The organizers promised us the second day, with about 100 miles of hills, would be the hardest of the event.
They were right. We left at 4 a.m. into foggy hills and commenced tackling one steep grade after another. Riders caught up to us all morning. The highlight of this section was the coffee roaster Kickapoo in Viroqua, what a number of us stopped for great coffee drinks and early lunch.
The day was cooler with high clouds, which helped make the climbing reasonable. I was surprised by how steep the grades were in places, well into the double digits. We also developed a little hitch in our rear hub, but it’s a bearing we can continue riding on, though it may tick at us.
Still, the organizers heard about it and tried to find us a wheel before I could even let them know. That’s great support!
Tomorrow is a longer day at 200 miles, vs. 180 today. We’re hoping the rain will start stay away.
The Daily Randonneur 
I’m thinking Mary should tell us about sleep deprivation in a future blog. Eyes open!