Wanting to mix things up some on today’s bike ride I rode my Canyon Endurace bike to Tavola north of Kingwood. While I ride to Tavola from time to time (the last time was 6/5/2023) today I changed the route after about 1.4 miles. Not new to me streets but different from the usual ones I ride going to Tavola. I biked along W. Lake Houston Parkway to Mills Branch Drive turning left. At North Kingwood Forest I entered and followed the streets to Elm Grove where I got closer to the usual streets. A short ride through Sherwood Trails and on Northpark Drive I took Woodridge Parkway to Soaring Woods Drive skipping a couple of side streets from the normal route. Then I followed the New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch route until I passed Via Principale Parkway where I usually enter Tavola riding to Roman Forest Blvd. Passing Via Principale Parkway began the reverse portion of the ride through Tavola. No problem getting to Aregoste Parkway to enter Tavola. Riding the streets in reverse puts the scenery in a different view. I got lost when I made a right turn from Caney Forest onto another street. The usual turns are obvious but the reverse is not so. I circled back and found the right street to take me to Gran Roble and then Via Principale Parkway to exit Tavola. From there the ride was on roads I am on several times a week. All of these changes required a new route name, Porter – Reverse Tavola – Oakhurst.

The start got delayed a few minutes while I changed the speed sensor battery but I still managed to begun before 9 AM by pushing the Bolt start at 8:50 AM. I wasn’t sure what the mileage would be today since the route was different than from previous rides. By the time I finished at 11:59 AM I biked 38.52 miles, about 2 miles longer than the average rid to Tavola. This pushed my week total to 176.72 miles and June to 741.64. This means only 59 miles to reach my June 800 mile goal.

With the temperature not as high as earlier rides this week I hoped it would feel cooler but the humidity was up. Wind was calm at the start and just barely moving at the finish. I was soaked from sweat. Weather: Start 81 degrees, 92% humidity, dew point 78.1, a few clouds, wind calm: Finish 87 degrees, 72% humidity, dew point 76.9, partly cloudy, wind S 8 mph. The excessive heat returns tomorrow and following days.