Mission accomplished today: I started the ride earlier than usual and saw other cyclists along the route. The early start (for me anyway) was at 9:01 am, I almost got going before that but. I chose the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Extended” route thinking I might see some of the Bike Barn Atascocita cyclists as they returned which I did though the first seven did not appear until I was on the Lake Houston FM 1960 causeway going to the east. I wanted to take photos of any cyclists but they appeared quicker than I could get my phone out.

Now I was on the alert and when I got to Old Atascocita Road and crested the railroad tracks I could see two bikers in the distance coming towards me. I stopped and took this photoi.

Two lady cyclists passed and I got back on the Canyon to continue to FM 2100. About 200 yards and I saw another group heading my way. I pulled over the to side of the road and got my phone out and took this photo.

This group was three men. With a plastic bag hanging from my mouth as they passed I said hi. The bag is what I keep my phone in. That was the last of the cyclists along the route.

Weather during the bike ride: start 85 (72% humidity), a few clouds, wind calm, Finish 91 (50% humidity), partly cloudy, wind 7 mph. Starting early has an advantage: somewhat cooler. But the humidity hasn’t had time to drop down so I was sweating.

At 19.7 miles I rolled into the Huffman Chevron for a rest stop. I grabbed a Greensheet newspaper and sat on the milk crate out front to drink some cold water and rest up for the 12+ miles to the finish. While I was there a couple of people chatted about the weather with one man coming over and telling me he needed to bike more. He has a Rockhopper MTB but thinks a hybrid bike would better suit his needs. He looked my Canyon over and asked if he could lift it to see how light it was and told him to go ahead. He said it is much light than the Rockhopper. Finishing my water I went inside for a refill and got ready to leave. I went north on FM 2100 after waiting for the traffic to stop.

Earlier as I rode south on W. Lake Houston Parkway over the San Jacinto River I saw a fleet of several boats picking up logs and other flood debris from the river and the banks as part of the cleanup. I read that they expect to gather over 20,000 cubic yards which could help the river flow better when the next heavy rain comes.

Riding back to Kingwood I made good time though the wind slowed me down while I crossed Lake Houston on FM 1960. Turning north into Atascocita Shores the wind was less of a problem. I rode across the river and back into Kingwood where my pedaling slowed as my legs felt heavy. I need tomorrow’s rest day. I finished the bike ride at 11:54 am. Many of my bike rides haven’t started by that time.

With today’s bike ride the week totals 208.33 miles, June is 301.6 miles and YTD is 3204 miles. I am 38% of the way to June’s goal of 800 miles and 47% of the way to my 6800 mile goal for the year. Out of the last seven weeks 6 of them are 200+ miles.

SportTacks Bike Ride Summary