Hamilton to Sula, MT

Via Hwy 93. 40 miles.

It took us what seemed like forever to get out of Hamilton this morning. In addition to the usual routine (eat breakfast, pack up, etc.), we went to the post office to mail a few things back home that we decided we can live without (this however resulted in only a small reduction in the rate of increase of stuff we are hauling.*) We then rode all over town looking for another dry bag to pack our additional stuff in. We finally located a store that had a pretty good selection, but they didn't have the duffle bag style we wanted. So we ended up strapping the extra stuff* to the top of the trailer with bungee cords. We finally rode out of Hamilton looking like the Beverly Hillbillies on a bike. Somehow it all works OK though.

We ran into the Williams' (the family on the 3-seater tandem) on our way out of town. They said they were going to Sula today as well, but had not shown up by late afternoon (by which time we had showered and were into our 2nd or 3rd beer), so we had assumed they stopped for the night. Lo and behold, shortly after 6 pm they showed up in Sula, tired after what they said was a bad day.**

Penny and I, in contrast, had a very good day. Despite the uphill nature of today's ride, it was breathtakingly beautiful - particularly once we passed the town of Darby (about 1/2 way). The traffic was light as we ascended the valley of the East Fork of the Bitterroot River, continuing to follow Lewis and Clark's route (backwards). It is no wonder that many more people have moved to (or want to move to)Montana.

*The cooler, our tent, my shoes, an extra pillow for Penny, a roll of paper towels.

**There was a persistent headwind the entire day and Mike said that his knee has been bothering him.
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