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I started the ride at 7:15 AM with the sun just starting to get up above the trees. The temperature was 80 degrees and the humidity must have been about the same number. The skies were clear and there was no breeze to speak of. My goal was to ride at least 60 miles so that I can get close to 130 miles for the week. Next Saturday is the Hotter’n Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls so I want to get a few more miles in to prepare. In reality it is too late to make much difference in my fitness for the HH100.

Today’s ride was not difficult although I did some small climbs that are not in my usual routes. The title for today comes from a man handing me a cold bottle of water while was stopped for a red light at Loop 336 and FM3083. He rolled down his window and said I looked like I could use a cold bottle of water. He was right even though I had my Camelback and the water in it was cold. I took the bottle and it tasted good as the cold water went down. I wanted to ride today without taking a rest stop until about mile 50. I did stop at traffic lights and stop signs and I made it to the Valero station on FM1314 with a rest stop.

During the ride I saw five other bikers. These two were the first.

Two riders on FM3083 headed southeast

The route I was headed on included a section of FM1314 I have not ridden in many months due to construction. I was not sure what the status was but I thought they had enough time to have the road in place. I was right. FM1314 is now 5 lanes wide with a nice wide shoulder in both directions. Much better than the old 2 lanes with a shoulder lane that was not as wide as the new one.  This is a section with the construction stuff in place.

FM1314 heading East about 8 miles west of US59

The temperature was increasing as I near the end of the ride. When I got home it was 93 degrees. It is supposed to be 99 degrees later today and for the next 3 to 4 days. This could be the warmest August since records have been kept. The 24 hour average temperature is in the mid-80’s.

Today’s ride statistics:

• miles 61.21
• riding time 4:04:51
• average pace 4:00 min/mile
• average speed 15.0 mph
• max speed 19.2 mph
• average cadence 77.5 rpm
• max cadence 100 rpm
• climb 198 ft., descend 203 ft., max elevation 211 ft.
• August miles 385.77
• YTD miles 3494.24

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