LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - Balloon pilots and chase crews gathered at 7 a.m. for a familiar Great Texas Balloon Race ritual: waiting on the weather.

Crews tracked shifting winds across Gregg County and scouted potential launch sites as conditions changed through the morning."We're chasing it. It's part of the adventure," pilot Blake Aldridge said, holding a small "pibal" balloon used to test wind direction and speed.

Aldridge and other pilots, including Bill Bussey and Alan Anderson, prepared to inflate and release the pibal while monitoring readings.