After watching stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia this morning I thought I should ride to Rome. Well actually I rode the “New Caney – Roman Forest Loop – Valley Ranch” route where the city of Roman Forest has many streets named after places in Rome and Italy. I left home at 12:08 riding south to add a few tenths of a mile and a small variation to my usual starting routine. The weather today held the promise to reach 90 degrees for the first time this year (at the official weather station somewhere in Houston) while my home weather station has been there a couple of times already this month and 91 when I checked before leaving today. The sky was mostly cloudy and the airport showed the wind was from the SSE at 18.4 mph. This meant a tailwind on the way to Roman Forest and a headwind on the way back.

The ride to Roman Forest Blvd where I turned right to enter roman Forest was easy at a good pace. Riding east to the loop the wind shifted to my right side but thanks to the many trees along the side of the road I didn’t endure the full brunt of the wind. The ride on Magnolia Bend still offered some relief from the wind with houses and trees breaking it up. At Appian Way I turned left and headed back to Roman Fores Blvd and then back to US59. The wind was now from my left and still wasn’t too much of a problem. Riding under US59 I made the left turn onto the south bound service road and the wind was now coming from my left front without anything in its way except for the overpass retaining wall for a 1/4 of mile or so. Once I was out in the open I slowed some but not as much as I expected. At FM1485 I pulled into the Chevron station to refill my water bottle with ice and water. I stopped at a pump to get a paper towel to wipe some sweat from my eyes and then into the store. Back outside I mounted the bike and headed south to Valley Ranch Parkway.

Once I turned onto Valley Ranch Parkway I got a phone disconnect message on the Edge 520. It usually reconnects not too long after but this time no reconnect message appeared. At the Grand Parkway overpass I stopped and checked the status on the 520 and it showed the phone was disconnected. Fortunately the ride data was still recording so I started up again and rode to the Stripes station at FM1314. I parked my bike and went inside to get a Gatorade drink and Greensheet to sit on at the pumps. As I came out the 520 beeped and said my phone was connected. From this point to the end of the ride the 520 would disconnect, freeze and turn off many times. The 520 shows I rode 39.31 miles but I think there is a mile or more missing. Later when I was in Kingwood the route shows a straight line but the streets wind around so that is missing on the ride data. I kept an eye on the 520 and caught it shut off a couple of times and restarted. The last time was about 2 1/2 miles from home. Frustrating to say the least. I want to enjoy the ride not babysit a bike computer.

Back home at 3:53 I decided to call Garmin support. After holding for 15 to 20 minutes I spoke with rep explaining what happened. She asked some questions and then had me delete the content of the “Activity” folder and “NewFile” folder. Her reasoning was corrupt files were causing the problem. I am not sure I agree but I will see how the next ride goes. I also powered off my Nexus 6P phone too after the call ended.

The Edge 520 screen when I arrived at Stripes and the weather while I ate and drank Gatorade.

At home I checked the airport weather and saw the wind had increased from the south at 15 mph with 21 mph gusts. It was not quite 90 degrees there but my home weather station was higher. No wonder my speed dropped as I tried to keep an eye on the misbehaving 520.

The chance of rain creeps up some on Thursday but I plan on riding. Hopefully the 520 does not make the ride a pain.

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