I Saw Blue Today And It Wasn’t Rain. A Complete Ride Today!
I didn’t realize it until I got back home but I started and ended August riding the same route, “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch”. Those are the only times I rode the route in August too. I tried to ride it Monday but got rained out but today was rain free. I started the ride at 9:13 and finished at 12:01 aboard my Cervelo Caledonia bike. It felt good completing the ride I set out on after two days of riding in the rain.
The route headed north after I made my way through Kingwood, Woodridge Forest, and Brooklyn Trails to the US59/I-69 north frontage road. I stayed on the frontage road to the Grand Parkway (TX 99) where I rode that frontage road east to Loop 494. North on Loop 494 was into a light headwind lessened by the trees lining the right side. At Payne Road I returned to the US59 service road, over Caney Creek and into Tavola. I only rode on two streets in Tavola, Via Principale Parkway and Aregosta Parkway. Via Principale appears partially on the map and Aregosta is new and does not. Aregosta Parkway took me to Roman Forest Blvd. to begin the ride back to Kingwood. Roman Forest Blvd. west to US59, from there I rode the frontage road through New Caney to Valley Ranch Parkway. Valley Ranch Parkway went south to FM 1314 where I stopped at the 7 Eleven for ice and water. Crossing FM 1314 Old Sorters Road connected with Briar Berry Lane. Briar Berry wiggles and changes to Timber Lane where I entered Oakhurst. In Oakhurst several streets carried me to Bentwood Oaks Drive and back to the south US59 service road. Then I made the u-turn at Kingwood Drive and on to Loop 494. Kings Manor was next and then back into Kingwood.
From my AXS.SRAM ride report: 27 RD shifts, 1:38:19 riding the 35×13 gears, 47:33 using the 35×15 gears. The light wind helped me use the 35×13 gears. Weather conditions: start 79 (humidity 87%, dew point 75), mostly cloudy, wind NE 6 mph; finish 89 (humidity 69%, dew point 77), mostly cloudy, wind N 4 mph.
After yesterday’s ride I took the front wheel off my Cervelo trying to get the front wheel brakes to not rub the disc. After messing with the brakes I tried to put the wheel back on the bike but the disc would not fit between the brake pads. I wasn’t sure what happened so I took the bike to Kingwood Bicycles and he fixed it. I probably squeezed the brake lever and it adjusted the pads to narrow for the disc to fit. I may have hit the lever earlier when I loaded the bike for my trip to Wichita Falls because the front brake rubbed during that ride but not as much as yesterday. The wheel now spins freely without rubbing. Now I know to not move the lever without the wheel in place and if it does happen I can spread the pads with a butter knife. Next time I load the Cervelo in the Jeep I will use the pad spacers too.
All of this totaled 36.67 miles. and my August bike rides concluded with 923.9 road miles and 39.1 Zwift miles totaling 962.97 miles for the month. I circled the 2 Zwift rides on the calendar. After biking every day in July, in August I was on the bike 28 days for an average of 34.39 miles per ride.
Strava tallied a 3rd fastest time on Kris Spraggins Memorial Route (2:38) from early in the ride in Elm Grove Village.