Not quite as early starting as I wanted with wheels rolling at 8:13 am. To offset the later time I bicycled the “Kingwood to Ramsey Road – Huffman” route which gets me to FM 1960 quicker than when I ride through Walden first. The first cyclist I saw was on W. Lake Houston Parkway at Kings Harbor. He was a lone cyclist going north while I was riding south. Not too long after that on Kings River Drive I saw another biker. Again we were going opposite directions.

Weather during the bike ride: start (78 (97% humidity), partly cloudy, wind calm. Finish 91 (68% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind W 8 mph. The early start meant high humidity and it wasn’t too after I was underway that the sweat flowed.

Back to the ride, other cyclists appeared on FM 1960 over Lake Houston. At the turn onto Fairlake Drive two cyclists approached the intersection not long after I made the turn so I didn’t have enough time to get my phone out for a picture. Riding along the street after the two big curves I spotted a pace line coming towards me and this time I had enough time.

They zipped by. I was afraid I would get the photos because I heard a vehicle approaching from my backside hoping it wouldn’t arrive at the same time as the paceline. It didn’t by a few seconds and it turned out to be a Houston Police SUV patrol cruiser.

I got back on the Canyon and rode to FM 2100. East of FM 2100 was where the bikers began appearing and I took these photos. I still need to work on my photography skills shooting into the sun and not waiting until the subject is closer. Maybe if I took off my sunglasses I could see better.

As I rode east on Old Atascocita Road the oncoming cyclists thinned out and by the time I got to Ramsey Road I didn’t expect to see any more but one biker rode north on Ramsey Road as I turned left and rode to the bridge to turn around. I figured he would be ahead of me but as biked west I saw he was stopped at a gate to a pasture taking a photo of a cow. When I reached FM 2100 there was another biker waiting to cross the road going east. I waved and made the right turn to go to Huffman.

At the Huffman Chevron I decided to buy a PowerAde fountain drink which I rarely do. I was hoping the sugar would help ride into the wind on the section of FM 1960 across Lake Houston. Earlier I had to pedal into the headwind on the trip west on Old Atascocita Road from Ramsey Road. The wind wasn’t too strong but it required extra effort. Actually the wind felt good in a way drying up some of the sweat from riding to Ramsey Road. Biking with a tailwind sometimes doesn’t feel cooler even if the effort is reduced. The Wahoo ride summary at the Chevron station.

While I wish my average speed was 16.2 mph the Elemnt screen showed 14.2 mph. Not sure why there was a difference. As I was sitting on the milk crate drinking my PowerAde several motorcyclists began to arrive. Listening to their conversation I think this was a gathering point for a club ride. They were still there when I finished the drink, went inside to refill my water bottle and then back on my bike. I think I rested about 30 minutes before resuming the ride. I had to push the PowerPod start button when I got back on the Canyon because it had gone to sleep after 20 minutes.

The sugar from the PowerAde helped me navigate the wind while bicycling west on FM 1960. At the Atascocita Shores Drive traffic light I waited several minutes for the light to change. While I was waiting the car to my right which had changed lanes and moved closer to me when I moved from the shoulder to the left turn lane passenger decided he needed to roll down his wind partially climb out and yell an obscenity at me. When the light finally changed I heard a biker say on “on your left” as I made the left turn. After we both were out of the intersection he asked if I was with the Bike Barn ride and I said no. We rode south to the first street where he turned and I went straight. That was the last biker spotted today. Riding through Walden I altered the route slightly reducing the mileage by a mile or so. I continued cycling and finished the bike ride at 11:32 am.

For the week I am up to 210.97 miles. So I think Sunday will be a rest day. For August I am at 581.14 miles with 219 miles left to reach my goal.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary