Water Cooled Bike Ride
I thought I did my due-diligence before starting today’s bike ride. Before getting ready I went outside to check for rain since we received 3.77″ during the night and the sky was still overcast. I then checked the weather radar for rain and none showed up nearby. So I got dressed and went out the door. As I walked the Stradalli out of the garage at 11:52 am I looked down on the driveway at the puddles and saw rings from rain drops. It wasn’t raining heavy but a strong drizzle. I figured since it was not heavy I would ride away from it but winding my way around Kingwood at the start of what turned out to be the “Kingwood – New Caney – Oakhurst” route I went in and out of the light rain.
The plan was to ride to Tavola north of New Caney but with the rain I changed the route lessening it by 4 to 5 miles.
Normally I do not ride if it rains at the start of a ride but today after two days off the bike and my optimism I kept riding. There were signs around of the heavy rain we received during the night with full ditches and sand washed onto the streets.
Once I made my way to the north bound I-69/US59 service road I thought I was in the clear but not long after crossing FM 1314 the rain started again and stayed with me all the way to when I exited Oakhurst onto Northpark Drive west bound. By then I was soaked but comfortable temperature wise. It was 78 degrees with 90% humidity and a light 6 mph breeze from the SW. This was one of those bike rides where I think I absorbed more water than I sweated. When I finished at 1:56 pm my water bottle was almost full and I think I only drank from it once. Not normal for August weather in southeast Texas.
Sunday when I went to the garage for some reason I checked the tires on the Stradalli and the rear one felt soft. Taking it inside I removed the tube and found the hole about 180 degrees from the valve stem. Searching inside the tire I found a small piece of wire sticking out and pulled it out with pliers. I patched the tube and remounted the tire ready for what I thought be be Monday’s ride. It rained almost all of Monday so no riding but I checked my patch work and the tire was firm. With all of the rain maybe I should’ve rode on Sunday but then I might not have found the flat until I was away from home.
The probability of rain on Wednesday goes down some and I plan on riding.