The ride didn’t get off to a good start. Moments after I left the driveway (12:08) I felt a rain drop. There weren’t many but for the first 1/2 mile every few feet I got hit by a rain drop. I could see some blue sky to the north where I was riding to so I kept riding hoping the rain would disappear. It did and I was happy. In the quest to reach my April mileage goal I chose the “Splendora – Valley Ranch – Oakhurst” route. The last I rode this route earlier in April it was over 40 miles and today it totaled 40.87 miles. This boosted my monthly total to 639 miles and the goal is 772.

Getting to Splendora went easily thanks to the SE 8 mph wind but the return to home after heading south in Splendora was tough. My legs were slow and not as full of energy as yesterday. Riding into the wind I slowed down and my average speed slowly fell too. I stopped at the New Caney Chevron for a quick water bottle refill and got back on the bike. Looking at the time I figured I would ride thorugh the Briar Tree schools’ traffic if I stopped at the Stripes station at FM1314. With the water bottle topped off in New Caney I decided to ride past the schools and take a break at the Oakhurst Community Pool. There is a park with benches in the shade. My Edge 520 when I got there.

I enjoyed the shade and ate some snacks to give my legs time to recover for the last 8+ miles to home. The only other times I stopped at the pool was when I had a flat several years ago and another time when I got caught in the rain. The traffic noise was much lower than at Stripes. I stayed there long enough for the Kings Manor school traffic to clear out before leaving. The weather while I was at the pool.

I got back home at 3:33.

Tomorrow the weather looks favorable for more biking but Wednesday looks very wet. My mileage quest may get washed out on Wednesday.

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