Waterford, Saint Johnsbury, Kirby, Concord, Lunenburg, Guildhall, Maidstone, Granby, Victory and Burke

Miles: 56 (at least 35% on dirt roads)

Totals to date: 31 towns, 169 miles

My ride: I got to slack-bike—that is, do it without my panniers and full gear, which helped a lot. Even with an 11 a.m. start, I rode 56 miles, at least a third of the distance on dirt roads, one with rocks the size of golf and tennis balls, which I walked down. One battery lasted the whole day. I added ten more towns. Besides the rocky road, my biggest holy-moly was when I was climbing a hill. A black form seemed to roll out of the woods on my right. By the time I came to a stop, a mama black bear and her two adolescent cubs were standing less than 15 feet in front of me. We stared each other down, my heart skipping a beat. Luckily, she turned and walked back into the woods, her cubs following. Still, since I spent all summer in grizzly country and had some encounters, I was wary as I rode past the place she had been. She was beautiful with such rich black fur. I felt lucky to have seen them. Again a bluebird day with red, scarlet, orange, and yellow leaves covering the mountainsides. Set against a field of pumpkins, the views were spectacular. I’m trying to make memories as I expect to be cold and wet somewhere along this journey. But for now, it couldn’t be better.