I reached my June goal and exceeded it by 16 miles for a total of 984.22 miles for June and 32.9 miles on today’s ride on the “Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch” route. I left home a little later than I wanted (12:17) because I tried to be an electrical engineer working on a home weather station module. I failed to change the wiring on a small fan motor that cools the module when it is in the sun. At the time I left home it was 100 degrees according to my home weather station. some other nearby stations were in the mid 90’s. The 5-in-1 weather sensor may have been a little overheated sitting in the sun.
The “Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch” route was a good length with the later start and provided enough miles to reach my goal. I was making good time as I rode through Oakhurst and then west on FM1314 to Cumberland Blvd. I did not ride through the Grand Parkway work zone today stopping at the Texaco station at Cumberland Blvd/FM1314/Painted Blvd. I want to check how the construction progressed since I was last there. These photos show the work area looking west from the Texaco station.
The beams are in place and it appears they are working on the deck. Traffic is still messed up getting through the work zone. I will hold off on any rides coming from the west for a couple of weeks to see if the lane layout changes. This was 16.5 miles into the ride. After taking the pictures I headed back to Porter and a rest break at Stripes. With the heat I used up most of my water and needed a break for snacks and Gatorade. Stripes was at the 21.7 mile point. The rest break was about 35 minutes long. Towards the end I started to hear thunder to the south and east and the sky was getting darker. Looking at the weather on my phone the rain was to the southeast. The route from Stripes went north through Valley Ranch and over to US59. I wanted to get further along but the rain threat I needed to think of places for shelter. The Texaco store at Valley Ranch and US59 was the last shelter until FM1314 and US59 in Porter. This would be a place to stop and check the weather before tackling the 1 mile to Porter on the US59 service road. Approaching the Texaco in Valley Ranch I started feel a few rain drops. The closer I got to the station the rain increased slightly but not enough to be a problem. When I got to the station lightening and thunder were in the dark gray sky so I paused at the station to see if the rain was going to increase. That was a good move. After a few minutes the rain increased to a full downpour. I would have been soaked trying to get to Porter plus it was raining so hard and windy I doubt I could ride above 10 mph if that fast. I decided to wait at the Texaco for the rain pass by. On my phone the radar showed a big rain concentration. I left the Stripes store about 2:10, got to the Texaco about 2:25 and didn’t leave until almost 4. It rained so hard cars pulled into the station because they could not see to drive. The porch roof on the station kept the rain off mostly but the wind blew water under most of the roof extension. A roof drain was in the middle and water poured out onto the pavement splashing my bike until I moved from the center of the covered area. At one point it rained and blew hard enough that I went inside for maybe a half hour. The weather screenshots from my phone:
Slowly the rain and wind let up. The lightening and thunder decreased but still was around. I waited to see if the rain would stop but it didn’t. My wife called to see where I was and asked if I need a ride. At this point I was 24.4 miles into the ride with about 8 miles left. I figured I could be home about as fast as my wife could get to me. After waiting a little longer the rain slowed down and I decided to leave. I headed south on the US59 service road dodging the water in the right gutter but I didn’t gauge one place and rode through about 8″ of water filling my shoes which were relatively dry until then. I stopped at the FM1314 traffic light with two Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable cruisers to wait for the light to change. It seemed like 5 minutes and I was getting wetter but finally the light changed and I was off riding to Northpark Drive. As I was riding my phone went off but I didn’t stop to answer until the Kroger gas station at Northpark Drive and US59. My wife was checking to see if I wanted her to get me. By now I was about 3 miles from home and the rain wasn’t increasing so I said no and left to finish the ride. I got home at 4:53 soaked and rode up to the garage door. Yesterday I said I would ride in the rain if that was what it took to reach my goal. Well, I reached my goal before the rain started but stayed the course anyway. Other some light drops I think this is the first serious rain I rode in this year.
A new pair of Bellwether Forma shorts covered me during the ride. I replaced a pair of Forma shorts that had wear spots on the seams on each side of the pad with the thread wore away.
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A recap of June biking:
July starts tomorrow so a new goal comes up. The total miles for 2015 now stand at 3217. This puts me time wise and distance wise at the halfway point for the year. I want to bike 6500 miles for the year and there 6 months left.
