I pushed the rain envelope on today’s bike ride. My first attempt to ride came just after 9 AM but ended before it began because of rain. While I waited for the rain to end and the streets to dry off some I watched the Coppa Sabatini in Italy and then stage 18 of the La Vuelta Ciclista a España. The rain stopped and the streets dried enough for my second attempt at 11:52 AM on my Canyon Endurace bike. I rode south and east planning on following my Atascocita – Walden – Huffman route but subject to change if the rain reappeared. I ran into some rain drops and sprinkles but not enough to turn back. The first decision came at Atascocita shores Drive and FM 1960 before heading east over Lake Houston. Cars from the east approached with windshield wipers working. I waited a few minutes at the Chevron station until the wipers weren’t flipping back and forth. Riding out over the lake meant no place to get out of the rain. The sky looked okay but rain was possible. At Fairlake Lane I decided to turn right and go to FM 2100. No rain on the ride there. North on FM 2100 I biked towards clouds that looked wet but again no rain. Reaching FM 1960 I went west and then back over the lake without rain. Atascocita Shores Drive was okay until Sunny shores Drive when it started sprinkling. The first place to stop was on Kings River Drive at Kings Crown Estates at 27.8 miles. Moments after I took shelter it started raining. I stayed there for 1 hour and 16 minutes waiting for the rain to slow down. I left on the greenbelt trail going west under the trees hoping thy would keep some of the rain from getting to me. That kind of worked. As I rode west the rain stopped but the streets were wet. Looking north the sky was potentially wet but I made it home at 4:05 PM without rain.
Weather: Start 77 degrees, 96% humidity, dew point 76.1, overcast, wind SE 8 mph; stopped for rain 1:16; Finish 75 degrees, 97% humidity, dew point 74.4, light rain, wind E 9 mph.
