Day 2 of 8: Mt Monadnock to Woodford State Park, VT (~68mi)

Going into today we knew it would be the hardest day of our trip, seeing that we were staying at the highest state park in Vermont in the Green Mountains but we really didn't know how hard it was going to be. We also decided not to carry anything to make coffee with and hoped we would be able to stop in local coffee shops along the way and for the most part we found great ones. The first was called Jitter Beans with internet and computers available to the public, good coffee and lots of great seating and even a bookshelf filled with different books to read while you enjoy your coffee. At lunch time we were still thoroughly enjoying ourselves, the wonderful weather, the pretty straightforward terrain however we were so naive to what was to come.Soon after lunch we hit the Green Mountains, riding up hill at a steep 6-8% incline for 16mi straight, no flats, no downhills, and lots of false peaks! It was physically exhausting and mentally one of the hardest things to just keep goingBut eventually WE MADE IT and found out we had just climbed Hogback Mountain, with an elevation of 2350ft and we were both so excited because Woodford State Park (where we were staying) was only a couple hundred more feet compared at 2,500ft.
Well we found out from the nice lady working at the gift shop that yes Woodford State Park was only a couple hundred feet higher but we first had to bike down into the valley loosing most of the elevation we had just gained and then gain it all back and more. What horrible news, we were both exhausted and new we had a lot more to do before the end of the day. We rode down the west side of Hogback probably in 10min flat (what took us 2hrs to ride up) and while grocery shopping actually tried to find someone with a pickup truck to drive us the last 10mile. Looking back on it we were thankful no one offered because we did eventually make it, it was exhausting, we walked our bikes at times, David actually said at one point "I don't even have enough weight to push my pedal and make my bike move forward." David was carrying at least 50lbs on his bike and being a racing bike it's not set up for big climbs so he doesn't have a tiny gear in front to allow him to pedal quickly and gain slowly, he really had to pump hard to get up these hills. It was intense, but we took our time, even if it meant stopping every quarter mile.

After a very long and difficult day of pedaling we made it to Woodford State Park around 6:30pm, cooked up a great meal of veggie sausage in beans and rice, enjoyed a hot shower, set up our little tent and slept safe and dry as it poured outside again for the second night in a row!! What an incredible day!Lessons learned on day 2:
1. Even if not in incredible physical condition your body can do way more than you expect
2. Eating regularly and a lot is key to keeping up your energy
3. Taking regular breaks and walking your bike is not a shameful thing
4. God is blessing us with incredible weather and keeping us safe on this great adventure of ours