Late registration after June 30, 2011 will be $40.00 for individuals and $60.00 for families and will receive a t-shirt, if possible.   Late registration for riders that do not want a t-shirt will be $30.

Overnight the weather conditions changed with the wind shifting to the southeast which brings increased clouds and humidity. I noticed a little moisture on the patio where it might have sprinkled during the night. I saw this again later on FM290 west of Splendora where the edge of the road was damp but no puddles. during the ride the temperature was in the lower 80′s with overcast skies and wind of 17 to 21 mph.

Once I was on the road the ride was going great with a ice tailwind for the first 18+ miles. When I turned northwest the wind was still there but not so much as a tailwind but it did not get in the way either. At the 33.3 mile mark I stopped at the Valero station on FM3083 for a rest and some Diet Pepsi with BBQ Kettle Chips. I figured when I turned back to the southeast the wind would slow me down so the rest and chips were to build me for the effort. Little did I know what I would run into on FM1314.

The former smooth asphalt FM1314 surface had been replaced with chip’n seal and since it was new the shoulder was not smoothed down any from traffic driving on it, even if this happens when it has been there awhile. For over 5 miles I rode into a headwind and battled the chip’n seal shoulder until I got to the junction of SR242. I felt a great relief when I rolled onto the smooth asphalt surface. I slowed down to relish the vibration being gone. From that point the shoulder was either asphalt or concrete until I got to Porter.

One point of my plan did get accomplished; riding at least 61 miles. I ended up riding 63.1 miles which put the weekly miles at 143.43 but more importantly the April miles 676.00. Year to date miles are at 1502.67. This was the reason for the 62 mile goal to get past the 1500 mile mark. The 676 miles is the most I have ridden in a month this year.

I plan on riding tomorrow to get May underway. I think I can get 24 miles.

4-30-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route

4-30-2011 Home Weather Finish

Additional charts and weather.

I started the ride at 7:15 AM with the sun just starting to get up above the trees. The temperature was 80 degrees and the humidity must have been about the same number. The skies were clear and there was no breeze to speak of. My goal was to ride at least 60 miles so that I can get close to 130 miles for the week. Next Saturday is the Hotter’n Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls so I want to get a few more miles in to prepare. In reality it is too late to make much difference in my fitness for the HH100.

Today’s ride was not difficult although I did some small climbs that are not in my usual routes. The title for today comes from a man handing me a cold bottle of water while was stopped for a red light at Loop 336 and FM3083. He rolled down his window and said I looked like I could use a cold bottle of water. He was right even though I had my Camelback and the water in it was cold. I took the bottle and it tasted good as the cold water went down. I wanted to ride today without taking a rest stop until about mile 50. I did stop at traffic lights and stop signs and I made it to the Valero station on FM1314 with a rest stop.

During the ride I saw five other bikers. These two were the first.

Two riders on FM3083 headed southeast

The route I was headed on included a section of FM1314 I have not ridden in many months due to construction. I was not sure what the status was but I thought they had enough time to have the road in place. I was right. FM1314 is now 5 lanes wide with a nice wide shoulder in both directions. Much better than the old 2 lanes with a shoulder lane that was not as wide as the new one.  This is a section with the construction stuff in place.

FM1314 heading East about 8 miles west of US59

The temperature was increasing as I near the end of the ride. When I got home it was 93 degrees. It is supposed to be 99 degrees later today and for the next 3 to 4 days. This could be the warmest August since records have been kept. The 24 hour average temperature is in the mid-80′s.

Today’s ride statistics:

• miles 61.21
• riding time 4:04:51
• average pace 4:00 min/mile
• average speed 15.0 mph
• max speed 19.2 mph
• average cadence 77.5 rpm
• max cadence 100 rpm
• climb 198 ft., descend 203 ft., max elevation 211 ft.
• August miles 385.77
• YTD miles 3494.24

Weather was great with wind not being an issue for a change. When I got home the temperature was a “cool” 95 degrees. Compared to the 100+ temperature and heat indices from earlier in the week this could almost be thought of as a fall day.

I ended up riding 64.6 miles which was my goal. This is in preparation for next Saturday’ ride in Wichita Falls. Due to the large crowds I try to skip the first two rest stops so being able to ride 30 miles without resting is a requirement.

Because of the restrictions on Youtube.com I had to make two videos. I plan on taking some video of my ride at the HHH. Uploading could be interesting since my laptop hard drive died and I am waiting for the replacement to arrive. I am now running Ubuntu on my original (I had upgraded) laptop hard drive and I have not tried to join multiple Flip camera clips into one video and then add some intro information. I have read up on how to do it but I will see how this does from a hotel room in Wichita Falls.

In the video I meet David Usher as he begins his ride west of Splendora on FM2090. We visited while we rode until his turn off. I should have videoed his interview but I did not think about until he was on his way.

Here are the two videos from my ride. Part 1 is first.

Part 2 video.

I now have a better idea about how this will work for my next long ride. One of the problems I had was where to keep the Flip while I was not shooting. I ended up using the short cable that is attached to the camera and putting it on my wrist. This was handy but I am concerned about making sudden moves and the Flip getting caught on something on my bike or elsewhere. So after my ride I stopped by a Big Lots store to see what they had in cheap cellphone holsters and camera bags. I did not find a big enough cellphone holster so I settled for a small camera bag with a belt loop connector ($5.40) that I will attach to my Camelback shoulder strap. This should keep the Flip out of the way but handy enough for shooting.

Kingwood-Conroe-Kingwood

Now for the actual ride. I created a map at Bikely.com. (Click on the map image to go to the actual map at Bikely.com) While the route shows 60 miles it was actually 63.2 miles when I got to my house. Lately I have been trying to change up my routes even though I go on some of the same roads. This ride I rode in reverse of my typical direction. It is interesting that I saw some things that I did not remember from the other direction. Construction activity is almost gone. Last Saturday I saw many bikers on this route but this time I saw only one. There was a ride sponsored by Northwest Cycling so many of them may have went there. Most of the riders are probably from The Woodlands.

As you see in the video the road conditions are good and traffic was moderate and the weather was perfect, in my opinion. As I wrote earlier, this video is an experiment so there are times when you will see and hear some unexpected things. Right off you hear me clip into my pedals. There are a couple of sections where I show my bike computer for distance and such. I am not a threat to Hollywood, yet.