On my last couple bike rides that crossed FM 1314 at Valley Ranch Parkway I saw the road resurfacing appeared to cover the shoulders with new asphalt. I avoided biking on FM 1314 due to the rough shoulders from grinding up the old asphalt. Today I decided to ride a route I haven’t done since September 7, 2022 because of the rough shoulders. The asphalt section on FM 1314 runs west from US59 to about Porter High School where it changes to concrete. I thought it was time to check out the route. If the shoulders are decent this will open other routes I avoided.

I didn’t start very early rolling the wheels of my Cervelo Caledonia and pushing the Wahoo Bolt start button at 11:31 AM. The route would be Community Drive – Valley Ranch – Gene Campbell Blvd. The previous rides averaged around 37 miles and if I rode those miles today I would be within 5 miles of my January 300 road miles goal.

The weather was slightly warmer than the typical January with the temperature at 74 when I started and 75 at the 2:31 PM finish. An overcast sky hid the sun but the wind would get stronger as the ride progressed. I wore shorts, a long sleeve jersey with a short sleeve jersey over it. This was fine once I warmed up but later it wasn’t so good. I noticed a darker part of the sky to the south as I approached Old Sorters Road on the way back to Kingwood. But I didn’t think it was a problem since it was overcast anyway. Riding south on Briar Berry Lane I started to feel sprinkles. I hoped I would bike away from it but not to be. Riding through Oakhurst the streets were getting wet. I tried to take a shortcut to get to the Oakhurst Community Pool for shelter but it was blocked by a fence. So much for that idea. Back on the Oakhurst streets the sprinkles increased some, enough that I couldn’t read my Bolt computer screen. The streets were wet and my tires began spraying my shoes and legs when I rode through wetter spots. As I neared the pool I thought about stopping there to get out of the light rain but it stopped and I decided to ride on. The streets got wetter but no rain, just road spray. On Kingwood Place Drive the road turned dry and remained that way to the finish. When I got home I washed the Cervelo. I had planned on wearing new shoes and a new helmet but for some reason changed my mind. Good idea.

Weather conditions: start 74, humidity 72%, dew point 64, overcast, wind S 9 mph; finish 75, humidity 66%, dew point 63, overcast, wind S 10 mph gusts 20 mph.

Getting Community Drive the tailwind helped but after the u-turn back south the headwind made my legs pay until I reached FM 1314. Riding to Gene Campbell Blvd. on FM 1314 the wind was mostly from my left rear quarter as a tailwind. I pedaled strong and raised my overall average speed to 14.0 mph. At Gene Campbell blvd. the turn back to the SE into the headwind meant hard pedaling to Old sorters Road. Passing trucks on FM 1314 sucked the headwind away briefly giving my legs some relief. I hoped the trees to my right would block some of the wind but they weren’t much help. The concrete shoulder on FM 1314 from Gene Campbell Blvd. to east of Timberland had lots of rocks making it almost as rough as the ground off asphalt. I think the construction traffic dropped the rocks. There are a couple of concrete plants and some trucks spilled wet concrete that had dried many months ago adding to the rough shoulders.

The AXS.SRAM.com ride report detailed my gears and power.

In addition to Strava I also use the SportTracks program to track my rides and gear. Today I clicked on a link I had not tried before and learned that I can compare rides using two criteria. Below are 10 previous rides to compare with today’s ride based on name and nearby.