The two sides of motivation: positive and negative. Today’s bicycle ride produced a strong positive side: the rain. When I started at 1:12 PM the dark sky was to the south of me with the light sky to the northwest. The 5 mph west wind did not really get in my way as I rode to the north. The main reasons I picked a northerly route was the dark sky and I biked south yesterday. I knew there would be rain late afternoon so I thought there would be enough time to go 30 miles.

As I rode the sky to the northwest started to darken and the sky back behind lightened up somewhat. The wind shifted slight to the northwest. Around the 10.8 point when I turned onto Community Drive towards Loop 494 I wondered if I should turn west and shorten my route to around 25 miles. I biked at a strong speed up to this point so I decided I could make it to my turn around point at FM1485 about 2 miles further north and beat the rain. Up to this point my average speed was 16.2 mph which would come in handy to get back home dry. The positive motivation kicked in when I turned south on US59 and looked at the line of clouds coming my way. With the northwest wind helping my speed I raced to get back home and stay dry.

It was a little cooler today with the coming front and rain at 76 degrees at the start and 74 at the end. Initially I thought I might be under dressed but my extra effort warmed me up thanks to the Solo Classique Konig jersey I was wearing. This jersey continues to impress me with the fit and quality.

I stayed dry until I reached the golf course in Oakhurst and the light rain started to fall. I hoped I could ride out of it and at times it thinned out. I was still maintaining a good speed and the road was generally dry. I shortened the route by about 1/2 a mile and rode to the US59 service road and Kingwood Drive overpass. When I turned north on the service road I could see rain in the distance. More of that positive motivation kicked in as I pedaled hard to make the east turn into Kingwood and the back streets. At least now there were places I could stop if the rain started in earnest. It was still light enough rain not to stop but push on home. Usually the further east I get from US59 the rain drops off but it held steady and light until I pulled into the driveway. As I stood in the breezeway I could hear the rain hitting the patio cover fabric I knew it would get stronger before long.I did accomplish my goal of biking 29.67 miles (slightly over 30 if I did not take the 1/2 mile short cut).

With the rain motivation my average speed was 16.1 mph (rare event), 25.8 mph max speed, and 84.3 RPM average cadence. It took 1:50:41 to cover the 29.67 miles. Mileage standings after the ride:

• 92.95 miles this week
• 435.77 miles in April
• 1655.13 miles YTD
• only 4:13 minutes stopped for the whole ride (more rain motivation)
• Garmin Connect data link

In the slideshow below there is a slide of the radar when I got home. There several weather alerts/advisories out but the line of storms should move through and not threaten the BP MS150 start tomorrow morning.

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/603069 98% 700]

4-20-2012 Home Weather Station End