September 26, 2007
To Hamilton: No picture for you
We are up by 7:30am, Laura is getting ready for work and decides to make us an egg and ham muffin sandwich. Then we are at the door with Laura riding her bike to work and escorts us a few blocks...we are houseguests that seemed maybe we would never leave!!
First stop is at Adventure Cycling Headquarters (BikeCentennial). Patrick has had his picture taken from years back, and Rachel wants to be part of the collection of pictures that Greg Sipal (Founder) takes of cyclists passing through. Greg is tied up and we wait and wait, and wait, then finally decide to go on our way. Rachel bought a T-shirt "Global Cooling Ride every day" but is disappointed that our picture isn't taken.
We make our way through town and stop again in Lolo for a cinnamon roll and juice. Rachel reads the card Laura had given us as we left with "read this at your first stop." A very nice card. Highway 93 starts off good with a wide shoulder and even a bike path paralleling the road towards Stevensville, but about 10km before that town the road and shoulders get narrow with fast and heavy traffic. We decide to ride the "old" road that parallels 93 about a mile to the East. It's part of the BikeCentennial route that Patrick did in '89.
We stop for lunch at St. Mary's Mission in Stevensville and see some fine old houses in Corvallis. Patrick has a flat rear tire just before reaching Stevensville and another one just past...the second one was probably because the new tube still had a small puncture opposite the last patch. No other option but to change tubes twice.
Just before Hamilton we have a couple of climbs, then a downhill into town. We meet back up with 93, do our shopping at an old Safeway. The campground we aim for is a couple of miles out of town. We camped here on our honeymoon, Rachel still remembers the place, Anglers Roost has some nice sites right on the Bitterroot River, but the place is up for sale, so who knows what will be here the next time we pass by...
Dinner is pork chops with mashed potatoes and baked beans. We have time to read, Patrick fixes the tubes. When the sun dips behind the Bitterroot Mountains and a huge moon rises in the East, we can feel the temperature drop. Time to get in the sleeping bag.
We are on the home stretch.
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Today's ride: 89 km (55 miles)
Total: 15,250 km (9,470 miles)
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