Wow, just a couple of days ago I was seriously considering taking on the Tour de Braz or the Pedal for a Purpose. These rides are epic, but with a catch – the start times were so early that I’d have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning and drive to the start. I mean, that’s crazy early, right? So, I made the tough decision to ditch those rides and sleep in instead. But, let me tell you, that didn’t stop me from getting my biking fix! Today, I came up with a wild and exhilarating idea – to ride my usual Saturday route, but in reverse! I mean, can you even imagine the thrill of taking on those same streets, but in the opposite direction? It definitely required some serious thinking, especially when there were certain roads that I couldn’t exactly ride in reverse. But, boy, was it worth it! My usual routes are so familiar that they practically ride themselves, but riding in reverse required my full attention and kept me on my toes!.

As I got ready after watching the Tour du Jura (France) bike race and eating breakfast I went over the streets and roads once I started. No muscle memory riding today. I rolled away on my Cervelo Caledonia bike at 10:31 AM and too long after that I was biking the opposite direction. Some of the streets going reverse on: Rustic Woods, Kings Crossing, Rebawood, FM 2100, Old Atascocita Road, Atascocita Hike & Bike Trail, Kingwood Greens, Tree Lane, Chanay, and Silver Falls. The reverse route turned out to be longer than the normal route: 34.84 miles today versus around 32 miles. The extra 2 miles came from streets in Kingwood as on the way to Atascocita that normally aren’t part of the ride. I thought those would offset a couple of places where riding in reverse wasn’t possible. I finished at 1:16 PM.

With the 34.84 miles today my week now totals 213.11 miles, my 3rd 200+ mile week this year. I’m 59% of the way to the 700 mile goal for April at 412 miles.

Before sunrise this morning I wasn’t sure about biking today when thunder started and rain not long after that but it didn’t last long. the streets dried by the time I began biking except for a few puddles in the shade. I’ve been wanting 80 degree weather and it finally returned. I overdressed with a long sleeve jersey under a short sleeve jersey. I should’ve just wore arm sleeves with the short sleeve jersey. Wind wasn’t a factor today. Conditions at the start and finish: Start 81 degrees, 76% humidity, dew point 73, mostly cloudy, wind S 7 mph; finish 87 degrees, 65% humidity, dew point 73, mostly cloudy, wind SW 9 mph.

Legs felt good today powering up some slight inclines that normally are downhills. I captured a Strava 2nd fastest time on Huffman to Old Atascocita Rd (3:20). Link to my AXS.SRAM.com ride report.