After not biking yesterday (Sunday) due the high wind (gusts to 40 mph) I plotted a route to bike today. Using RideWithGPS.com I added a few miles to the route biked last Thursday. RWGPS showed today’s route would be about 26.6 miles but actually it totaled 23.27 miles. I think I followed the route except near the end when Shafer Street deadended rather than going all the way to Ed Carey Drive. Across a big ditch and field I saw where I wanted to ride but made the only choice, a left turn onto a pothole riddled Whalen Road taking me to the frontage road along US77/I-69E.

To add a few tenths of a mile to the ride I turned into Lowes, rode through the parking lot, then to Ed Carey Drive meandering through some business’s parking lots before crossing Ed Carey to ride back to the frontage road.

Today’s weather is why I decided to stay a couple of extra days after biking the Jalapeno 100 Saturday: start 75 (76% humidity, 67 dew point), overcast, wind S 18 mph. Finish 83 (59% humidity, 67 dew point), mostly cloudy, wind S 13 mph gusts 23 mph. While the was strong it wasn’t that different from what I experience back home. I dressed lighter: shorts, long sleeve jersey (more for sun protection), and a Texbiker short sleeve jersey.

I don’t know which is tougher to bike, chip and seal road surface or strong wind. Today I got the chance to ride both at the same time on some roads. Loop 499 mostly consists of smooth asphalt with short segments of rough road. Grimes Road started smooth but about halfway to FM 509 it turned rough. FM 509 again began smooth but as I approached Business Route US77 it got bumpy. The Whalen Road put the previous rough roads in the smooth category with potholes, worn patches, mounds of asphalt patches. Fortunately Wahlen Road was short.

Starting at 10:35 AM traffic on the frontage road was light and so were the other roads. I finished at 1:23 PM. This wraps up biking in Harlingen for now. Back to Kingwood and Saturday I bike the Baytown YMCA Gator Ride. I hope the wind is calm and the temperature warm.

Link to my SportTracks activity page.