Groovy Bike Ride But Not The Kind I Like
I was in for a surprise on today’s bike ride. The ride began at 10:15 AM, about 30 minutes earlier than yesterday. As I was getting ready I went over the route in my mind deciding which streets to include as I rode my Lynskey Helix bike. I decided to bike my Community Drive – Cumberland – Oakhurst route going to the north and then to the northwest. The surprise came on FM 1314 about 1/2 mile NW of Valley Ranch Parkway. Before that point I noticed a lot of black residue on the shoulder and wondered what it was from. Not too long after that I found the answer: workers had ground off a layer or more of asphalt on the main lanes and the shoulder. This left grooves and bumps on the shoulder causing me to dodge around them or find smooth places. I turned right onto Fatheree Drive to get away from the rough road, rode by Porter High School and back to FM 1314 where it was concrete. From there to Cumberland the concrete road was much smoother. This repeated on the way back towards Porter east of River Walk where the road is asphalt but the grooves and clumps of asphalt seemed worse. I could’ve biked on Old Sorters Road to avoid some of the roughness but it has it’s own bumpy surface.
This route is a new one I came up with in 2022 though the streets are used in other routes. Today I rode 35.81 miles, longer than the previous 6 rides. I rode the Lynskey Helix bike 5 of the 7 times. I am within 13 miles of reaching 200 for the week. I finished the ride at 12:56 PM.
Before leaving on the bike ride I watched stage 1 of the Tour de Romandie Feminin on GCN+. The women were battling for the win. Beautiful scenery.
Weather conditions for my bike ride: start 77 (humidity 68%, dew point 66), mostly cloudy, wind NW 8 mph; finish 86 (humidity 42%, dew point 60), mostly cloudy, wind W 7 mph. The headwind riding to Cumberland on FM 1314 seemed stronger than 7 mph but my legs were up to the challenge. Making the u-turn to ride back to Old Sorters Road the former headwind now tailwind helped me bump up my overall average speed to 14.1 mph. Gear usage data from my AXS.SRAM.com ride report below.
