Today’s bike ride prepped me for the Hero’s Bike Ride tomorrow in Conroe. I rode the “Kingwood – SH 242 – Kingwood” route for 31.72 miles. Leaving home at 11:41 am put a little later than I prefer but I waited on the temperature to go up a few degrees. When I made it to the kitchen this morning after getting up it was 58 degrees, 2 degrees below my biking threshold but I knew it would warm up as the sun moved onto the garage door. I didn’t want to bike too far today so that my legs would be ready for some hills tomorrow.

Weather during the bike ride: start 78 (60% humidity), a few clouds, wind E 7 mph. Finish 82 (62% humidity), a few clouds, wind SE 10 mph. The blue sky sparkled with brightness and my sunglasses tried to lower that but it was too gorgeous to block. I was tempted to wear a long sleeve jersey but at 78 degrees and full sun I figured it wasn’t needed. I was right; a short sleeve jersey was perfect with sunscreen.

I modified the route some by taking FM 1314 east in Porter to Loop 494 north rather than biking to Community Drive and then riding to Loop 494. In Valley Ranch I went back to the I-69/US59 service road for a short stretch to the entrance to Auburn Trails/Oakhurst where I rode west and through Oakhurst to Northpark Drive. I did this to add a couple of miles to the ride.

Back in Valley Ranch I stopped at the lake and took these photos.

The wind presented a challenge when cycling to the south but I managed to keep my average speed at 14.0 mph until I got into Kingwood.

With the pleasant weather I didn’t stop to refill my water bottle and even had a little left when I finished at 2:08 pm.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary