I’ve been looking forward to this bike ride since receiving my Lynskey Helix bike May 24th. I ordered the bike with the SRAM Rival AXS eTap group thinking it would include the 48×35 crankset. I didn’t check the bike close enough until after several rides when I noticed the crankset was the 43×30. Contacting Lynskey about the difference they told me they don’t use the 48×35 Rival crankset but agreed to send me a 45×33 crankset which they did. Kingwood Bicycle replaced the crankset and Lynskey reimbursed me for the cost. I really wanted the 48×35 crankset because that would match the crankset and gearing on my Cervelo Caledonia bike which I felt was the gearing that best suited my riding on the flat terrain around Houston. After making due with the 45×33 last week I decided to order the 48×35 chainrings and replace them. After checking several online stores I learned the complete crankset was a $1 less than the cost of the individual chainrings. Figure that out! The complete crankset arrived Friday but I waited until yesterday to change them. At first I thought the bolts holding the chainrings were hex but it turned out they were T30 Torx. Fortunately I have a set of Torx bits and making the switch was fairly easy. With the new gearing I decided today I had to ride the Lynskey Helix and I am glad I did. The 48×35 gears and my legs hit it off as I rode the Spring Creek Greenway to John Pundt Park for the 8th time this year. Maybe the adrenaline from new bike stuff powered my ride above normal or the weather was just right (no rain). On Strava I recorded 7 personal record medals, 5 gold and 2 silver.

The new gearing required a new bike for my AXS.SRAM.com ride report and adjusting the settings on my Wahoo bolt computer. The twists and turns on the greenway limits my speed. I used the 35×15 gears the whole time on the greenway but I shifted to the 35×13 on the way back after going down the Bevill Jerrell Bridge ramp until the end of the ride.

I started the ride at 9:11 AM rolling out the driveway. The last few rides on the greenway the number of cyclists has been lower than I expected but I hoped today would be busier. I think it was. Riding west on Hamblen Road to the bridge I saw another cyclist riding behind me. As I made the turn from Hamblen road onto the road under US59/I-69 he rode beside me and we starting talking. We rode together until the bridge to Jesse Jones Park parking lot where I went left on the loop to the parking lot. It was great chatting with a fellow Kingwood cyclist. His name was Rick McDonald, recently retired and riding a nice Surly bike. He told me he has put over 7,000 miles since purchasing it earlier this year. He was going to ride the greenway to I-45 while I was turning around at John Pundt Park. There were numerous cyclists on the greenway and I only caught a portion of them in the video. One passed me on the way back to Jesse Jones Park and told me he had a Lynskey R500, thought it was a great bike but expensive.

The recent rains didn’t appear to be a problem for the greenway with only a few puddles on the road. I caught up with a county crew riding in a gator stopping a few times and look to the sky; I think they were checking trees. The creek water level was higher than my previous rides where I saw lots of sand but not much water. It looked like the creeks could handle more rain which we may get this week.

I stopped at Pundt Park for about 10 minutes before heading back to the US59 trailhead to rest and drink some water. While I sat on the picnic bench several cyclists rode by. Later at Jesse Jones Park I stopped again to eat a couple of granola bars to fuel me to the finish of the ride. While I sat on the bench looking at the ground a black wasp like bug scurried around digging little holes like a dog. He is near the end of the video. Not sure what kind of bug he is. I took these photos when I stopped for the granola bars.

The weather forecast indicated the chance of rain increased mid-afternoon so I wanted to finish before that and I completed the ride at 12:54 PM without any weather incidents. Weather conditions: start 84 (humidity 84%, dew point 79), mostly cloudy, wind S 3 mph; finish 90 (humidity 62%, dew point 75), mostly cloudy, wind SW 10 mph gusts 21 mph. I’m glad the humidity went down so I wouldn’t drip sweat like Saturday.

Some of the Strava top results: PR on Carter Park to Jesse H Jones Park (13:27), PR on Mazie’s Run (1:48), PR on Pundt Park to Carter Park (18:27), PR on Whip (2:22).