I couldn’t avoid the long sleeve thermal jersey on today’s ride along with a short sleeve jersey over top. When I got up this morning the temperature was 47 and I was doubting if it would get near the forecast of 80 by the time I needed to leave on the bike ride. I got ready and rolled out at 11:37 under a great clear blue sky, 70 degrees (humidity a low 50%) and a much better wind than yesterday from the north at 7 mph. I settled on the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route wanting to go at least 30+ miles. I achieved that by biking 34.6 miles. This puts me 241 miles from 6,800 miles YTD I want by the end of the month.
Before I left on the bike ride I went out to the garage to air up the tires on the Stradalli Red Pro 14. While I unscrewing the valve stem cap on the front wheel the valve stem unscrewed instead. The Presta valve stem is a tiny little thing and my smallest adjustable wrench is too big but I managed to insert the valve stem and tighten it. Good thing This didn’t happen on the road because I don’t carry a wrench.
The ride went smoothly but I could feel the chill when riding north which put my chest in the shade where the wind hit enhancing the wind chill. The thermal jersey and short sleeve jersey handled it but during the warm up stage I felt the chill.
Biking back from Tavola the tailwind helped me and wasn’t as chilly as the ride north. I made good time and improved my overall average to 14.7 mph. Once I arrived back in Kingwood it dropped down with all of the stops. The sidewalk/greenbelt construction continues so I rode the alternate route. I finished the ride at 2:07Pm and it warmed up to 75 degrees.
Good thing I didn’t ride this route yesterday. About the time I would’ve got back to Kingwood there was a police action involving a motorcycle ending with the person being shot. My route would’ve been about 200 yards from the scene.
Hopefully the weather warms up for tomorrow’s bike ride.
Strava Ride Summary (click on the image to go to Strava.com)
Strava Segment Efforts
