{"id":36888,"date":"2017-08-19T12:50:51","date_gmt":"2017-08-19T17:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/?p=36888"},"modified":"2017-08-19T12:50:51","modified_gmt":"2017-08-19T17:50:51","slug":"stopped-up-toilet-biker-fixing-a-flat-bike-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/2017\/08\/19\/stopped-up-toilet-biker-fixing-a-flat-bike-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"Stopped Up Toilet, Biker Fixing A Flat Bike Ride"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The ride did start early today (early for me that is) but I was delayed by a stopped up toilet that I had to repair. The Elemnt&#8217;s start button was pushed at 8:57 am as I headed out on the &#8220;New Caney &#8211; Tavola &#8211; Valley Ranch&#8221; route. I selected this ride to the north because the Lake Houston 5K\/10K run was going on around the YMCA on W. Lake Houston parkway and traffic would be a nightmare. With this start time the temperature was 85 with 80% humidity so the lower degrees was offset by all of the moisture in the air. It didn&#8217;t take long for me to produce lots of sweat but moving helped cool me. Later when I finished at 11:35 am the temperature was 94 but the humidity dropped to 68%, not great but better. A partly cloudy sky and light 6 mph breeze from the west completed the weather scene.<\/p>\n<p>I passed another cyclist around Elm Grove Elementary School around 1.7 miles into the ride. Later I saw another bicyclist sitting on the curb fixing a tire on Avalon Park Drive and Briar Berry Lane. A Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff was parked a few feet away with the amber flashers on alerting the surprisingly heavy traffic on\u00c2\u00a0 Avalon Park. Normally this little section is void of traffic and I never saw a bicyclist there before. I would&#8217;ve stopped but he looked like he was okay and all of the traffic made it difficult for me to ride to where he sat.<\/p>\n<p>Riding on Valley Ranch Parkway the many yellow wildflowers in the grass caught my eye.<\/p>\n<p>No rest stops today because I was trying to finish the ride in time to watch some of the Vuelta a Espana TTT live but I didn&#8217;t make it. I stopped at the New Caney Mobil station at FM 1485 and I-69\/US59 for ice and water to carry me home. I will watch the TTT replay instead.<\/p>\n<p>I am making progress in the National Bike Challenge rankings.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-National-Bike-Challenge.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"36890\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/2017\/08\/19\/stopped-up-toilet-biker-fixing-a-flat-bike-ride\/8-19-2017-national-bike-challenge\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-National-Bike-Challenge.jpg?fit=1166%2C1274&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1166,1274\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Rick Ankrum&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1503144485&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"8-19-2017 National Bike Challenge\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-National-Bike-Challenge.jpg?fit=412%2C450&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-National-Bike-Challenge.jpg?fit=549%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36890\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-National-Bike-Challenge.jpg?resize=1166%2C1274\" alt=\"National Bike Challenge Standing\" width=\"1166\" height=\"1274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-National-Bike-Challenge.jpg?w=1166&amp;ssl=1 1166w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-National-Bike-Challenge.jpg?resize=439%2C480&amp;ssl=1 439w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-National-Bike-Challenge.jpg?resize=412%2C450&amp;ssl=1 412w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-National-Bike-Challenge.jpg?resize=549%2C600&amp;ssl=1 549w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1166px) 100vw, 1166px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As of today I am at <strong>168 miles<\/strong> for the week, <strong>551 miles<\/strong> for the month and <strong>5126 miles<\/strong> for the year. I am not biking tomorrow to rest but will resume on Monday. This will be the fewest miles biked in a week since the week of June 19th when I rode 148.8 miles. I am 249 miles away from my goal for August and 1674 miles away from my goal for the year. My legs feel like they need some time off.<\/p>\n<h3>Strava Ride Summary<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.strava.com\/activities\/1141552828\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"36891\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/2017\/08\/19\/stopped-up-toilet-biker-fixing-a-flat-bike-ride\/8-19-2017-strava-ride-summary\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-Strava-Ride-Summary.jpg?fit=887%2C1225&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"887,1225\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Rick Ankrum&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1503144566&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"8-19-2017 Strava Ride Summary\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-Strava-Ride-Summary.jpg?fit=326%2C450&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-Strava-Ride-Summary.jpg?fit=434%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-36891 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-Strava-Ride-Summary.jpg?resize=887%2C1225\" alt=\"Strava Bicycle Ride Summary\" width=\"887\" height=\"1225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-Strava-Ride-Summary.jpg?w=887&amp;ssl=1 887w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-Strava-Ride-Summary.jpg?resize=348%2C480&amp;ssl=1 348w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-Strava-Ride-Summary.jpg?resize=326%2C450&amp;ssl=1 326w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/8-19-2017-Strava-Ride-Summary.jpg?resize=434%2C600&amp;ssl=1 434w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 887px) 100vw, 887px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ride did start early today (early for me that is) but I was delayed by a stopped up toilet that I had to repair. The Elemnt&#8217;s start button was pushed at 8:57 am as I headed out on the <span class=\"excerpt-dots\">&hellip;<\/span> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/2017\/08\/19\/stopped-up-toilet-biker-fixing-a-flat-bike-ride\/\"><span class=\"more-msg\">Continue reading &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22],"tags":[5287,1424,4699],"class_list":["post-36888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bike-ride","tag-new-caney-tavola-valley-ranch","tag-road","tag-stradalli-rp-14-carbon"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4tok-9AY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}