I left home at 11:36 to ride the “SR242 – Valley Ranch” route to the north and back. I figured the ride to SH 242 would be easy with the airport reporting the wind from the ESE at 18 mph gusting to 25 mph. The sky was overcast and some dark clouds hovered to the south but I hoped I would ride away from them. That was wishful thinking with scattered rain drops hitting me as I rode west on Adams Street on the way to US59. They didn’t last long and I was glad. The temperature was 81 degrees and the humidity was high too.

Staying on the US59 service road to Community Drive the traffic was not too heavy. At Community Drive I sitched to Loop 494 to make the route map some separation from when I came back on the south service road. I noticed with all of the construction the shoulder of Loop 494 has places covered with aggregate forcing me to ride left of the white line. There are two concrete mixing stations along 494 which is probably where this comes from. I hope TXDot requires them to clean it up.

The pedaling to SH 242 went quickly and I expected the wind to make the ride back south very hard but I was able to keep a strong pace all the way to Valley Ranch Blvd. where I turned west. Surprisingly this is where the wind started to slow me down. Maybe it started blowing harder or the wind break was not doing its job. When I got to the Stripes station at FM1314 I took a short break skipping the snacks and drinking water. This is what my Garmin Edge 520 showed when I got there.

I wasn’t that hot but my legs needed a break before tackling the 11+ miles to home. Leaning against the pump protector I checked email and looked at the weather to see if the rain was not in the area. The sky looked okay but maybe I wasn’t seeing it behind the trees. This is what the weather looked like from my phone.

From the Stripes station the wind slowed me down and turning the cranks was harder. I rode the trail along side of Rock Creek Drive in Oakhurst to get around the closed portion of the street. The repairs look complete and now the concrete is curing. I made it to Kings Manor and from there it was about 5 miles to home. I got home at 2:19. Checking the airport weather I saw why the pedaling was harder; the wind was still from the ESE but stronger at 21 mph and gusting to 30 mph.

April miles are up to 428 miles, 344 miles left to reach my goal of 772 miles.

Rain could move into the area overnight making Sunday biking doubtful. I will fill my biking need by watching the Amstel Gold Race from Europe.

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