I set out on the “Kingwood – Hare Cook Road – Kingwood” route at 10:59 AM not knowing that I would encounter what the title says. I chose this route because I haven’t ridden it since July 19th, 2018 and I figured it was time to go there. Also I wanted the miles. I biked 45.59 miles today (it was 45.54 miles on 7/19/2018). This improved May to 773.39 miles. I have a good chance to hit 800+ miles for May.

To explain the title: within the first mile of the ride a few rain drops hit me and the Canyon but because it was a few and the sky was not showing rain I continued on. This repeated many times as the ride progressed. Around the 22 mile point I stopped at Ramsey Road and Old Atascocita Road because the sky looked like rain if I rode south and there is no shelter if it starts. I stopped for 12 minutes and while I waited several cars/pickups came form the south with headlights and wipers on. when a couple of cars came by without wipers running I decided to ride on. Surprisingly the road was dry so I am not sure why those cars had wipers running but I did feel a few drops before I stopped at Peters Road and took these photos. The first one looks to the west without signs of rain while the second looks to the southeast with rain clouds.

After taking the photos I got on the Canyon and headed towards the threatening clouds. A few more rain drops fell but nothing to be concerned about. Until I was on FM 2100 when around 30.4 miles I looked in my rearview mirror for the first time since exiting from Hare Cook Road. All I could see was a wall of rain gaining on me so I pedaled faster but it still got closer. I started looking for someplace to get out of the rain as the first wave of rain caught me and I spotted a lone picnic table under a shelter on my right at what looked like a closed business. As I approached the driveway to the shelter I hoped there wasn’t a gate or something blocking my path because I was getting wet. There wasn’t but the driveway was loose small gravel which was hard to pedal on. I got within 20 feet of the picnic table, got off the bike and walked under the roof. Sitting on the table edge the rain came down and then stopped. The rain clouds moved north and a few minutes later the sun came out. During this time a pickup truck drove from behind a building about 50 feet east of the shelter. I hoped he wouldn’t tell me to leave since the roads were still wet but instead he asked if needed anything and later as he drove to FM 2100 he rolled down the window and told me if I needed water to go knock on the door he came out of. I told him I was okay, just waiting for the road to dry some and thanked him. I waited several minutes until the spray from passing traffic seemed to disappear and walked to the side of FM 2100 to get ready to ride. An 18 wheeler drove by slowly and I was glad I waited for it to pass because there was a line of vehicles behind him due to his slow speed.

Back on the bike I rode north and the farther I went the drier the road. I stopped at the Fuel Maxx Exxon station for ice and water and ate my Clif Bar I brought. I needed some energy. Somewhat refreshed I mounted the Canyon and rode north. From that point to the finish no more rain drops but the wind was strong. Bellow is the weather at the start and then finish.

The wind did me no favors until I rode north on FM 2100. Riding west on FM 1960 the wind sapped what little energy I had left as it blew across my path. I stopped on Kings River Drive at the pool to rest for a few minutes before tackling the last 6 miles, the legs were having trouble turning the pedals with any energy. The rest helped some and I managed to finish the ride at 3:03 PM. Before putting the Canyon away I hosed off the dirt from the rain and slowly walked inside the house.

Wednesday’s weather looks favorable for biking and I plan on adding to my May mileage. Hopefully the rain stays away.

2019 now leads all years on the graph though not by much for 2018 and 2016.