Wow! The fall weather continues. When I checked my home weather station this morning around 7:15 AM the temperature showed 58 degrees. The sun was coming up and there was a blue sky in the making. By 11:44 AM when I pushed start on my Elemnt computer it was 81 degrees, 53% humidity and a clear blue sky for as far as I could see. Choosing the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route to the south and east I didn’t know what to expect since this would take me through some of the hard areas from Hurricane Harvey flooding.

Adding a couple of extra streets to the route I wanted to be sure to ride 30+ miles and the ride came up to 33.1 miles when I finished at 2:26 PM. September is now up to 153 miles with 300 miles as my goal. I should exceed that if this great weather lasts as long as the forecast says. Hurricane Irma is threatening Florida but should stay east of Texas thanks to the high pressure system providing this weather.

As I rode along the route I could see some progress in removing the flood debris in Kingwood Town Center, Walden and along Atascocita Shores Drive but many areas are waiting for the trucks and crews to get to them. Kings Forest looks the same as when I biked there last Saturday. Kingwood Lake apartments on Kingwood Drive looks worse because the crews are now removing the water soaked contents on the first floor. I saw several tow trucks hauling flood damaged cars and trucks away with water lines easy to see. Kingwood Greens has not seen removal crews yet but now the streets are not full of parked cars so they can get to them. The house I stopped at still has the wood flooring stacked on the curb in a big pile and the flooded car still sits in the driveway with the high water mark. The smell is strong even with the breeze blowing.

On the east side of Lake Houston the damage is not as much but on Fairlake Drive at the low spot where the road curves piles of sheetrock and water soaked furniture lay by the street. In Huffman at FM 2100 and FM 1960 I thought this area would not flood but the home healthcare business across from the Chevron station hd a pile of insulation and sheetrock.

I took a short rest break at the Chevron station sitting under the pump canopy. Some people were there talking about the damage they suffered and what their plans were. A lady that works at the station told me she had a little bit of water in her house but it wasn’t bad. I was 21.4 miles into the ride at this point and stayed about 10 minutes to refill my water bottle and recharge for the 11+ miles to the finish.

Riding across Lake Houston the water was still higher than normal and a solitary boat moved from the west to the east. From the causeway on the west end I saw a big pile of logs and trees that collected because the bridge stopped them. Thankfully there was an open space for them to come to rest in. I also could see a few homes that front the lake and the damage they took. When I turned onto Atascocita Shores Drive I saw a boat dock out in the water with a boat dangling from the side partially under water. The little inlet there had floating debris too.

Usually on the way back I ride through Kingwood Greens but the street is blocked for the debris removal and to keep traffic to a minimum so I rode through Kings Harbor. The apartments on both sides of the street had large piles waiting to leave and numerous crews were working. The closed Wells Fargo bank office had a crew working there I guess hoping to attract another tenant or owner. Life Storage still had the large 18-wheeler trailer parked and several people moved about the storage cubicles dragging stuff around. Farther along W. Lake Houston Parkway the YMCA had several work trucks now and I could see stuff that used to be inside laying nearby. The Ace hardware store despite having their parking lot full of items from the flooded store had a cardboard sign saying they were open 9 to 5. Next to them the shopping center with a Randalls grocery store and many shops was fenced with many trucks and crews moving around. AT&T had two trailers probably to replace the store that was damaged.

Crossing Kingwood Drive I started to reach end of the flooded area. HEB, Walgreens and Whataburger stores re closed as people work on them. There are many more stores closed as well. At the Houston Police substation a Flower Mound Police SUV cruiser was parked on the street but the Garland Police SUV cruisers were gone; not sure if they returned home.

Tomorrow I plan on biking to the north and the weather forecast says more of the same.

Strava Ride Summary