Before biking today I helped my wife paint a dresser for her craft room. A couple of times it looked like a rain cloud might come by but nothing came of it. I got ready to leave and started the riding the “New Caney – Roman Forest – Valley Ranch” route at 12:46. The sky was overcast and the temperature was 74 degrees, a few less than the forecast called for. I took the weatherman at his word that no rain would fall while we painted and I rode. The wind was 5 mph when I left but it seemed stronger out on the road.

Apparently the word is out that I haven’t been working on my sprints. Leaving Woodridge Forest subdivision on Adams Street I haven’t had a dog chase in many months. Today changed that. As I was going along I caught a glimpse of something moving out of my right eye and turned my head to see a large Pit Bull type dog running out of yard. He didn’t bark until he was on the road. Not too much earlier I had shifted to a higher gear and was powering up. The dog gave me a good reason to power up even more. I lost sight of him behind me but I could hear him running on the road and growling/barking. I looked to my left and he was almost beside my rear wheel and I pedaled faster. Just before I maxed out my speed for that gearing he slowed and gave up the chase. Hopefully this is a one time chase as I like this way to get out of Kingwood when riding to the north.

After that the ride was much calmer. The wind helped me get to Roman Forest Blvd. where I turned back south with the wind coming at my right front quarter. As long as I was on the service road it wasn’t too bad but riding on Valley Ranch Blvd. changed it to a head wind. I pedaled hard but didn’t go that fast. When I got to FM1314 I stopped at the Stripes station to let my legs recover. Without my Garmin Edge I didn’t know the time and I wondered if I had enough time for a break and then get past the Briar Tree schools before they let out. Here is the weather and ride stats when I was at Stripes.

Riding Data at Stripes in Porter

After a quick rest I headed off to Briar Tree. The buses were lined up as I rode by the elementary school and the middle school was not ready to dismiss. The next school to get by was in Kings Manor and only one buses was left as I passed that school with all of the parents long gone. I got home at 3:28. The sky had cleared up some and the temperature increased to 80 at my home. The wind was stronger too at 10 mph with 17 mph gusts. That is why it was so hard to pedal on the south bound ride.

I just got an email that my replacement Edge 520 has shipped. Not sure how long it will take to get here. I do miss being able to see how my ride is going and the time.

My miles for the month moved to 186 with today’s ride. The goal is 772 miles. I will not ride tomorrow but hope to be back on the bike Friday. Friday’s weather calls for 83 degrees, partly cloudy and no rain.

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/8416784/embed 500px 750px] [iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/537796584/embed/f63ec28384cbf23705d27d5b5a8defc55be1e43a 590px 405px]