Mature Afternoon Valley Ranch Bike Ride
There is something about riding in the late afternoon. By then the day is mature and the weather more predictable. Today I left home at 2:29. I adjusted my route some to get around school dismal. As I passed each school the students were gone as well as all of the parent car traffic. The route I chose: “Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch”. Riding west and north added variety to this week’s rides. Weather was pleasant with a mostly cloudy sky, 90 degrees and a light breeze. My legs felt good as I pedaled propelling me along to a 14.9 mph overall average speed for 34.71 miles.
All of the other bikers were staying away from my route.
I rode to Cumberland Blvd. before turning back towards Porter. It is about 3 miles from there to the Stripes station at FM1314 and Valley Ranch Parkway. When I got there I was 22.33 miles into the ride and it was 4:09. While I was there I looked at the Stripes sign where the prices flash and did a double take.
The price of gas was the lowest I have seen in quite sometime.
After eating a granola bar and a trail mix bar washed down with diet Peach Snapple I left to head back home through Valley Ranch. It was almost 5 o’clock and the Friday traffic was heading home. Going north on Valley Ranch Parkway I stopped at the right turn to get to US59. Valley Ranch Parkway continues north into a construction zone intersecting the Grand Parkway. I rode down there to see what the roads look like. Before doing that I took these pictures.
Heading east to US59 was fast with little wind resistance. I got on the southbound service road to ride to Northpark Drive. From there I rode to get back into Kingwood.
The weather screenshots while I was at Stripes.
Today’s ride was the 13th time on this route.
| Activity Name | Start | Time | Distance | Elevation Gain | Avg Speed(Avg Pace) | Max Speed(Best Pace) | Calories | Total Strokes |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Fri, Oct 9, 2015 2:29 PM | 2:19:48 | 34.71 | 151 | 14.9 | 21.3 | 1626 | 8212 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Fri, Sep 4, 2015 12:27 PM | 2:25:15 | 35.15 | 525 | 14.5 | 20.2 | 1862 | 9092 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Thu, Aug 13, 2015 11:14 AM | 2:26:13 | 35.15 | 479 | 14.4 | 19.9 | 1889 | 8759 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Fri, Jul 10, 2015 10:56 AM | 2:19:15 | 34.75 | 509 | 15 | 19.9 | 1857 | 8765 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Tue, Jun 30, 2015 12:17 PM | 2:15:45 | 32.9 | 463 | 14.5 | 21.5 | 1772 | 8354 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Mon, Jun 15, 2015 9:59 AM | 2:20:53 | 34.82 | 528 | 14.8 | 27.3 | 1905 | 8491 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Wed, Jun 10, 2015 11:04 AM | 2:27:33 | 35.28 | 417 | 14.3 | 19.7 | 1857 | 8679 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Wed, Jun 3, 2015 9:30 AM | 2:11:51 | 33.04 | 407 | 15 | 21.3 | 1775 | 7962 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Thu, May 28, 2015 11:07 AM | 2:12:14 | 32.76 | 482 | 14.9 | 20.5 | 1780 | 8365 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Sun, May 3, 2015 11:19 AM | 2:03:04 | 31.53 | 709 | 15.4 | 21.7 | 1805 | 7891 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Wed, Apr 22, 2015 12:25 PM | 2:13:56 | 32.78 | 646 | 14.7 | 21.2 | 1818 | 8275 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Wed, Apr 8, 2015 11:06 AM | 2:14:18 | 32.53 | 919 | 14.5 | 21.1 | 1889 | 8192 |
| Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch | Wed, Apr 1, 2015 11:57 AM | 2:10:08 | 32.32 | 692 | 14.9 | 21.4 | 1843 | 8096 |
[iframe https://connect.garmin.com/activity/embed/923122018 465px 500px] [iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/409687492/embed/1313d6f96b0cd1669ddc95dd33900af57bf9ef0d 590px 500px]