Wrapping up March biking with a bike ride on the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route riding 34.62 miles. The weather was great for riding with lots of sun, and wind: start 77 (63% humidity), partly cloudy, wind SE 18 mph. Finish 81 (55% humidity), partly cloudy, wind S 13 mph gusts 18 mph. Wardrobe for today: shorts, long sleeve jersey and short sleeve jersey. I wore the long sleeve jersey just to be safe in case the wind was chilly and the temperature didn’t reach the projected high by the time the ride finished.

The wind was strong so I stopped in Woodridge Forest to take a photo of the flags sticking straight out. (click to enlarge the image)

A little earlier start today rolling out at 11:25 am. I wanted to get back in time to watch the Astros play the Texas Rangers.

I saw another cyclist while biking in Elm Grove Village (Kingwood) and we exchanged waves.

As I rode north on Loop 494 after crossing Caney Creek a large oversize load truck was stopped. It looked like several people were trying to decide if the truck and load could get on the service road and then under the traffic lights at Roman Forest Blvd. I rode around the truck to enter Tavola wondering if they would still be there when I looped back on the I-69/US59 south bound service road. I made the loop and saw the truck had made it to the service road and traffic was backed up behind it. There were two motorcycle officers working with the convoy. As I rode away I didn’t see any movement. Glad I encountered them before the traffic arrived.

Fighting the wind riding south along I-69/US59 I managed to keep my speed in the 15 to 17 mph range and the average speed at 14.6 to 14.8 mph. I got a little relief circling west on Valley Ranch Parkway but once I was at FM 1314 the wind was in my face most of the way to Kingwood Drive. While my speed went down the watts went up. Entering into Kingwood the homes and trees slowed the wind some. I finished the bike ride at 1:56 pm.

Below is a summary of my March riding activity. This is the earliest I have biked over 800 miles in a year. Hopefully this is good sign for the rest of 2018.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks March Bike Rides Summary