Unusual bike ride today. I took our 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee to Martin Jeep in Cleveland, TX for a factory recall service. I figured while waiting for the service to be done a bike ride was in order. So I set out from the dealership. At first I was thinking of riding FM 1725 to the NW but when the service rep said it would only take an hour or two I went with my original route plan riding SH 105 east from Cleveland.

Starting at 8:11 am (I got up early today to be at the dealer by 8 am) I exited the dealer lot via the “back door” onto SH 105 and rode west to the bypass. I have never been on the bypass so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It is somewhat new and I hoped the shoulder would be smooth but it was chip’n seal except for the bridges over other roads. The bypass was about 5 miles long to where it rejoined SH 105 & SH 321. Lots of debris on the shoulder to go along with the roughness. Rolling roadway required extra effort at times but at least the wind was not coming from the east. At one overpass I stopped and took this photo with FM 1010 below.

I can’t remember the last time I biked on FM 1010. Many years ago I biked from my home in New Caney north to Cleveland, east on SH 321 to Dayton and then west on FM 1960. I think it was about 80 miles. Back then I rode a Cannondale and SH 321 shoulder was chip’n seal for many miles. My teeth rattled so much from the jarring ride and my arms quivered it was a great relief to ride into Dayton and the smooth concrete streets.

Deciding to stay on SH 105 when the SH 321 split came I rode east. Wind was from behind and I didn’t notice a the time but the road tilted every so slightly down. I biked at 16 to 17 mph and got the average speed up to 15.1 mph. Setting the turnaround point at 22 miles into the ride at mile point 21.4 I came up road work with a flagger and made that the turn around point. Not looking at the map I thought SH 105 would pass nearby Liberty but after the ride I see that Moss Hill is the town I would have been closest to if I continued biking east. I stopped and talked with the flag man for a few minutes. His supervisor drove up and we talked some more with him offering me some water but I still had almost 3/4 of the bottle left so I didn’t take it. I should have. A photo of the stop and flag man.

Riding back to the west is when I discovered the up tilting road and the wind from the wind. Not far form the flag man’s station the road inclined steeply as it exited the river bed area and my pedaling slowed and effort increased. It took about a mile to get to the speed I had before riding up the riser. The shoulder was still chip’n seal although the main road was not most of the time. Traffic was heavy since this a major road to Beaumont and the passing traffic negated the wind some. When I arrived at the SH 321 junction I stopped at the Chevron station to refill my water bottle, rest for a few minutes, and eat a Clif Bar for energy. I guessed it was 7 to 8 miles from there to the Jeep dealer and I wasn’t too far off.

In the city limits of Cleveland the road was nice and smooth with freshly laid asphalt. Oh if the crew had worked on the road east of there. In downtown Cleveland I moved to the side streets to get positioned to ride to the dealer. SH 105 Business took me back to US59 and then to the dealer on the service road. I stopped the Elemnt computer at 11:07 am. Pulling in the shade I waited on the service rep to come outside which he did a few minutes later telling me the Jeep was ready to go. After he drove it around to me I loaded the Canyon bike, changed to a dry t-shirt and left to drive back home.

Back to the normal streets and roads for Friday’s bike ride. Weather continues to be hot and dry, dry at least when I am biking.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary