I was in for a surprise when I checked the weather before the bike ride began today; wind from the SE at 23 mph with 28 mph gusts. My route for today headed to the south and east making for a headwind for 19+ miles. I chose the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route today since I rode north yesterday. Either direction a strong headwind awaited.

Kit choice today included shorts, long sleeve jersey, and windbreaker jacket to offset the expected wind chill. The temperature was 71.4 degrees at home weather station when I got ready to leave. Before I started the battery on the speed sensor needed replaced. As I spun the wheel to wake up the sensor the bolt computer got no signal. Removing the sensor from the front hub is not easy as I must grab the rubber band to release it through the spokes. This time it came out easy. I checked the battery and it barely moved the needle. I keep a supply of CR2032 batteries for this reason. I tested the new battery, put it in the sensor, and wrapped it around the front hub. It went back on as easy as it came off surprisingly. Now I rolled the Canyon Endurace out the door and began the ride at 11:14 AM. Looking at the few leaves on the trees and the moving branches I knew a windy bike ride was ahead.

After getting good audio from my new Saramonic mic yesterday riding my Lynskey R300 bike I replicated the setup on my Canyon Endurace for today’s bike ride. I think the ride’s video audio was as good as yesterday even with the high wind.

Hard pedaling began after riding on the greenbelt trail to Elm Grove Village and my direction turned to the south. From there I rode south to FM 1960 and into Walden. I got a brief respite in Walden on the way back to FM 1960. Riding across Lake Houston the wind chill from the cool water and stiff wind made me glad I wore the windbreaker jacket though my legs complained some because of no leg warmers. As I neared the east end of the causeway 4 large trucks carrying the huge concrete beams for roads parked on the shoulder. I moved to the main lane ride around them and strong gusts of wind blew under the beams pushing me to the left followed by another gust as I crossed the opening between the trucks. (you can see them in the video) Each truck generated gusts and I finally made it back to the shoulder where the wind let up a little. The I turned right onto Fairlake Lane into the headwind and my legs slowed after all the effort on FM 1960.

Looking forward to FM 2100 another test awaited on Old Atasocita Road. Approaching The Vineyard church two dogs ran from the field to the road barking and wanting to chase. I can’t remember the last “dog sprint” I had. My legs recovered enough from the headwind to power me to a higher speed to outrun the dogs in pursuit and around 200 feet later they gave up. Thankfully my planned route did not return on Old Atascocita Road.

Construction crews worked on the unopened section of FM 2100 north of Old Atascocita Road and some of them plied tools on fresh concrete. When I reached the end of the new section the path I took Saturday was blocked so I walked through some rough dirt to the cross street and then moved to old FM 2100 to continue to Huffman and FM 1960. About 200 feet of barriers required me to ride in the main lane but then the barriers opened for a side street and I moved to the right of them on a wide section of the old road. At FM 1960 the ride went west and the headwind moved to a slight tailwind or side wind until I finished at 1:45 PM.

With all of the wind and effort expended Strava said my ride was consistent with my usual efforts. Looking at the ride summary data in Golden Cheetah I think I rode harder based on the power output: 45% of the ride time in zones 1 and 2, 55% of the ride time in zones 3 through 7 and 14% of the time in zones 6 and 7. Average power was 112 watts and max power was 556 watts.

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As the month and year come to a close this how I stand comparing 2020 to previous years.