Typically I don’t ride the same general direction two days in a row such as north and north. But today I wasn’t enthused about riding north through the FM 1314 intersection in Porter because the traffic light work messed up the traffic. Thinking of a southern route not repeating yesterday’s route I came up with the Atascocita – Balmoral – W Lake Houston Pkwy – Walden one. The last time I rode to Balmoral was October 13th last year. Since then the railroad overpass construction ended and is open. For today’s ride I would explore the other side of the overpass on Timber Forest Drive riding to W. Lake Houston Parkway and then back to Kingwood. This would help me plan another semi new route for the future where I circle Lake Houston incorporating the Timber Forest Drive railroad overpass to avoid the traffic on W. Lake Houston Parkway from Summerwood to Aerobic Drive.

Before leaving on the bike ride I watched three bike races while eating breakfast and waiting for the temperature to warm up. The races: stage 3 of the Giro di Sicilia from Italy and the men’s and women’s De Brabantse Pijl from Belgium. Riding up the railroad overpass reminded me of the climbs I saw in the De Brabantse Pijl. I’m a flatlander and it doesn’t take much of a grade change to make a hill. I rode the overpass in both directions. It is a rather steep climb in a short distance. The two spikes on both sides of the 20 mile marker in the RWGPS map below are the climbs on the overpass.

The ride began at 11:13 AM on my Lynskey Helix bike. The weather was similar to yesterday and I dressed in the same manner with shorts, long sleeve jersey and a wind jacket. I was a little chilly until I warmed up and when the sun came through the clouds. In the shade the 8 to 9 mph NE breeze felt chilly throughout the ride. The clouds increased as I rode and back in Kingwood I felt a few sprinkles on Kings Crossing Drive but attributed it errant sprinklers somewhere. After I finished the ride at 2:05 I was surprised to hear some thunder and when I checked the radar rain was nearby and started not long after I was home. A near miss. Weather: Start 75 degrees, 62% humidity, dew point 61, a few clouds, wind NE 8 mph; finish 76 degrees, 58% humidity, dew point 60, partly cloudy, wind E 9 mph.

Revisiting the saddle comparison between the BiSaddle on my Lynskey versus the Veo Senso TT+ I rode yesterday on my Cervelo my sit bones vote for the Velo saddle for comfort.

I captured a Strava Local Legend on The Library Sprint on the way back.