I wanted to leave before 9 AM this morning to get a jump on the heat but I couldn’t get out the door and down the driveway until 9:30. By then it was already 83 degrees. The weather was great for biking with scattered clouds and a light breeze.

This needed to be a longer ride so I went north along US59 to SR242. The ride went well until turning west on SR242. For the 11 miles on SR242 I was riding into the wind. My speed bogged down to 14.5 to 15.5 mph. There are some rolling hills around Fire Tower Road and I slowed down going up the hills. I took a quick stop at the Shell station at FM1485 and SR242 to get some ice to carry me to the Stripes station on FM1314.

Once I reached FM1314 the wind moved to my right rear quarter and I picked up speed to the Stripes station. After passing Gene Campbell Road going to Porter I shifted into the big front ring and sped up to almost 25 mph for a few miles. The Garmin Edge 510 recorded an interval change and when I looked down the interval I just completed took 15:33. This is about 2 minutes faster than normal. Unless I am going downhill 25 mph is a rarity.

The stop at Stripes was about 35 minutes long as I enjoyed the shade, snack and cold drink. This was at the 37.75 mile point. The total ride distance was 48.57 miles and I averaged 16.2 mph.

The Houston Chronicle had an article this morning about the Grand Parkway construction. The land clearing is going on along the corridor between I-45 and US59. Many changes are expected once the construction is complete with housing and commercial. Houston is booming. I hope we don’t overcook it. Many of the subdivisions I bike through have a number of homes under construction as well. The logging and clearing north of FM1314 is making progress. The land is now more clear than wooded. I was passed by one logging truck full of logs on FM1314 and a couple passed me on SR242 that were empty.

Mileage standings:

• 48.57 miles this week
• 769.32 miles for July (53 miles over my goal)
• 4144 miles year to date

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