The scene today was at the Humble Civic Center Arena with several hundred riders gathering for the start of the ride. Since the ride organizers use wrist bands instead of numbers it is hard to get an idea of the number of riders.
The start was a little disorganized with the starting leader not having a microphone to give instructions to the riders. My group left at 8:10 AM with several more groups to follow. The routes had a few changes from last year with the longest one set for 55 miles. Unlike the ride in Katy I was determined to watch the route markers and not miss the turns for the 55 mile route. I managed to stay on the route and ended up at 54.33 miles. After the 1st rest stop the route signs for a turn was missing so we took the wrong roads but ended back on course.
Two riders getting ready for the start
I was bundled for cooler weather but it did not take long for me to realize I could have dressed lighter. Full finger gloves were not necessary nor the two long sleeve jerseys. After the missing turn signs the route went as planned to the first rest stop.
Rest stop #1.
The ride from rest stop #1 to rest stop 2 on the 55 mile route was straight into a strong headwind. A couple of turns provided some relief but not for long. At this rest stop the port potties were missing so no natural breaks here. Before I got to the stop I noticed two lonely porta potties sitting at a small business parking lot and wondered if they belonged to the ride. I guess they did.
Rest stop #2 on the 55 mile route. No porta potties here.
After leaving this stop (28 mile point) we started to head back to Humble but not without many turns onto side roads. The next rest stop was in Crosby which I passed up. Riding on without any problems I did come upon a crash scene at the 37.88 mile point with one rider on a stretcher with an ambulance and two wreckers in the road. I am not sure what happened though.
Clouds were starting to gather so I picked up the pace as much as the wind and roads would allow. Being this early in the season I get bogged down easily when an incline is in the way. I skipped the next rest stop and headed to the finish with a few rain drops hitting at one point but they backed off for the dash to the finish. I pulled up to my Jeep at 11:56 for a respectful elapsed time of 3:46 and an average speed of 15.2 mph.
The lunch provided was great with a very large baked potato, salad and beef barbecue for the potatoes. As I pulled out of the parking lot the rain began to fall.