Muddy Buddy

We hit the trail early in anticipation of the two divide crossings on our way into Helena, at 25K, the biggest town we have visited thus far. Our efforts, however, we rewarded only with unrelenting wind and rain, the latter turning the dirt road into inches of tire-sucking mud.  It became so thick on our frames and drivetrains, that at times our wheels remained motionless as we skidded downhill and our chains and derailleurs were not even visible beneath the mud.  We presevered and the weather cleared on the other side of the divide as we coasted downhill into a Helena Car Wash for some high pressure cleaning of both bikes and bodies.  The rest of the day was spent taking care of bike maintenance and laundry while hanging out in the hotel hot tub in the only items not being washed, our long underwear. After the day’s ride, we spent a much needed restful night indoors, just feet from Last Chance Gulch, the gold deposit that boosted Helena to State Capitalhood.

Photos

With access to a computer for the entire day we were able to upload most of our photos.  You can view them on Flickr.  Above each image is an “All Sizes” icon, clicking that will allow you to download the original photo.