Getting to Gene Campbell Blvd. wasn’t a problem on today’s bike ride thanks to the 21 mph SE wind. The hard part was going to get back when I reach FM 1314 and start biking SE to Kingwood. I started the ride at 11:11 AM on the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route. The weather was good but with the wind a little chilly at times. I wore shorts and a short sleeve jersey which felt comfortable. What I really needed was extra leg muscles to power me through the headwind.
So far in 2020 I rode this route 5 times. Today’s ride is similar to my previous times. 4 of the rides I used my Canyon Endurace CF SLX bike and 1 ride was on my Lynskey R300 bike.
Weather while I biked: start 81 (62% humidity, 67.0 dew point), partly cloudy and breezy, wind SE 21 mph. Finish 82 (61% humidity, 67.6 dew point), mostly cloudy, wind S 14 mph gusts 25 mph.
I built my average speed up to 14.5 mph when I turned into Porters Mill from Gene Campbell Blvd. So far the wind helped me but I knew as I exited Porters Mill the pay back was coming at FM 1314. At FM 1314 my average speed was 14.4 mph at 21.4 miles into the bike ride. When I got to Old Sorters Road and left FM 1314 my averaged had fallen to 14.1 mph due to the headwind. My legs weren’t big enough to overpower the headwind. On FM 1314 when a big truck passed me going in the same direction it suck the wind with it for a few seconds giving me some relief. I looked for more trucks but they didn’t pass very often.
Making the right turn from FM 1314 onto Old Sorters Road I got some relief from the wind by changing direction and the trees on my left. I picked up the speed some but the wind waited for me to come out in the open farther south on Briar Berry Lane. Making my way through Oakhurst provided some wind breaks too. The wind kept attacking whenever I came to open areas but a tailwind helped me a short distance on the frontage road after making the u-turn at Kingwood Drive. From my pace slowed as I entered Kings Manor and then Kingwood. My tired legs managed to get to the finish at 2:12 PM.
April mileage now stands at 876.71, the highest month so far this year and second to last July’s 958 miles. Tomorrow the weather forecast looks promising for biking and adding more miles to April.
