In contrast to the Texas weather today before I left on my ride I watched the Arctic Race of Norway on cycling.tv where it was cooler and near the end of the stage wetter. I started biking at 11:18 with the temperature in the low 90’s but as I progressed on the “New Caney – Roman Forest Loop – Valley Ranch” route I could feel it getting hotter. When I finished the and walked into the house I checked my home weather station and saw 101 degrees at 2:52. Supposedly this weekend some rain will be nearby and the temperature will drop a few degrees. Today I biked 39.27 miles pushing the week’s total to 171 miles and the monthly total to 374 miles. My goal is 800 miles for August.

I retired a pair of red gloves today due to part of them fading to pink. The Texas sun is hard on red gloves and I haven’t found a pair that survives the whole summer. Here is a comparison of the old (left) and the new (right).

The route took me past several schools and the parking lots now have cars in them as the teachers get ready for the first day back on August 22nd. I will need to alter my riding then to avoid the traffic from parents and school buses.

I stopped at the Porter Stripes station for a rest break arriving at 1:25 and leaving at 2:00. A large Gatorade, Clif bar and snack crackers helped me to re-energize for the rest of the ride. Sitting in the shade by the pumps the gentle breeze felt great evaporating some of the sweat the paper towels didn’t. This was 28.2 miles into the ride.

The light breeze was from the west according to the large flag at the Valley Ranch entrance. This helped make the 11+ miles to the finish easier most of the time. With four days of riding a total of 171 miles the legs are not as zippy near the end of the ride. Tomorrow I will ride a shorter route to reach 200 miles for the week. Saturday is a no ride day and Sunday I will probably ride my MTB on the Kingwood trails if it isn’t raining.

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