After using the same exit route from Kingwood for going north I thought today would be a good day to try a different one. So I studied Google maps for the directions. Writing these down I set off. I did not get far when I noticed one of the streets I would take came earlier than I expected. So checking my directions I turned sooner and moved on. Well it did not go that smooth. After a short distance I came to W. Lake Houston Parkway which should not happen. Retracing my route I turned right when the route went left. After a couple of attempts I got on the correct streets and found the right way which happened to be the name of the street to get me to Mills Branch and onto streets I know even though I do not bike on them. From then the route went as planned.

It has been over 20 years since I biked on Loop 494 from FM1314 north to Community Drive. The last time shoulders did not exist but now they do. The southeast wind propelled me along at 20+ mph. My speed enabled me to average almost 16.9 mph at the one hour mark. One disappointment though came when I rode on FM1485 west of US59. TXdot is resurfacing a section and the pavement is now chip’n seal. Fortunately I only needed to ride about 1 mile until I turned onto Gene Campbell Road. The loose rocks on FM1485 made for some skittish riding at time when my front wheel slipped around hunting for solid pavement. This forced me to slow down for safety. This came about the 13 mile mark so I recovered speed on Gene Campbell Road to hit that 16.9 mph average speed.

For the last couple of weeks I attempted to visit with a former biking partner in New Caney, Mark Peterson. My previous two attempts missed him for various reasons but today I finally connected and we visited for 15 to 20 minutes. We biked together for several years back in the 1980’s. We went to the Hotter’n Hell 100 when it was just getting started. The first year we camped at Arrowhead State Park and almost melted from the heat.

Speaking of the weather, today it was picture perfect for biking: 90 degrees, scattered clouds, 35% humidity and that 15 mph SE wind.

The ride got a late start (1:31 PM) because my wife and I went to Bush Intercontinental Airport to welcome 200 to 250 wounded warriors. We never did this before so we did not know what to expect. It was awesome. The large crowd waited for them to arrive. Behind us a barbershop chorus warmed up with a wide variety of songs. Once the warriors started walking past us everyone started clapping, ringing cowbells and cheering. Here are a few pictures.

At the end of the ride my average speed ended up at 15.9 mph. My max speed topped out at 23.7 mph and average cadence 82.0 RPM. Riding time totaled 2:02:29 with 54:14 stopped. The time stopped included my visit with Mark and listening one of the clerks at the Porter Exxon tell me about her dysfunctional family while I ate a snack and a Diet Pepsi. With the 32.14 miles today this week’s miles total 156.58, May totals 515.75 and year to date is 2451.42 miles.

[iframe http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/179519711 500 560]

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/652036/embed 98% 500]