When I looked at the current weather conditions on my phone before leaving on today’s bike ride (11:16 am) I knew it was going to be a battle on the return from New Caney. The wind was from the south at 13 mph with 20 mph gusts. The temperature was warm enough that I left the leg warmers, thermal long sleeve jersey, and full finger gloves at home but I did wear shorts, long sleeve jersey and wind breaker jacket. The route I chose, “Kingwood – FM1485 – Kingwood,” went to the north and then back south. I rode 27.07 miles putting November at 58.4 miles or 16% of my 360 mile goal.

Getting to New Caney went quickly thanks to that nice tailwind. Making the u-turn under I-69/US59 at FM 1485 it didn’t take long for the wind to make a statement; the return home wasn’t going to like the ride to New Caney. Biking south on the service road I put my head down and kept the gearing in the same combination that got me to New Caney. I made it to Valley Ranch Parkway where I turned right maintaining my overall average speed at 14.0 mph. On Valley Ranch Parkway the wind came from my left until I went under the Grand Parkway where it became a full strength headwind. The incline wasn’t very steep but I bogged down riding to Valley Ranch Bend Drive but I still kept the average speed at 14 mph. Looking down at the Elemnt I saw watts in the 200 to 300 range despite a speed at only 14 mph or less when a gust hit me.

Turning left onto Azalea Blvd. got me out of the headwind and provided some relief on the way back to the south frontage road at I-69/US59. But once I started south on the frontage road the engine room power didn’t match the strong wind and my speed dropped 11 or 12 mph pulling my average speed down to 13.9 mph while the watts remained in the 200 to 300+ range. This lasted all the way to the u-turn at Kingwood Drive which put me riding north with a tailwind again but I turned right after a short distance to make my way to Kings Manor and then Kingwood.

I may update this post with a screen shot from the Isaac software that analyzes power to show the wind and power output. Update: This is the screenshot from the Isaac software program for the PowerPod. In the second chart with all of the blue the wind resistance above the white line represents the headwind I battled on the way back from New Caney. Blue below the white line is a tailwind.

Sometimes biking on residential streets with trees, houses and varying directions the wind lets up but not today. It fought me all the way to the finish at 1:18 pm. Legs tired I felt relief at the finish. My wardrobe at times was too much but when the gusts came at me and I was in the shade I stayed comfortable.

Sunday weather forecast shows rain so I probably will not ride again until Monday when the rain is gone and the temperature is back in the low 80’s. Thank goodness.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary