A Memorial Day ride was in order. It was great seeing all of the flags as I rode the “SR242 – Valley Ranch” route. I remembered all of the people who gave their lives for our country. I lost uncle Robert in WWII. He was in the Army and was killed while fighting in Africa but they never found his body. Several other uncles served in WWII but they did not die while serving in the military.
I started to ride another route to the south but I remembered there was a car show in Kingwood Town Center and riding through or around it is difficult. Then my wife called to tell me W. Lake Houston Parkway was closed at the San Jacinto River due to high water so I changed riding plans. There is lots of high water to the south of Kingwood along the San Jacinto River thanks to the very heavy rain on Thursday and Friday. The river topped out at 61.9 feet with flood stage at 54 feet. The worst flood was in 1994 at 67.9 feet.
Weather today was overcast when I started at 10:40. I got an earlier start because the Giro d’ Italia is over and I don’t need to wait. The temperature was 82 degrees and the humidity was 79%. Wind was a light 7 mph from the south. With this level of humidity every time I stopped I was instantly covered with dripping sweat. The temperature didn’t change by the time I finished at 1:32 bu the humidity came down to 72%, not enough to help.
I wasn’t sure if I would see any high water but I could see evidence of where it was earlier. I though E. Knox Drive between Loop 494 and US59 might still have water but it was drive. I started to ride on Knox Drive to US59 but I saw two large dogs in the street about half way. I have not seen them before and didn’t want to take a chance on them being friendly so I turned around an rode south on Loop 494 to E. Memorial Drive, the next street south and rode to US59. I checked for the dogs on Knox as I pedaled by but they were not in the street.
The ride to SH 242 went quickly with the help of the tailwind. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I made the u-turn and headed into the wind. It wasn’t too difficult of a headwind and I was able to continue improving my overall average speed. I did notice more wind when I turned right onto Valley Ranch Parkway south of FM1485 but it winds around and the headwind was not there all the time. I rode to the Stripes station at FM1314 where Is topped to refill my water bottle with ice and water. Normally I would take a break but I was feeling good so I did not take a break. I took this screen picture of the Edge 520 and the weather conditions before leaving Stripes.
The ride from Stripes to home was about 12 miles. I added some extra to get the ride to 36.59 miles. This puts me at 805 miles for the month of May. The Oakhurst golf course was busy as I rode by the last holes along Mills Branch Drive.
Earlier when I was stopped at the traffic light on Loop 494 and east FM1485 a man and woman pulled up beside me on their Harley Davidson. We chatted while waiting for the light to change and then they took off. He said they were out cruising, looking at the high water areas and stuff.
Partly cloudy and 86 is the forecast tomorrow. Hopefully the water is down along W. Lake Houston Parkway. I plan on biking. Sunday I was going to ride but just didn’t make it.
[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/9218147/embed 600px 600px]
[iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/593237093/embed/0205088b4bbb38e9787a288fde6d4869ac4b971e 590px 405px]
