Flags in the Wind But No Pop from the Stands Bike Ride
I rode the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route today. When I got to the Stripes station for a badly needed break I was looking around as I sat in the pump cover shade and saw these flags standing almost staright out over closed fireworks stands. The pop was gone from the stands and my legs, how fitting.
The ride to Tavola went quickly thanks to the nice tailwind. I got a taste of the return ride south as I made the loop in Tavola back to Roman Forest Blvd. It was going to be tough. Riding back to I-69/US59 on Roman Forest Blvd the south wind tried to keep on the right edge of the asphalt but I managed to hold the line a couple of feet left of that until I changed lanes at the railroad crossing. Riding under the freeway the shade was refreshing and then I made the left turn on the service road. Between the strong wind and my weak legs the effort was too much. My speed bogged down and I decided to shift down one gear, something I usually don’t do. I labored all the way to the Stripes station with a couple of jogs where the wind was from my left and not so bad. The muscles on top of my thighs started to hurt and the power went away. That is why the rest stop at Stripes at FM1314 was badly needed.
The Stripes stop was at 1:15 after 23.2 miles of the 34.61 mile long ride. My Wahoo Elemnt screen when I got there.
Slowly walking inside the store I refill my water bottle with ice and water and then bought a 32 oz Gatorade to take outside to drink while I recovered in the shade by the pumps. The strong wind that was my nemesis was now my friend as cooled down. It was doing a great job drying the sweat from my arms and jersey. My wrist bands were soaked so I used several paper towels to dry them out for the rest of the ride. While I was eating and drinking a man in a white pickup pulled up to the pump where i was sitting. He came around and asked if he could take a picture of my bike to send to a friend of his who is a biker. I said sure. We chatted about riding and such. His friend lives around Waller and before he went inside the store he texted him the picture. When he came back out he showed me his friend’s reply and we laughed because he said it was too **** hot to ride. He said goodbye as he left. When I finished I rode over to the west side of the parking lot and took the picture above before riding across FM1314 and riding home. While I was at Stripes I took these screen shots of the local weather.
The airport weather shows the strong wind I was battling: 15 mph from the south with 23 mph gusts. No wonder my thigh muscles hurt. I was glad to get home at 2:49. The last 11 miles my speed slowed and the average speed dropped lower than usual. I did get a slightly earlier start today leaving home at 11:38.
More heat and wind tomorrow. I plan on biking after watching stage 6 of the TdF. Hopefully by then my legs will recover.
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