A freshly waxed chain, new rear wheel bearings and a flatter Wahoo Elemnt could’ve helped me shave a minute per mile off my biking time but alas it didn’t happen as I rode the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route for 37.44 miles. Yesterday while I was forced inside by the rain I took time to wax my chain since it was squeaking some. I prefer waxing to avoid grease marks on my leg and fingers if I need remove the rear wheel. I got the idea to adjust the Elemnt’s bracket from watching the introduction video of the Elemnt Bolt. The new wheel bearings eliminated the 1/8″ side to side movement of the rear wheel and it now spins smoothly as well.

I delayed the start of the bike ride waiting for the temperature to get to 70 so that i wouldn’t wear extra clothing I would regret later in the ride. I still left before noon (11:48) wearing a thermal long sleeve jersey under my University of Cincinnati short sleeve jersey. The 7 mph NW wind had a chill to it from the cool front that passed through after yesterday’s rain. When I got up this morning it was 60 degrees and it took awhile to start warming up. While bicycling west on Gene Campbell Road I could hear the wind whistling through the air vents of my Catlike helmet announcing its presence. The sun went behind the scattered clouds periodically making the wind chill more noticeable.

Tuesday I made the decision to buy the Velocomp Powerpod power meter and it could arrive tomorrow in time to set it up for April bicycling.

Friday’s weather forecast calls for warmer temperatures which is great. I plan on cycling to increase my miles over goal for the month. I am at 643.49 miles after today’s ride, exceeding my 586 mile goal. Last year I biked 722 miles in March which I won’t reach this year. Saturday’s weather should be bicycling friendly but Sunday’s forecast calls for heavy rain. The Bluebonnet Express ride has been rescheduled to April 15th because of the rain threat from Sunday.

Links to RideWithGPS.com and Strava.com metrics and maps.

Home weather at the start and airport weather at the finish of the bike ride.

SportTracks Ride Summary (click the image to enlarge it).