles but it didn’t take long for it to get hot. Riding through the grass farms east of FM2100 there is no shade to hide from the sun. Even once I was back to FM2100 and riding north it was full sun. I stopped quickly at the Shell station on FM2100 to refill my water bottle for the ride to Huffman. The Chevron had workmen repairing their sewer line. A lady employee said it collapsed after 40 years. I sat under the canopy waiting for the gentle breeze to cool me down and dry up some of the sweat. The Greensheet  newspaper I sat on absorbed as much as it could. When I put it in the trash it was soaked through. The weather while I was resting at the Chevron station.

The last 11 miles home I worked against some wind but I still held my average speed at 14.8 mph. Home weather at the end of the ride.

It was back up to 100. Yesterday before the scattered rain moved through Houston we set a record high of 104 degrees with some places hitting 106. Supposedly the conditions that allowed the high temperatures is moving to the west some and the daytime highs could drop below 100 degrees for the next few days.

Today was my 17th consecutive day biking. (5 days in July and 12 in August) This is the longest string in recent years. My legs may be getting tired. Pushing my usual gears (34 x 13) takes more effort. Over training? August miles are up to 440.61, 516 miles short of my goal. The weather forecast looks favorable for biking and I plan on taking advantage of it.

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Below is a summary of the 5 rides on today’s route.