Got My Kicks on Route 96

Friday night, I took a small cruise around my neighborhood (about 1.7 miles) and then took a break on saturday knowing that I'd be pedaling like crazy the next morning for my longest ride so far!

So, Sunday morning I put my bike in the back of my jeep and drove a few miles to a convenient starting location just north of the intersection of highway 146 and highway 96.

My plan was to ride the entire length of highway 96 from 146 to interstate 45 and then back again! The one-way trip is 6.4 miles. So, for those of you who who flunked 2nd grade math (you know who you are), that is 12.8 miles round trip. The outbound trip went great. It was easy and relaxing and very little traffic. I finished it in just under 35 minutes. The return trip was a bit harder as it was against the wind. That portion of the trip took about 50 minutes (including 3 1-2 minutes stops for water). So 85 minutes of riding and a distance of 12.8 miles. Thats an average of just over 9 mph. During the outbound trip, I averaged just under 12 mph but the wind on the return trip slowed me down significantly. The lesson learned for the day...the wind doesn't blow! It sucks! :-)

Also, I just added up all the miles that I've ridden so far since starting on October 21. According to my log book, I'm at exactly 50 miles! Way to go, me!

Here's a map of the route for 11/09/08. I really liked this route. It's close to home and most of the route has big, wide shoulders to ride on. There are not many stop lights and not much traffic early in the morning. I have a feeling I'll be riding highway 96 alot during the next several months. Also, it has one big tall overpass along the route, which will provide me with good practice at climing hills. I'll need that! The race from Houston to Austin will have tons of climbing to do as I cruise through the Texas Hill Country.