April temperatures in February are not the norm but today it was. When I started the bike ride at 11:48 AM it was already 79 degrees with an overcast sky. After riding to the south yesterday I rode north on the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route for 37.50 miles. This increased February to 146.67 miles, 43% of the to my goal for the month.

Weather during the bike ride: start 79 (73% humidity), overcast 79, wind S 15 mph gusts 27 mph. Finish 81 (65% humidity), overcast, wind S 12 mph gusts 22 mph. I ditched the jacket and wore shorts, long sleeve jersey with a short sleeve jersey over top, and half finger gloves. with the 81 degrees the long sleeve jersey wasn’t necessary but I was comfortable with. It was a new Bellwether jersey.

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Wind was big today and I knew at some point I would face the strong headwind. On the way to New Caney the wind propelled me along with medium effort on my part. Making the u-turn under I-69/US59 by Caney Creek I got my first taste of the headwind as I rode up the incline from the creek bottom. On FM 1485 biking to the west the wind was slowed down by the trees and building. I expected going to the SW on Gene Campbell Road might be tough but again the trees and direction kept me from getting the full force of the wind.

The last time I rode this route was 10/29/2018 and I wondered how the new subdivision Ports Mill was growing so I stopped and took these photos.

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A lot more houses are there. One street contains all of the houses built so far but more streets are under construction. The photo with the flag shows how strong the wind was.

Leaving Ports Mill I rode to FM 1314 to begin biking to the SE. With the change in direction I expected a tough ride from Gene Campbell Road to Old Sorters Road where the route turns south. Thanks to the trees slowing the wind down and traffic proving some relief it wasn’t too bad. I stopped at the Circle K at Sorters Road to refill my water bottle and continued riding.

I made it past the schools in Briar Tree well before the parents arrived and traffic got crazy. Same with the Kings Manor and Bear Branch schools finishing the ride at 2:44 PM, a minute later than yesterday’s ride.

With the wind riding produced:

• 131 average heart rate, 75% of my theoretical top
• 153 max heart rate, 87% of my theoretical top
• 1.11 aerobic efficiency
• 141 average watts
• 534 max watts

Tomorrow the weather returns to February’s normal with a front arriving. This most likely means no biking for the next few days.

I still cannot get ahead of 2017 YTD but all of the other years are lower miles.