Apparently my idea of “cold” weather is not held by some people. I waited to start to today’s bike ride until 12:55 pm for the temperature to hit 60 degrees. When I left it was not quite there but if I rounded up it was. I needed to ride at least 24 miles to not fall behind my November goal of 360 miles or 12 miles per day. With that in my I put parts of two routes together and came up with the “Woodridge Forest – Atascocita – Walden” route and biked 30.66 miles. This boosted November to 251.6 miles, only 109 miles short of the goal.

Not too far into the bike ride while going through Sherwood Trails Village in Kingwood I came to a young boy (maybe 8 years old) getting back on his too large bike to ride. He wore shorts, a T-shirt and no shoes. Contrast to what I wore: shorts, leg warmers, long sleeve thermal jersey, long sleeve jersey, wind breaker jacket, and full finger gloves. I felt comfortable but the chilly wind tried to make me feel chilled. Later along W. Lake Houston Parkway on the way to Atascocita a teenage boy stood beside the greenbelt adjusting his ear buds before resuming his running. His attire: shorts, no shirt, and shoes. Again my wardrobe kept me warm but I began to wonder if I over did the clothes. When I went into the shade I knew I dressed properly. Towards the end of the ride as I went past the Houston Police substation two cyclists went by dressed less than me: shorts, jacket and regular gloves. My legs shivered at the thought of no leg warmers.

The weather at the start of the bike ride and the finish.

No rest stops during ride. My water bottle had no ice cubes at the start since I figured warm water made sense. With school out for Thanksgiving break traffic was moderate to nothing at the schools I passed. Crossing Kingwood Drive on the way back required some waiting but not like school traffic. I finished the ride at 3:13 p.

During my last ride I had a problem with chain slapping the chainstay. I am happy to say changing the rear derailleur to the second “nub” fixed that and no slapping today. Next up: replace the torn handlebar tape, replace the chain when I get to 7,000 miles (6 miles away), and clean off the WD40 chain lube from the other drive chain parts before going to wax.

Wednesday weather: High 63 F, 50% Precip. / 0.05 in, PM Showers. High 63F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Maybe I can get a ride in before the rain and after it gets to 60 degrees.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary