I bundled up for today’s ride for good reason. Even though the temperature was 64 degrees when I rolled out at 11:35 am the 15 mph NW wind had a chilling bite to it. I rode the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route for the first time this year going 33.41 miles. The wardrobe: leg warmers, shorts, long sleeve thermal jersey, windbreaker jacket and half finger gloves. I should have worn full finger gloves with the wind chill. It was 66 degrees when I finished at 2:08 pm.

Bicycling to the north put me facing away from the sun and into the wind adding to the chill effect. After I warmed up the wind chill wasn’t so bad but every time I turned into the wind I had to grit my teeth some.

The bridges still have the rock from the recent ice storm so riding on the shoulder pushed me into the traffic lane more than usual. Not sure how long it will take for this wash away or be carried off by the traffic tires.

During the ride I thought the PowerPod was not calculating the power correctly with watts just barely over 100 when I pedaled hard into the wind or up the incline at Community Drive. I didn’t think of anything until around the 18 mile mark when I changed the angle the PowerPod some. Quickly the watts jumped to 1062 which I liked but probably is not correct so I moved it again and the watts fell into the 300 to 400 range which was closer to reality. This was while I biked to the west on Valley Ranch Parkway into the wind. I tightened the PowerPod bolt and I will watch this on future rides. The Elemnt also thinks my max speed was 140.5 mph while Strava calculated 23.7 mph.

The sky had a few clouds thanks to the rain front moving through during the night. Overcast sky is gone for a couple of days. It will be a couple of degrees cooler Tuesday which will require a similar wardrobe as today.

Making progress on my January goal with 83.6 miles to date.

SportTracks Ride Summary