On my way to an encounter with the mystery wildcard candidate for the President of the United States I saw a tandem bike going west over Lake Houston on FM1960. I rode the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route and I didn’t know about the meeting I would have at the Huffman Chevron during my rest stop.

I experienced some soreness from yesterday’s ride but as I biked that went away or I ignored it. At the beginning of the ride (11:21 start time) the sun was out but as the ride progressed the clouds moved in from the southeast making it feel cooler than the 81 degrees when I started. The light 4 mph breeze helped keep me cool until I stopped when the sweat combined with the breeze made me chilled. I almost wore a long sleeve jersey but I figured the sun would keep me warm.

No major changes to this route during my vacation absence. Road construction work zone signs on the west side of Lake Houston warn of work but I can’t see where opr what they will be working on. W. Lake Houston Parkway south from Kings River Drive to FM1960 repairs are underway but since it was Saturday the barrels were in the grass not blocking traffic. This could smooth broken pavement around drain openings. Some of them are bad enough that I ride around them.

I pulled into the Huffman Chevron at 12:59 with 21.7 miles completed of what would be a 33.49 mile ride. I bought some blue Powerade and sat half in the shade and half in the fading sun to keep warm as I cooled down. A lady with a heavy accent said some words when she went into the store to pay for gas and I nodded. When she came out she talked some more and I nodded more since I wasn’t sure what she was saying. I waved as she walked away. The the mystery wildcard candidate walked towards me. She introduced herself and we shook hands. I am not sure of her name. She looked at my Texbiker.net jersey and asked if I would support her charity. The lady told me that the man driving the car had a blood disease and was an EMT. The charity involved the disease, I think. She said she would tell me more after paying for gas. As promised she stopped on the way out of the store. She told me she paid with a $2 bill and then handed me the receipt with a phone number on. She asked how she could contact me and I gave her a Texbiker.net business card. As she walked back to the car she thanked me for wearing red, white and blue and told me to watch for her winning the election. Interesting encounter. The store clerk came out and asked what she said and I told her. She showed me the $2 which the mystery lady said had been in a vault for 20 years but was a series 2003 Federal Reserve note.

Leaving the Chevron at 2:31 I made my way over the 11+ miles to finish the ride at 2:23. Riding was much cooler than when I started but my body heat built up to counter the cool wind coming through my jersey.

[iframe http://rwgps-embeds.com/trips/11329554/embed 700px 700px]

[iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/731158277/embed/594b1dcf9da96020ffb87bdac9d2f6b2aa2649b0 590px 405px]