In my book a good bicycle route does not overlap streets and roads. This can cause a problem where there are limited ways to get from one place to another. Today I planned on overlapping streets on the return leg but changed my mind for the last 7 miles and chose some streets I have biked for many months if not years. The rest of the route was a tried and true one going to New Caney, Valley Ranch and then back home. As I rode through Valley Ranch I began to think of the options I could take to avoid the overlap and remembered Forest Cove. This would allow me to add a couple of miles and avoid repeating streets altogether. So I put the revised plan into action.
Back in 1980’s before US59 was widened and the service roads upgraded I would ride from our house in New Caney south to the San Jacinto River and then go through Forest Cove to get back home. Round trip was about 20 to 22 miles. The riding options going south are limited now with all of the traffic around Humble south of the river.
The new route variation totaled 32.36 miles which put me at 81.33 miles after two rides this week. August miles total 329.09 and 4264.05 miles YTD. Average speed was 15.1 mph (SportTracks) or 15.2 mph using Garmin Connect figures. Max speed was 21.4 mph and 80.6 RPM average cadence. Riding time was much less than yesterday’s: 2:08:22 not including 4:31 time stopped. Probably the longest time I stopped was in Oakhurst when I paused a minute or so to wring out the sweat from my gloves. Again the pavement almost showed a puddle but the heat made sure it didn’t last long. It was 95 degrees when I got home at 12:08. The sky was almost totally blue except for some small clouds in the far distance. Humidity was 46% at the end of the ride. When I started the ride I noticed that even though it was 87 degrees the air did not burn like it can do later in the day. Now that we are almost 2/3 of the way through summer the intensity of the heat might be letting up just a little. This makes me wonder if the HH100 will be a scorcher this year. There was a section of Hamblen Road where the asphalt was soft and tried to stick to my tires.
I spotted another bicyclist in New Caney walking under US59. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with her bike. The traffic an be heavy there and she may have been walking from the north bound service road to the south bound one. When I turned onto the south bound service road I lost sight of her. She fit my definition of a serious bicyclist because she had on bike shorts and a helmet.
Tomorrow gets an early start with the first meeting of a men’s group from my church at 6:00 AM at the Denny’s in Humble. Maybe this will get me out the door early on a ride after the meeting ends at 7:0 AM.
Link to RideWithGPS.com data and map.
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