The day to reach my mileage goal for May arrived. I needed 32 miles and I chose the Atascocita – Walden – Spanish Cove Drive route which averages about 35 miles. Pausing stage 16 of the Giro d’Italia with about 18km to go I got ready. I mounted my Cervelo Caledonia bike, pressed start at 9:49 AM and rolled out. The 32 mile point came when I was back in Kingwood on Kings Crossing Drive with about 3 miles to the finish. I ended the ride at 12:25 PM riding 35.36 miles and May now totals 753.63 miles. I’ll be off my bike for several days to the end of May and reaching my goal early was good.

Seven starred Strava segments on today’s route. No new records but they helped me get the overall average speed up to 14.1 mph. Light wind and low 80’s made for a pleasant ride. The humidity and dew point were lower than usual for Houston. I used the 35×13 gears the most time, 1:37:17 (24.1 miles) and made 25 rear derailleur shifts according to the AXS.SRAM.com ride report. My legs felt a little heavy today maybe from yesterday’s ride.

For sometime the rear cassette gears emitted a click as I moved the chain. I thought the chain and gears might be wearing but yesterday I made a “micro adjustment” to the rear derailleur spacing from 17 to 15 and the sound is not there anymore. I should’ve thought this earlier. Instead I lubed the chain.