Short Day Into Brantford, Ontario

We overnight in Brantford tonight, a short 64 miles from London where we started this morning.

Temperatures continue to be moderate, but we've picked up a bit of humidity (although I'm sure nothing like what appears to be in Iowa). It was a little foggy this morning when we loaded, but not a problem. The haze hung all day.

The past two days have threatened rain or had small showers. Today was the first day I did not carry a rain jacket in a few days. We're hoping to finish out without any extreme heat, and with dry conditions. There are nine riding days left.

Tomorrow we cross back into the United States and finish the day in Niagara Falls. We'll then have a rest day on Monday and an opportunity to see the sites of the area.

The route today was rural and uneventful. Roads were quiet and pavement was, generally, good. The most excitement (for me) was finding Popsicles at a small store on the way into Brantford. The other riders took advantage of the Subway there, but I couldn't pass up the frozen treats and chose to eat lunch after arriving in Brantford. (It's the little things out here that provide excitement.)

I spent a good share of the day riding with Mike, a retiree from North Carolina. He is originally from New Jersey and had a lawn care business there, which was sold when he retired. I found out today that he critiques lawns as we ride. He stopped a few different times to take photos of someones magnificent work.

There are many beautiful farms in the areas where we've been. Canadians seem a bit more conservative with their homes than producers in Michigan. However, there were a couple today of particular note.

The area seems to be very dry. The corn appears to be showing stress, some turning brown. If lawns aren't irrigated, they are dead. It's interesting, though, that field irrigation has not been prevalent in Canada. There was some irrigation today, but it appeared to be only for tobacco.

We also saw ginseng today. It grows under elevated netting in the field to replicate forest conditions. According to one of the riders who spoke to a farmer, it takes four years to harvest, and ginseng can never be grown in that field again. I can only imagine, the crop must be very profitable.

We also rode by a golf course today, which you may think shouldn't be unusual. This particular course, however, was in the middle of nowhere. Not a town in sight. Perhaps, another way for a local farmer to creatively generate income?

We rode through Springford, Otterville, Wilsonville and Mt. Pleasant today.

Mt Pleasant had a quaint windmill market where many riders stopped before riding into Brantford.

The economic status of Brantford appears to be significantly different than the other communities we went through today. The downtown area (approximately 1.5 miles) is completely vacant. Store front after store front is empty. It's hard to describe the magnitude of the destitution here, especially given some of the notables that have lived in the area -- Alexander Graham Bell, Harold J. Smith (aka Tonto) and Wayne Gretzky.

Tomorrow's ride will be 71 miles, and we've been "warned" not to expect hotel rooms to be ready before 3:00. It will likely be another slower paced day, which I appreciate. We expect plenty of traffic in Niagara Falls, on both sides, when we arrive.

~ Lisa