I rode the Venus to Elm Mott 200k today. It’s an out and back route that’s not too terrible on hills. I figure since I hadn’t ridden a 200k since last fall, it would be a easy route to try.

But is wasn’t that easy. The wind was brutal. It was a good turnout. I rode with the last group for a while, but they kept stopping too much to suit me, so I rode on ahead, and caught Mark M and Michelle at a control, and took off with them. I stayed with them quite a while, but when they decided to ratchet up the pace, they were long gone, and I finished alone. I ended up with 127.8 miles and finished in 9:30.

Venus to Elm Mott 200k route.
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Last week, I was off for the holiday on Monday, but rode to work the next four days. The weather was dry all week, but with a wide range of temperatures. It was 26 degrees as I rode to work Tuesday morning and 73 degrees as I rode home Friday afternoon.

This week, I conceded Monday to the wind, rain, and cold, but rode to work the rest of the week. Yesterday morning, it was 32 degrees with a 30 mph north wind. My ride in is 12 miles straight north, so it was the toughest commute I’ve done in a while. It took me over an hour to get to work. It was barely over 40 degrees in the afternoon, and the wind was gusting close to 40 mph, but at least it was a tailwind for the ride home.

2012 days ridden to work: 8
2012 commuting mileage: 196

Work commute route

I rode to work all five days this week. It was a dark and cloudy week all week long until this afternoon. Monday and Tuesday were pretty chilly, but the south wind returned Tuesday afternoon, and it warmed up. That’s also when the rain showed up. I rode in the rain that afternoon, and both ways on Wednesday and Thursday. Fortunately, it was only a light rain for all those rides. I managed to get home before the storms hit on Wednesday.

2011 days ridden to work: 213
2011 commuting mileage: 5207.6

Work commute route.

It was a chilly week, by Texas standards. The combination of wind and rain and cold was more than I was willing to battle on Monday, and I drove to work. I rode to work the remaining four work days, and did an extra 10 miles each day.

It was 32 degrees with snow flurries and a 20 mph north wind as I rode to work Tuesday morning. I ride 12 miles pretty much straight north to work, so it was a chilly ride. It was still 32 degrees as I rode home, but at least it was a tailwind. Wednesday morning was 23 degrees, but at least the wind had quit. It was a little warmer the rest of the week, but still chilly.

This week, I passed 5,000 miles of commuting for the year.

2011 days ridden to work: 208
2011 commuting mileage: 5085.1

34.5 mile work commute plus route map.

I rode to work all five days this week. Between not riding much on the weekends and the days I took off because of bronchitis, my mileage in November wasn’t very good at all. I was on a pace to end up with less than 500 miles for the month, which would leave me more than 500 miles to ride in December to make my mileage goal for the year. That could have been challenging if the weather doesn’t cooperate. So I decided to take the long way home from work this week, adding an extra 10 miles to my ride, for a round trip total of 34.5 miles. I added the miles on quiet neighborhood roads, and on rural roads near Crowley. I did the extra miles all five days.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings were cold, just below freezing, and it was still pretty cool in the afternoons. Thursday was warmer, and this morning was in the 40’s, but it felt cooler than that with a strong north wind and heavy mist. It just got colder throughout the day, a thick fog rolled in, and it misted on and off all day. I had already decided not to do the extra miles today, but by time to ride home, the mist had quit, the roads were in good shape, so I still did the extra 10 miles.

Monday was my 200th ride to work this year.

2011 days ridden to work: 204
2011 commuting mileage: 4987.1

34.5 mile work commute plus route map.

It was a short commute week this week. I rode to work all three days. I rode home in a light rain on Monday, but the heavy stuff didn’t show up until after I was home. It was 39 degrees with fog this morning, but warmed to a sunny 68 degrees with no wind this afternoon, a beautiful afternoon for a ride home.

2011 days ridden to work: 199
2011 commuting mileage: 4864.6

Work commute route

I took off on the Corsa this morning and did my Crowley Metric Century route. That has to be the slowest 63 miles I’ve ever ridden. I was riding at an easy pace anyway because of my bronchitis, and ended up doing the entire ride against the wind. I checked the forecast this morning, but saw no mention of a cold north wind blasting in at noon. So, my timing ended up perfect. I rode south against the south wind, then turned around and rode north against the north wind.

I ended up with 63 miles even. My average speed was: so slow I ain’t going to post it here.

Crowley Metric Century route

It wasn’t a good bike commute week for me. Last week’s severe head cold turned into the week’s severe bronchitis. I rode to work Monday, but wheezed and hacked so bad that I took 3 days off the bike. I missed really nice riding weather Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday evening, a front came in and it was chilly and windy yesterday. I rode to work today, still hacking pretty badly. Not much fun.

2011 days ridden to work: 196
2011 commuting mileage: 4791.1

Work commute route