Perfect Timing to Not Get Soaked
I delayed the start today because there was scattered rain showing on the weather radar. The sun kept shining over our house and no rain came so I rolled out the driveway at 11:26. As I exited Kingwood on Adams St. I encountered the first wet street but it didn’t last long. By the time I reached Loop 494 the streets were dry. They stayed that way until FM1485 and Gene Campbell Road. These roads were damp but I still had not been rained on. The sky had some dark clouds but not directly over me. I did get a few stray sprinkles from time to time.
FM1314 had places that were damp on the shoulder as I rode towards Porter. I wasn’t thinking it would rain as I was riding to the Stripes station. I was not able to use the “big ring” because the wind and my legs were not cooperating.
As I neared Stripes I had to stop on the shoulder to wait for the east bound traffic to pass. When a break came I moved to the center turn lane and then into Stripes. I rode to the paper towel dispenser to dry off some and all of a sudden the rain came down heavy. My timing was pretty good and I did not get wet. I waited for the rain to stop and went inside to refill my water bottle and get a Gatorade drink. I went back to the pump canopy to eat and allow the streets to dry off some before riding toward home. Stripes was 26.8 miles into what turned out to be a 37.71 mile ride. My average speed was 15.4 mph for most of the ride until I got into Kingwood when it dropped to 15.1 mph overall.
Leaving Stripes and going to Briar Tree the streets were damp until I got to Oakhurst. From there to home the sun was out and the streets dry. The temperature at home was 90 degrees. Summer is hanging on but supposedly a cold front moves in on Monday.
I am waiting for a new rear cassette to arrive. It could be Tuesday with Monday being Columbus Day and the USPS not delivering. I also ordered a new 34 tooth front chain ring, the one I use almost all the time. Today since I didn’t use the big front ring my legs were spinning madly to get the speed up to 18+ mph. Fortunately the 9 mph south wind didn’t hold me back too much.
At home I washed the Stradalli down. A clean bike looks great. Maybe I can go faster now.
Mileage markers:
- 134.21 miles for the week
- 275.55 miles for October
- 5807 miles for the year
I have biked 167 times this year, 21 of those were on the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route I used today.