Strong Wind, 18 Degrees Cooler Good Friday Bike Ride
Waiting a little later than recent bike rides I wanted the temperature to warm up enough to skip the leg warmers. Around 11 AM it got there. After getting ready wheels down at 11:54 AM as I headed out to ride the “Kingwood – FM1485 – Kingwood” route. Wanting to go at least 30 miles to set up a 200+ mile week I actually rode 31.12 miles with the week’s total now at 173.91 miles. With two possible riding days left 200 miles looks good. April now totals 318.95 miles with a 630 mile goal. Saturday may be a Zwifting day if the weather forecast comes true. My subscription expires Sunday and I need 12 more miles to reach my 30 mile goal for April.
Wind was the story during today’s bike ride. 21 mph from the NE with 25 mph gusts awaited as I rode north to FM 1485. Fortunately getting to US59 from the starting point went west delaying the headwind fight for about 7 miles. Once I rode north on the frontage road the wind tried to slow me down but I managed to improve my average speed taking advantage of a few places offering some wind breaks. By the turn around at Caney Creek I think the wind dropped to 13 mph from the NE. This meant a tailwind most of the way back to Kingwood which helped push up my average speed to 14.3 mph with a brief stretch at 14.4 mph.
After an almost 20 degree drop from yesterday’s ride I opted for shorts, long sleeve thermal jersey, and windbreaker jacket. By the 2:16 PM finish I think the thermal jersey might have been too much since it was soaked when I took it off after the ride.
With people staying home I noticed an uptick in the number of people biking, walking and jogging. I captured a few of them in today’s video. The new microphone position seemed cut down on the wind and traffic noise. The audio sounds good when the conditions aren’t noisy. I think I will continue to use the microphone in the new spot. That spot is inside of the left helmet strap. I don’t notice and the extra wire doesn’t get in the way of looking in my mirror.