Earlier this week I made the decision to not ride one of my favorite rides, the Pineywoods Purgatory. My reason was not being fit enough to ride the 65 mile route with some serious hills and not wanting to pay $40 to ride the 52 mile route which still has some serious hills just not as many. One of the reasons I try to ride this one every year is the challenging terrain and the fabulous fajitas at the end of the ride. Another factor was a cool front probably passing through during the ride. As I write this the temperature is 88 and the wind is light so that does not appear to be a problem.

So not going there I decided to ride north from home today after going south yesterday. Around 6 AM we got a light shower at home so I began to wonder if biking would happen but the streets dried off with the temperature at 75 and some sunshine. Then again around 9:30 another light shower passed through but only lasting a few minutes. So I had to decide if I was going to ride today. I checked the radar and no rain anywhere near.

Going north became a problem when I read in the paper this morning that US59 would be closed at Community Drive to remove the overpass I rode over on Wednesday. All the traffic would routed onto the service road. There are not many options to get around this area and bike north. The only one is Loop 494 and I figured with the traffic a lot of people would be there. Biking to New Caney and then Gene Campbell Road was off the table.

Where to ride then? I waffled on biking to the north and started my ride as if I would go that way but when I reached Tree Lane in Kingwood I made the decision to ride south. The next decision was which route since I wanted to go at least 35 to 37 miles. At this point I chose the Stroker Road – Huffman route. It has been awhile since I rode this one and it should get the mileage I was after.

The clouds looked threatening but I stuck to my rule if it isn’t raining press on. As the ride progressed the clouds lessened and no rain came down. Because I added some extra streets to the beginning of the ride the ride ended up at 40.56 miles, well over my goal. The average speed was respectable at 15.4 mph. My sit bones survived the increased miles. The Garmin Edge 510 announced at the end of the ride a new distance personal record had been set and I bettered my 40K record as well. Now this is all based on the data the 510 has collected and not what I biked earlier with the Edge 500 before it’s demise.

I stopped for a rest break in Huffman at the Chevron station. My sitter had a tough time getting up from the concrete; the milk crates were occupied. Two cookies, a trail mix bar and a Diet Pepsi got me ready for the final 11 miles home. The scattered clouds and 90 degrees kept me warm. tomorrow after the front I may not be able to say that.

This week I biked 145.61 miles. October miles total 124.78; this is more than September. Year to date stands at 5342 miles.

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