The fog refused to go away when I started the bike ride at 12:33 pm. I waited an extra half hour to give it time but finally I put the wheels down on the Canyon Endurace CF SLX and headed out on the “Kingwood – SH 242 – Kingwood” route for a total of 36.3 miles. This will probably be the last ride for a few days as the winter weather rolls in and hopefully out. Tuesday looks good for biking if the forecast holds.

Weather during today’s bike ride: start 63 (95% humidity), fog/mist, wind S 9 mph 20 mph gusts. Finish 67 (92% humidity), overcast, wind S 12 mph. I dressed warm with shorts, leg warmers, short sleeve jersey over a long sleeve thermal jersey, windbreaker jacket, and full finger gloves. With the gusty wind at the start the first few miles felt chilly until the body heat started up.

No rest stops today with coolness offsetting a need to stop. I read in the newspaper about how marathon runners prefer cool weather and thought this might apply to cyclists though I prefer hot weather. The Houston Marathon is this Sunday and earlier in the week the weather looked like it might be in the 20’s with a wind chill of 16 but now that has improved to the 30’s and a wind chill in the 20’s. This will keep me inside.

No photos today because the overcast sky didn’t inspire me to stop and take any.

Biking to SH 242 with the wind assist was not as strenuous as the ride back into the wind. Glancing at the Elemnt to see the watts on the way north I usually saw around 100 or less. On the ride back to the south it was closer to 200 watts with bursts above that when the wind picked up. Average power: 111, max power: 370 watts. Heart rate average: 126 bpm, max at 150 bpm.

Finishing the ride at 3:20 pm put me riding through school zones in Kings Manor and Bear Branch when the children and parents were massed along the streets. I hoped they would be gone before I got there.

Now that I am over half way through January previous years’ miles start to appear.