Today’s bike ride involved perseverance. Within a few hundred feet of beginning the bike ride (11:42 am) I started seeing and feeling some very light mist. Riding the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route to the south I could see dark clouds to the south and east. The light mist stayed with me for the first mile or so and disappeared to only return around mile 2 or 3. I thought since the mist was light and intermittent maybe the wind would move it away. Pedaling south the dark cloud in front about 3 or 4 miles away looking threatening but I didn’t let that shorten the bike ride. I did not ride on Friday because the temperature took too long to get above 60 and I didn’t want to miss another day.

After riding over the San Jacinto River on W. Lake Houston Parkway the dark clouds moved to the east and I thought the ride would stay dry and not stop me. It did that. The weather during the bike ride: start 71 (79% humidity), overcast, wind E 13 mph. Finish 74 (81% humidity), overcast, wind E 12 mph. With the low temperature (for me anyway) I decided to wear shorts, long sleeve thermal jersey and a short sleeve jersey. The first few miles were chilly before I warmed up and rode in the light mist at times. From the time I warmed up I didn’t really think about the temperature but shifted to the wind.

As I rode I decided to stop on Old Atascocita Road at the railroad tracks and take these pictures. On an earlier ride I saw the pink wildflowers and thought they would make a nice backdrop.

With the pair of private property signs I hoped leaning my bike against the gate was not a threat. After taking the photos I started walking back up to the road. Looking both ways I hurried across the road to resume the ride to the east. Usually this road is light with traffic but two vehicles approached, one from each direction causing me to hurry and get on the bike. Looking forward to making the left turn onto FM 2100 I pedaled hard. At FM 2100 the wind shifted to my right side and wasn’t trying to slow me down.

When I got to FM 1960 there was no need to stop for a rest break and after making the u-turn east of FM 2100 I rolled up to the traffic light to wait for the green light. Starting up I could feel the tailwind and decided after getting up to speed to shift into a gear I don’t use very often: 52 x 17. Normally the headwind and my legs would thwart using this gear combo but not today. I kept riding those gears until I came to the traffic light on the west of Lake Houston at Atascocita Shores Drive. My average speed had jumped from 14.6 mph to 15.0 mph over the 3 miles and Strava told me that was my 2nd fastest time on Bridge of death (4:00) segment. I don’t get many of those. Ride With GPS also notified me of the accomplishment too.

Making my way through Atascocita back to W. Lake Houston Parkway I saw some more dark clouds and hoped I could finish the bike ride and not get wet. The rain stayed away until I was almost at the finish of the ride. As I rolled to a stop the rain picked up some as I pushed the stop button the Elemnt computer. Walking up the driveway the rain continued as I opened the gate and got under the roof I heard the rain hitting the patio cover. Just in time to not get too wet. It was 2:08 pm.

For the week I am at 182.53 miles. I hope to get to 200+ if Sunday’s weather goes per the forecast: early morning showers and clearing by mid-morning. I only need 120 miles to hit my 600 mile goal for the month.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary