I didn’t ride yesterday (Sunday) so I wanted to ride a longer route today. I chose the “SR242 – FM1314” route and biked 48.5 miles. I left at a decent time (10:55 AM) to get back home mid-afternoon but my plan didn’t go the way I expected.

Making good time I stopped at the Chevron station at FM 1485 and SH 242 for a few minutes to refill my water bottle 22.2 miles into the ride. Back on the bike I rode west on SH 242 but as I neared Old Houston Road I was passed by a Montgomery Precinct Constable with blue lights flashing. Just west of the traffic light at Old Houston Road traffic was stopped. In the distance I could see more blue flashing lights along with red ones. Riding on the shoulder I went passed the stopped traffic until I got to the driveway for a storage and little grocery store where I stopped to watch what was happening. It appeared a pickup truck and small car tangled at the first entrance to Lone Star Ranch subdivision. An ambulance was there but I could not tell if anyone was inside it. After waiting several minutes I rode on the grass to the entrance to Lone Star Ranch which put me west of the accident scene. I wanted to get in front of the traffic as the wreckers were towing the two vehicles away to clear the road. I prayed that everyone was okay as I rode away.

Traffic was light until I reached FM 1314 where I turned left to head back to Porter. Earlier this year two lanes were added between SH 242 and where the concrete road ends on FM 1314. A few months ago a curb was added to the shoulder for the new section cutting the shoulder down from 3 feet to 2 feet or less. I am not sure why a curb was added but it is there. It makes riding difficult because the curb is not consistent from the white line. Fortunately traffic was light and gave me room.

When I made the turn onto FM 1314 I was 27 miles into the ride and making good progress. As I rode on FM 1314 I thought that I had not had a flat in awhile and was glad. That was a mistake! Around the 29.7 mile point I felt the rear tire going flat. I stopped and checked the rear tire for the cause but nothing stuck out so I walked about 1/10th of mile to the Church of Christ to get away from the road noise to fix the flat. I removed the tube and inspected the inside of the tire to find the culprit. My finger found a tiny sharp point. Looking on the outside of the tire I spotted a piece of glass. I used the smallest Allen key to pry the glass out from the outside but there was a tiny piece clinging to the inside but I managed to push it out with the Allen key. Now I focused on the tube to find the hole. After many pumping efforts I finally found the small hole and got ready to patch it but I lost it and had to pump the tube up again to locate it. I applied the patch and aired the tube up to be sure I got it. The tube appeared to hold air so I put it in the tire and mounted it. Airing the tire up went well but after a minute it went soft again. The patch didn’t cover the holes the glass poked in it. I thought I covered all of them but apparently not. Rather than mess with another patch attempt I replaced the tube with the spare, aired up the tire, mounted the tire and waited a few minutes to be sure it was good. It was and I got back on the bike.

Planning to stop at the Valero station at Sorters Road I rode steady trying to build my average speed back up to the 15.1 mph it was before the flat. I reached the Valero at the 36.4 mile point and stopped for a break. A 32 oz orange Gatorade accompanied the peanut butter crackers I brought as I sat on a bag of deer corn in the shade. Finishing the drink and crackers I was back on the road after 25 minutes or so. From there it was about 12 miles to the finish. I thought I was late enough that the school traffic in Briar Tree would be gone but it wasn’t so I stood in line to get past the vehicle entrance. Once I got beyond that I made my way through Oakhurst and Kingwood Place and then the service road. Making the u-turn at Kingwood Drive I figured the Kings Manor school traffic would be gone by now and it was. Crossing the railroad tracks no cars were in the way. I rode through Kingwood and finished the ride at 4:01 PM.

During the ride the weather varied from overcast at the start to partly cloudy at the end. The temperature was 79 when I began and 90 at the end. Wind was 6 mph and not much of a factor though there were times when it felt stronger than that.

Tomorrow’s forecast calls for rain so I may not get to ride.

Strava Ride Summary (click on the image to go to Strava.com)