Rochester, VT to Fairlee, VT 55 Miles, July 25

What a treat to wake up to a sunny day in Vermont. We knew it was beautiful even in the rain, but we are grateful to experience this beautiful state in sunny weather. Ginny and Eric got up early with us for breakfast. We had fresh picked blueberries and gooseberries along with fresh brewed coffee and Vermont yogurt. We were fortified for our second day of climbing in the Green Mountains.

Carol and I started with a fun ride along the White River. Lots of rolling, mostly down hills. I stopped in South Royalton to get photos of the lovely green they had there. A green is the town square, which is a beautiful grass area in the center of town. This one had its own gazebo.

Our real climbing began at Sharon, about 30 miles down the road. We stopped to rest and eat before the climb. Again, it was horrendously steep at the bottom, but I gritted my teeth and did not have to walk today. Like yesterday, after a few tough sections, the mountain leveled off and we came to a long 13% downhill. This was much better than yesterday's experience in the rain. Every few miles we came to a little New England town. Usually we would see a general store, a tall white church and maybe a post office, then we would be in the country again.

We had been trying, with no luck to arrange lodging for tonight, but our cell phones do not work in the Green Mountains. We were looking for a land line where we could use a calling card, when Nancy Schindler just happened to see us outside her home and asked if she could help us. She invited us in and encouraged us to use the phone without using the calling card. She helped us look up names and addresses in the phone book and gave us the scoop on the different lodgings in Orford, NH. We called one place and were told, "You picked a bad weekend, because it is a Dartmouth Parent's weekend and a Children's Camp Parent's Weekend. Everything is booked, everywhere." We called another place, right across the river in Fairlee, VT. The owner, Scott, was so excited to hear from us. He told us he had been moaning, because he just received a last minute cancellation and would be thrilled to let us have the room. He had done a cross country bicycle trip himself, in 1972.

Nancy, continued to help us, by explaining to us a different route to our destination. This involved a beautiful ride around Lake Fairlee, as opposed to the dreaded Thetford Hill climb. We were thrilled to opt for the Fairlee Lake ride and enjoyed a fast beautiful ride into Fairlee where we are enjoying one more night in Vermont.