Surprise Encounter at Stripes Bike Ride
Central Standard Time has returned. It was daylight earlier today and I started the “New Caney – Roman Forest – Valley Ranch” bike ride earlier than usual at 10:16 AM. By then the summer like weather had warmed to 82 degrees (78% humidity) under a partly cloudy sky. No need for a long sleeve jersey on this bike ride so shorts and a short sleeve jersey were the attire. The wind was from the SW at 9 mph (or higher) pushing me to Roman Blvd. with less effort than I expected. The loop through Roman Forest was generally wind neutral so I rode at a good pace.
Once I was back to I-69/US59 for the ride back to Kingwood the headwind battled me most of the way.
The stop at the Stripes station at FM 1314 was long enough to refill my water bottle and walk out the back door. As I came out the door a man followed and asked me about my Stradalli. He knew a lot about the bike and we chatted a few minutes. I was surprised to have someone out of the blue talking about my bike. I got back on the Stradalli and headed to Briar Tree, Oakhurst and back to Kingwood.
Riding through Kingwood I had a tailwind most of the way. I finished the bike ride at 1:21 PM. The temperature was 87 (61% humidity) which is hot for November. Several records were set over the weekend in Houston. The weather forecast calls for a cool front Tuesday afternoon so I will need to ride early.
I adjusted my goal for the month to 360 miles, what I rode last November. As of this ride I am at 137 miles for the month.