Another cool front passed through southeast Texas last night. This morning when I got up it was 57 degrees. It took a couple of hours to get up to the mid 60’s. To go along with the front a strong NNE wind was hanging around with a chill to it. I waited until 12:54 to ride hoping the wind might slow down and the temperature warm up. It was 71 at my home weather station which meant I could leave the leg warmers at home. To combat the wind chill I wore two long sleeve jerseys and shorts. It didn’t take too far from home for second thoughts about the two jerseys. I almost circled back home to swap a jersey for a jacket but did not. Riding into the wind and the shade were the places I could feel the wind chill. The wind was from the NE at 13 mph with 21 mph gusts when I left home.

For variety I rode the “Huffman – Atascocita – Walden” route (reverse of the Atascocita – Walden – Huffman route). This is the second time I rode this direction this year. I was hoping this would minimize the time I spend biking into the wind but I don’t think it made much difference. This ride was 33.99 miles long; I thought I rode the extra .01 of mile to reach 34.

Because of the reverse direction I ended up at the Huffman Chevron at 16.8 miles rather than the usual 21 miles. It felt good to get out of the wind and sit in the sun while I snacked and drank some Powerade. I started to get attached to the concrete and had to exert some effort to get back on the road. I had built up the average speed to 15.1 mph at the stop and held it there until I turned north on Fairlake Drive into the wind with several short inclines that slowed me down. Back on FM1960 going west I was able to keep a good pace and maintained the average speed at 15.0 mph or slightly above. Riding through Walden slowed me down for some reason but I kept it at 15.0 mph. Crossing over FM1960 to the north my average speed started slowly decline with the wind and stops signs. By the time I got home I was at 14.6 mph at 3:50. I almost missed the Kingwood HS traffic except for what looked like the football team running on the greenbelt trail along Kingwood Drive. They saw me and made room as I passed them with an occasional “On your left” from me.

The wind did let up some by the time I finished the ride; NNE 9 mph.

It is supposed to warm up some for tomorrow’s ride; 80 degrees and partly cloudy.

Weather when I stopped at the Huffman Chevron

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