No Hills But Plenty of Wind Bike Ride
In the coastal plain around Houston mountain and hills do not exist but to make up for it we have wind. Today when I left home at 1:15 the wind was out of the SSW at 12 mph with 17 mph gusts. By the time I returned home the wind shifted to the SSE at 21 mph with 29 mph gusts. I noticed the wind direction change when I rode east over Lake Houston on FM1960. This was around 17 miles into the ride. Making the left turn from Old Atascocita Road onto FM2100 north the wind was at my back and I picked up my speed.
A quick stop art the Huffman Chevron for some fuel and water prepared me to ride the last 11 miles home. The ride was 21.29 miles at that point and my stay was about 20 minutes. I thought I might cool down while I was there but sitting in the sun helped to keep me warm. The weather screenshots while I was at the Chevron station.
The wind in the screenshot is not the same as above which is from the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Leaving the station riding west on FM1960 the wind helped me. Riding over Lake Houston the wind was coming from my left and wasn’t as chilly as yesterday. This was a good thing. I dressed for wind today with a short sleeve jersey under a BikeTiresDirect jacket. The vented sleeves let the heat out just enough that I didn’t overheat. The temperature agreed with my home weather station and the airport.
I am beginning to ride the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” on a regular basis. Below is a comparison of the last 4 times on this route. (click to enlarge it)
I need to set my mileage goal for February. Using the same method as January, I averaged the last three February miles. 2013 was 370, 2014 was 375 and 2105 was 292. The average is 346 miles. That will my goal for February 2016.
The weather at the end of the ride. (click to enlarge) The image on the left also has the forecast for the coming days. Tuesday looks good for biking but Wednesday and following don’t look so good, cold front arrives.
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