On the road at 8. The hills continue for the first 20 miles. After that, we get our first case of "be careful what you wish for, you might get it" -- the terrain flattens out, but the tree cover also disappears for the most part. We're now riding through the Connecticut Valley; most of this area was formerly farms (the places we're riding through are largely suburban developments these days), so it's quite open and unsheltered. It's sunny, clear, humid, and quite hot (the high temperature flirted with 90; very high for September in New England) -- with the sun coming right down on us riders, we're definitely feeling the effects of the heat. I start filling all three water bottles (it's a touring bike!), and applying one of them externally between stops; the extra cooling is what gets me through this day. Like the last half of Day 1, it's the heat holding my speed down, not my muscles.
At the end of the day, the hills return. At least the tree cover is back. Still, I have to walk up quite a few hills. I get into camp around 5 this time (only 75 miles today). We're at a park in western Connecticut; very pretty, but quite a hike from the bike parking area to the campground. This time, I do manage to stay up for some of the entertainment, which includes a talent show.