I set out at 11:51 AM to ride the Spring Creek Greenway for the first time in 2019. The last time I rode the greenway was October 30th 2018. I biked 47.65 miles which put me over my March goal by 35.3 miles at 620.30 miles. Now the rest of the month will be how much I go over.
Weather during while biking the greenway: start 74 (72% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind W 7 mph. Finish 86 (50% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind W 9 mph. I dressed like it would be 74 the whole ride and paid for over dressing. Attire: shorts, long sleeve jersey, and short sleeve jersey. If the greenway didn’t have as many trees as it does I would’ve been overheated by the time I exited at the US59 trailhead. The surface had damp places like it had rained before I got there with some puddles in low spots. I never felt any rain. When I checked the airport weather (not too fr from the greenway) it reported light rain, maybe the cause of the damp spots where there was an opening in the trees.
On the way to the US59 trailhead I rode through South Woodland Hills Village and saw two vintage cars which leads off the gallery of photos I took. The first one is a 1963 Ford Fairlane and the second is a 1955 Ford.
Last week at our city councilman’s town hall meeting I talked with the Houston Bike Plan people and they said a bike path along Hamblen Road is planned. The road is rough but it is only a short distance to the u-turn under I-69/US59 where I entered the Bevil Jarrell Bridge to get to the trailhead. The bridge once was US59 over the river.
I didn’t expect any major changes on the greenway but there were a couple. The first one is improved mile markers along the route. The second fixes the problem I had the first time I rode and got lost in Jesse Jones Park trying to find where the greenway went from the parking lot. A new asphalt path goes from the entrance west in Jesse Jones Park to the parking lot where it use to just disappear. Thank you!
I saw about 20 other cyclists, some of them multiple times as I rode west and passed them. Numerous walkers too which is great. The greenway is wide enough to accommodate both but sometimes coming around a corner you can be surprised. Around the 6 mile point going west a group of 6 horse riders came across the route and stopped at the water station. I have seen horses before but only one or two at a time.
After reaching the western terminus I took a couple of photos and noted this was south of the Rayford and Sawdust Roads exit on I-45 which I passed under. On the way back east I stopped at the Dennis Johnston Park to fill my water bottle and eat a quick snack.
By then it was heating up and I was glad for the shade to kind of keep me cool with the double jerseys.
Back at the I-69/US59 I rode back into Forest Cove and then Kingwood finishing the ride at 4:09 PM.
Tuesday weather forecast: sunny, high near 76, north wind 5 to 10 mph. Sounds like good bike riding.
SportTracks Bike Ride Summary
Strava Year Progressions Graph
I narrowed the gap between 2019 and 2016 to 15 miles. Trail 2017 by 128 miles and 2018 by 47 miles.
