A different crop than we have been seeing-- tobacco! Also lots and lots of ginseng. My watchword for the ride today was serenity. The weather was cool and cloudy, the ride 66 miles. We had a late load at 8:30, giving us the chance to sleep until 6:00-- they do this when the ride is short because otherwise the fast riders get to the new hotel way before the rooms are ready.
My resolution to be serene was tested slightly when we had a 2.5 mile detour but I managed to keep a grip on myself by changing the bike computer to something other than mileage and just navigating by the cue sheet.
What we have seen in two days of riding through Ontario-- all farming country-- appears to be a thriving economy. We have seen not one instance of the kind of rural poverty we see so much of in Maine-- and saw everywhere when we were in North Carolina earlier this year. Every farm is beautifully maintained and neat, neat, neat. The houses and lawns are all manicured to the nth degree. Whereas "pre-manufactured" homes were everywhere in the American west, there are none in this part of Ontario.
Brantford is a depressed community, however. When we biked in to town we saw that a major demolition project was underway with gigantic heaps of rubble lining the street. Googling, I learned that the city expropriated 41 pre-1870 buildings on the south side of the main street, threw out all of the tenants, and is now in the process of demolition. There is no plan for what will replace the buildings. Lots of controversy about this "renewal" project.
Met John late in the ride and had a nice lunch-- with less than ten miles left to the hotel. Altogether a pleasant and uneventful ride.
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