Rain, bike ride, and thunder wrapped around today’s bike ride adventure. It began at 10:04 AM and finished at 1:27 PM with me racing to avoid any rain the thunder might be sending my way. Today I rode my “Kingwood to Ramsey Road – Huffman” route though I wasn’t sure if I would actually complete it. The ride covered 38.71 miles improving the week’s total to 155.28 miles. This was the 7th time following this route. Today’s mileage fit into the average for the 7 times. I’m closing in on my 800 mile goal for August with 629.38 miles.

Not a fast ride today with my legs not responding very well. I think the humidity and dew point sapped some of the power. The rain before the ride amped up the humidity. Damp roads disappeared as I made my way out of Kingwood. Later I got some mud sprayed on my legs while riding on the sidewalk beside FM 2100. I made it through the standing water earlier on the sidewalk. I think it was about 8″ deep. The mud caught me by surprise. In Huffman I stopped at the Chevron station to wipe my legs and shoes off. I don’t care for mud.

The weather summary: start 83 (93% humidity, 81.1 dew point), partly cloudy/rain before starting, wind S 4 mph; finish 86 (76% humidity, 77.5 dew point), mostly cloudy, wind S 8 mph.

At Ramsey Road I stopped for about 15 minutes to rest and eat a couple of snacks before heading back to FM 2100 and Huffman. I found some shade sitting on the guardrail and the breeze felt good. Getting to Ramsey Road required riding into a headwind bogging down my speed. The cold water from my CamelBak countered the heat.

As I reached Huffman I noticed the dark clouds gathering and the thunder increasing. From there until the finish I pedaled as hard s I could to beat the potential rain to the finish. The wind gusts pounded me as I rode across Lake Houston slowing me down. The thunder activity picked up as I rode from FM 1960 back to Kingwood. I wondered if I would beat the rain but I did.