I could’ve picked an easier day to ride my Kingwood – Stroker Road – Kingwood route. The Space City Weather forecast email mentioned the wind would be around 20 mph today. Not long after I started the bike ride at 10:01 AM I could tell the wind was stronger than the 9 mph the screenshot showed. The bushes and trees were moving around as I rode through Kingwood which usually doesn’t have the higher wind due to those trees. My Cervelo Caledonia has 50mm carbon wheels which catch the wind easily too. I battled the headwind when I was out in the open from Atascocita Shores Drive all the way to Stroker Road. I took a short break at the Ramsey Road bridge at Old Atascocita Road and checked the weather on my phone: SE 20 mph gusts 29 mph. Riding south on Ramsey Road was an ordeal. I dropped to the 35×15 gears and my speed was 8 to 11 mph into the wind. The big relief came when I turned right onto Stroker Road with a cross tailwind all the way to FM 2100. Biking north on FM 2100 the tailwind allowed me to ride at 20 mph with minimal pedaling. Going west over Lake Houston the wind pushed me around some until I reached the west shore. From there to the 1:52 PM finish the wind was at my back. My legs got a workout today. I’m including the cadence chart for fun. Weather overall: Start 82 degrees, humidity 74%, dew point 72.5, partly cloudy, wind Se 9 mph; Finish 85 degrees, humidity 64%, dew point 71.1, mostly cloudy, wind SE 17 mph gusts 32 mph.

Today’s 45.13 miles is about average for the five previous rides on the route in 2023. This gets me to within 24 miles of reaching my 700 mile goal for October. I need 167 miles to reach my 7,900 mile goal for the year.