Did I Get Fooled By The Weather?
When I finished watching stage stage 4 of the Tour de France the sun shined on my driveway and backyard. Encouraged about biking after missing yesterday due to rain I dressed for today’s bike ride. Based on the weather I saw I planned on riding my “Atascocita – Walden – FM2100” route. I needed 51 miles to put June at 902 miles. Missing Monday meant only 2 days left and that route would be about 32 miles towards the 51.
Rolling away at 11:02 AM on my Lynskey R300 bike to the north the weather looked like what I saw earlier but over my shoulder to the south dark clouds filled the sky. I started to doubt my route choice and began to think riding north might be better. I held that thought as I rode through Elm Grove Village and Sherwood Trails Village heading west. As I approached Woodland Hills Drive light rain began. To the south the dark clouds looked full of rain so I turned north. But I didn’t ride far as the rain picked up. I headed for Kingwood Park High School for shelter. As the video shows, its a good thing I did.
Taking shelter at 11:15 AM the rain came down with thunder in the area but no visible lightning. The rain started slowing down after 24 minutes. Since it moved north I decided to stick to my original plan and ride south. As I rode south on Woodland Hills Drive the rain stopped. The sky still contained clouds but I rode on. By the time I was on W. Lake Houston Parkway the road was barely damp and dry by FM 1960.
Because I added some streets while still in Kingwood I changed to my “Atascocita – Walden – E. Lake Houston Parkway” route to still get the miles but not expose me too much to any returning rain. The bike ride ended at 1:58 PM covering 32.39 miles of the 51 miles I needed. Now I only need 19 miles tomorrow. The reason for the 51 miles is for June 2021 to meet or exceed June 2020. June 2021 totals 883.83 miles. Rain is still in Wednesday’s forecast but at a lower percent. A 200 mile week looks questionable now with the rain. YTD 2021 now trails 2020 by 115 miles; not as much as I thought it would be.
This was the 4th time riding this route in 2021, equally shared on each bike.
My new gloves got a taste of biking in the rain.
With the weather slowing me down Strava labeled this ride easier than my usual efforts.
