Earlier this morning I drove to Best Buy to pickup a Samsung Galaxy Chromebook thinking I would pull up to the store, wait a few minutes while they brought it out to me and drive back home. When I got there, opened the email, clicked on the link to notify them of my arrival a small note in red caught my attention, “store opens at 10 am” and I am there at 9 AM. Sitting in the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon I went back and forth about driving back home and return after 10 AM. This would delay my planned bike ride start time either way but by the time I drove home and returned to Best Buy, wasting gasoline, I chose to stay. I moved to the parking spot reserved for online purchases. Around 9:30 I saw a man putting out lane markers followed by signs beside me with curb numbers for pickup (the store is closed for inside sales and pickup). A few minutes later a lady walked towards my Jeep and asked if I was there to pickup. I replied, yes, she asked for information and went to the car a couple of parking spots to my left, talked to the ladies in it, and returned to the store. About 5 minutes later she brought my order even though it was only about 9:35 or so. I thanked her and headed home.
I delayed breakfast to make the Best Buy run and after returning home I ate while watching the Chromebook go through some setup steps. That completed and finished eating I started getting ready to leave on the bike ride. Wheels rolled at 11:38 AM, later than I expected but moving anyway.
At first I thought about biking to Huffman but changed to the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route to the north. The overcast sky broke for a few minutes letting the sun through but then closed. Weather while I rode to Tavola and back: start 78 (77% humidity, 70.5 dew point), mostly cloudy, wind SE 14 mph. Finish 75 (89% humidity, 71.5 dew point), light rain/overcast, wind SE 12 mph. While it was warmer than yesterday I chose to wear shorts, long sleeve jersey, and short sleeve jersey. Once I warmed up I felt comfortable except when I stopped long enough to cool some like at long stop lights and the cemetery.
A tailwind boosted my pedaling to Tavola and I expected to pay the help back on the return south to Kingwood. But it wasn’t as a big a price as I thought it would be. I improved my average speed to 13.9 mph while going into the headwind and held it there until I got back into Kingwood.
Back in Kingwood light rain started falling but slowed as I rode closer to the finish spot. The trees hanging over the streets shielded me some and I finished at 2:20 PM before I got wet. As I write this a gentle rain is coming down.
The bike for today’s ride, Lynskey R300, rode smooth. I think adjusting the tire pressure to 85 psi softened the ride and changing the rear cassette to 11×25 enhanced the ride and effort to handle the roads. The Lynskey is growing on me.
GoPro sound with the camera mounted on my helmet on the front returned to what it was before I messed with the settings and position on the Canyon Endurace bike.
