I pressed the bike ride issue today and paid the price, biking in the rain. As I walked out the back door to get the Blue Norcross AL bike I stopped because the rain was coming down enough to make noise hitting the cloth patio cover. I went back inside to check the radar which show an isolated patch of rain over the area so I waited a few minutes until it quit. Back out the door and this time no rain but the streets were damp but no major puddles. Planning to ride to Huffman I rode on the Kingwood trails to start and around 1.6 miles into the ride rain caught me again, this time getting me pretty wet but I moved from the street to the greenbelt trail thinking the trees would shield me from the rain. No! And I got wet but crossing Northpark Drive riding south the rain slowed until I got near the cross street when it rained harder. Not too far from home I pedaled quickly to get back there for cover. Wet I pulled into the driveway and parked the blue under the roof to the garage. The rain continued for several minutes and I dried off in the garage while I waited.

Finally the rain stopped and I set off again on wet streets. I could see gray clouds to the south and west but I hoped they would not come towards me. As I bicycled south on W. Lake Houston Parkway I changed my route to the “Atascocita – Walden – E. Lake Houston Parkway” one concerned about getting caught in more rain. To get to E. Lake Houston Parkway sooner I altered the order of the streets following Kings River Drive and some side streets before getting on Atascocita Shores Drive north of FM 1960. At FM 1960 I crossed the over and headed east over Lake Houston. I picked up the speed thanks to the wind not being in my face and made the u-turn at E. Lake Houston Parkway.

Biking west I could see the gray clouds but thought they were well west of where I was going. Wrong! About 1/2 mile from the west side of the lake the rain caught me but between me going west and the rain going to the east it only lasted a few minutes and I was out of it. I made the left turn at the traffic light to ride through Walden and loop back to FM 1960 at Pinehurst Trail. That part of the ride was rain free. Pinehurst Trail north of FM 1960 was mostly dry until I got close to Kings Parkway where it started to sprinkle. With all of the wet I was glad the temperature was in the upper 70’s to avoid chilling.

On Kings River Drive more sprinkles and I thought I would get wet again. fortunately I didn’t wait long at the W. lake Houston Parkway traffic light where I turned right. I could see the road was wet and the light rain was coming down but at the north end of the bridge it looked like the sun was shining and I hoped it would dry. By the time I got there the sun was gone but the light rain stopped. From there to the finish no more rain though some of the streets were damp. After starting at 11:45 AM I finished the ride at 2:08 PM.

Leaning the bike against the fence I saw mud and dirt from riding in the rain. I moved the Blue Norcross AL to the spot where the hose reel stands and washed the bike. As I finished a few rain drops fell from the sky maybe to remind the rain had the upper hand on today’s bike ride.

SportTracks Ride Summary