Noodling around about which route to ride today the one I tried to ride on Friday came to mind quickly. That ride ended when a 2″ deck screw punctured the rear tire on my Cervelo Caledonia bike on the shoulder of FM 1314. Not one to let that deter me from going back I chose the Community Drive – Cumberland – Oakhurst route but I rode the Lynskey Helix bike just because it was in the rotation. No fear in re-engaging and riding through The Valley of the 2″ Deck Screw today but I was going to keep my eyes on the road as I went through the valley.

The ride began at 10:34 AM, the earliest start this week. Previous rides on this route were 34 to 35 miles long. I altered the route a little by not going through Brooklyn Trails and using E. Martin Drive to get to the US59 northbound frontage road. Instead I rode west on E. Knox Street to the frontage road. At Community Drive I turned left to get to Loop 494 rather than using the TX 99 east bound frontage road but returned to US59 on the west bound frontage road from Loop 494. Making the u-turn at Cumberland Blvd. I only rode a short distance into Cumberland in place of going to the west end of the street. I think these alterations reduced the distance to 33.98 mile today. Not enough to quibble about.

Spring weather made for a great bike ride. Weather conditions: start 78 degrees, 71% humidity, dew point 68, mostly cloudy, wind S 5 mph; finish 83 degrees, 61% humidity, dew point 68, partly cloudy, wind SW 6 mph gusts 16 mph. I wore a short sleeve jersey and arm sleeves. I’m not sure when I noticed the wind gusts since the ride direction didn’t point to the SW to much.

Good leg strength today. Some data from the AXS.SRAM.com ride report: 25 rear derailleur shifts, 35×13 gears used 1:39:30 (24.4 miles), 35×15 gears 33:35 (5.5 miles).