Laurel and I started our ride from Houston this morning to Lake Livingston State Park (only about 55 miles). So far, we have met quite a few people who have been so excited about and impressed by our ride. But it's only the first day, so not to much to be impressed about yet! The start of the ride was a bit anxious -- Houson is humid, we had just put together our bikes last night, and we were completely unsure of how the roads would be. Getting out of the Houston area and the first few roads were a bit nervewracking, with tons of cars and large sections that were literally highway and us. And exit ramps, which we had to be careful not to take! We were on highways 59 and parallel to 69 for many sections, including some roadwork. Always a bit unsure if we could even be on these road. It rained lightly halfway, and before that was darn hot. But so far so good, and once we got closer to the state park, the country roads were really beautiful. AND we passed right by a pump station in Goodrich, our first one up close! There was a thunderstorm following us, as then wouldn't you know it my front went compleeeeetly flat. And it's only the first day! So we pulled off to the side, and strategized. Walked a bit to the turn off, still about 5 miles from the park (and inconvenient though it was, couldn't have been a better time for a breakdown). I changed the tire tube myself on the spot, with Laurels help! It was our first tire change, all on our own in the middle of nowhere. Very exciting, and also have us confidence that we could fix the situation on our own in a rather remote spot. We made it to the state park as the storm clouds gathered, and talked a bit with the rangers. The state park is pretty large, and has a lot of amenities like showers. And wifi. Which is how I'm able to update you now! We are perhaps the only tent campers, in a section all to our own. The thunderstorm rumbled through, sprinkled awhile as we showered and walked the park roads, and now we are watching the sunset at Lake Livingston on the Trinity River. Tomorrow, we originally planned to go through Lufkin, but it looks like we May head towards the Mission Tejas state park making it a longer ride than expected for this early in the trip, but help out later on and be a good route. A good day! We made pretty good time, and the route so far was flat (like my tire). Maybe some hills tomorrow! Wish us luck!
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