I debated on which route to ride today. To factors decided the route: Memorial Day and the strong southeast wind. I wanted to take some pictures of what people are doing for Memorial Day to recognize the military people ho have died serving our country. If I went north I would probably not see as much evidence as the route I ended up riding over towards Crosby. Most of the pictures below are from the signs a group put our along both sides of FM2100 from Crosby to Huffman. The 32 mph wind was bending most of the over so that is not easy to see them from the road so I stopped a couple of times to snap the picture. Also there were flags out at many places. Over the years the memory of why we have this day has faded. I remember when I was a youngster in the 1950’s there would be a parade where veterans would march down Main Street with several bands. Then we would go to the cemetery to visit the graves of family members. One of my uncles was killed in north Africa and his body was never found. We owe a great debt to those who served.

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The second reason for this route was the brutal wind. When I started it was 17 mph with gusts in the 24 mph range. When I finished the wind was 24 mph with 32 mph gusts. At one point when I was riding into the wind I geared down one gear and was slowed to about 11 mph. As I finally reached a turn where the wind was from my back and side the pedaling was much easier. The goal was 40 miles and I almost made it at 39.29 miles. I altered my route somewhat because of the wind. If I had not changed the miles would have been around 45. Average speed was 14.4 mph. Max speed was 21.3 mph. Average cadence was 76.1 rpm. The slowest part of the ride was about the 17 mile point to the 18.45 mile point.

Mostly cloudy skies and about 50% humidity combined with 88 degrees compensated for the hard wind.

May mileage:

• May miles 675.04 (5 miles over my stretch goal)
• Year to date miles 2177.71

5-30-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

5-30-2011 Home Weather Finish

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