The first bike ride in May started later than usual when I rolled out the driveway at 2:14. The weather was fantastic after a cool front chased out the rain on Monday. It was 77 degrees when I got back home at 5:38 under a clear blue sky with the N 9 mph breeze keeping it cool. The late start reminded me of when I would ride after work before I retired. I got in front of the Kingwood High School dismissal traffic by a few minutes as I rode by on Kingwood Drive headed to Town Center and then W. Lake Houston Parkway on the way to the “Stroker Road – Huffman” route. I ended up riding 41.56 miles today. The delay in leaving was from waiting on the door glass repairman finish replacing a broken window in our master bedroom sliding door. He worked quickly and was here about one hour after arriving at 12:40 or so. It took longer to clean up the broken glass than it did to install the new window.

I dressed like it was early spring with shorts, short sleeve jersey (a new one from AGU) over a long sleeve jersey. I wore a new bright red tube scarf to complete the look, matching the colors of my Stradalli Red Pro 14 bike. This kept me nice and comfortable when the chilly wind caught me in the shade. It was especially appreciated when I was riding east with my front in the shade and the wind blowing from my left. The sun hitting my back didn’t quite offset the other.

At 29.73 miles I stopped at the Huffman Chevron to eat, rest my legs and refill my water bottle. My Edge 520 screen when I got there.

It would have been a little more comfortable if the sun was shining where I sat under the pump canopy but the late afternoon sun was behind the large tree on the west side for the station. I have started to see some “love bugs”. They are not the pesky large swarms, just a few here and there. While I was sitting at the station a pair flew into me and then bounced off and moved away. I can handle this amount but the large batches I ride into sometimes are bad, with a some getting in my mouth. Hopefully this is a light year for the “love bugs” or what some people call “swamp flies”.

The weather while I was stopped at the Chevron station in Huffman.

My mileage goal for May is 540 miles. Today’s ride is about 7% of my goal. The weather for the next several days is only going to get better for riding. Warming up to 80 or so with the clear sky staying around until the weekend. I plan on being out there taking it in.

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/8797663/embed 75% 500px]

[iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/564551319/embed/482832423ccee0bf48f1f1735426482fa860573e 590px 405px]