No fog, but the clouds were still snuggling with the mountain when we pushed off just after 8:30 this morning. Not sure how we were going to climb any mountain after being wonderfully stuffed with a huge bowl of fresh fruit, french toast, bacon and sausage, etc, etc., but had to go. Though today was the same 60° as yesterday, it felt much cooler; the fog replaced with overcast skies.  Our first 30 miles were a stupendous up and down roll of incredibly picturesque countryside along the White River. We are sure there is much we missed without the sun’s illumination, but the mid-sixties temperature was perfect for bikingand we saw plenty, centuries old graveyardseven a brick church. There is just something about the churches in Vermont, that we couldn’t get enough of ……. much like the barns in some state long ago.  Once again, just before lunch we reached the foot of our serious climbing.  We opted for a quick stop at a country store where we had a light lunch with the ants and this creature. There really is no good recipe for climbing mountains, especially when they start with a (thankfully, short) 14% climb.  Once again the river was beside us, this time carrying us all the way to the top.  Apparently, it can get quite large and powerful as we went through a very rough patch where the road had been washed out. This 1000 foot climb was only the beginning of  more sharp rises and falls for the rest of the afternoon. As exhausting as the climbing was, it was so gorgeous, and the drops from these climbs are very rewarding.  We called it a day at 54 miles.