Today’s bike ride followed my “Kingwood – Splendora – Kingwood” route for a total of 42.68 miles. The rain has left the building but the humidity it left behind was almost as bad. I rolled out the driveway at 10:18 am and the first couple of miles were not too moist but once I warmed up the sweat started to soak my jersey and shorts. After making my way out of Kingwood and into Woodridge Forest to get to I-69/US59 the trip to Splendora went smoothly with the help of a tailwind. My average speed moved from 13 mph when I got on the service road to 14.8 mph when I made the u-turn back to the south. I knew the headwind would not be friendly but it wasn’t as bad as I expected.

Weather during the bike ride: start 86 (81% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind SW 10 mph. Finish 92 (61% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind W 6 mph.

Last time I biked this route I had a dog sprint on the south bound service road at the junk yard north of SH 242. Today I sped up as I passed the open gate but no dogs ran out today. I didn’t miss them.

Biking south to Valley Ranch Parkway I stopped at the Mobil station in New Caney at FM 1485 to refill my water bottle. Leaving the station the ride to Valley Ranch had places where the wind was blocked helping me along. On Valley Ranch Parkway I looped back to the service road to continue south. Once I crossed FM 1314 the trees on the right blocked the wind some. Another loop through Oakhurst added a couple of miles to the route and back to the service road.

Arriving at the Circle K store on Northpark Drive I took a rest break to eat some fig Newtons, granola bars and drink water. This is the a screenshot of the ride up to that point.

I was back on the bike at 1:25 pm to get to the finish about 7 miles away. Sitting in the shade felt good and allowed my legs to recover some. It wasn’t too far to the Kingwood Drive u-turn under I-69/US59 which positioned me for the entry back into Kingwood through Kings Manor. I finished the bike ride at 1:57 pm with my jersey and shorts dripping. Maybe the humidity will let up as the ground dries from the rain.

I am at 606.74 miles for June leaving 194 miles to reach my goal. If the rain cooperates I think I can do it. Saturday’s forecast shows typical June weather so I plan on biking.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary