Yesterday I rested but I worked on the rear derailleur. The shifting from cog 3 to 4, 4 to 5 and 5 to 6 was not working. I needed to shift past the cog I wanted and then back. Looking at the rear derailleur I thought it might be worn out but that was not the problem. I disconnected the cable at the derailleur and then I saw the problem. The adjusting barrel screw was not threaded into the connector and the cable end flopped around without the correct tension on the cable. I threaded the barrel adjuster into the connector, tightened the cable with the chain on the 1st cog. Turning the barrel adjuster a 1/2 turn put the correct tension on the cable and now the shifting is smooth like it should be.
Good thing the shifting got fixed. I wanted to go on a longer ride today and easy shifting comes in handy. I rode the”SR242 – FM1314″ route to the north and west. The ride totaled 48.37 miles. I varied slightly from the recent rides taking FM1485 north to Old Houston Road. I stopped at the Valero station for a few minutes to rest (22 miles at that point) and refill my water bottle. The next stop was about 15 miles away at the Stripes station on FM1314 and Valley Ranch Parkway. From the Valero station I rode south on Old Houston Road to reconnect to SH 242 and continue west to FM1314. Traffic respected my presence on the shoulder with many moving to the middle when the passing or turn lane permitted.
I rolled into the Stripes station at the 37.2 mile point. It was hot and after collecting a Gatorade and refilling my bottle I settled under the pump canopy to rest and eat. A lady leaving stopped in front of me to ask if I was okay. She said she saw me earlier and wanted to be sure I was okay. I said I was doing great and she said it was hot and then drove on. I stayed there about 35 minutes. When I started to leave I felt a coolness as I rode from the shade up to the traffic light to cross FM1314. While I was at Stripes my jersey must have dried out enough for the wind to produce a nice evaporation effect. It didn’t last long as I rode on Old Sorters Road for the 11 miles home. The weather screenshots while I was at Stripes.
The ride home went smoothly and I arrived there at 1:55. I started riding at 9:47. With the Tour over I can now leave earlier.
With today’s ride I am within 66 miles of the July mileage goal of 834 miles. The forecast calls for hot temperatures (100+) the rest of the week and little to no rain. I plan on biking each day.
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Below is the rides on today’s route comparison summary year to date.
