I had a leisurely breakfast at the Travel Lodge this morning, breakfast opened at 6:30 and we didn't load luggage until 8:00, so the normal fifteen minutes of group gluttony was spread over an hour, much more civilized. We started late because we had only sixty-seven miles to ride, but rain was threatening, so I started with a jacket, but tucked it away before going ten miles. We are still in farm country, but we saw a few new crops to go along with all the corn and soy beans we have been seeing. I saw some cucumbers, tobacco and even some large ginseng farms today. The ginseng is grown under a huge sun shades and is only harvested every four years. I also saw strawberries under some of the same type of sun shades.
An ancestor of mine, Foster Reeve (1817-1886) of Simcoe (south of Brantford) was a farmer in this area. I imagine farming operations were smaller and much more labor intensive in those days, and I doubt he was growing ginseng. I didn't make it to Simcoe, but our route took us within ten miles. I also saw a lot of Dutch names on mailboxes along the roads.
Some of us stopped at an interesting place for lunch, Cora's Restaurant, they serve mainly breakfast items although I did get a Chicken Melt sandwich with a giant fruit plate with six or seven different fruits cut up into fancy shapes, even tried a gooseberry. I great place to end a ride and great to see something other than french fries with a sandwich. We are staying at the Best Western in Brantford Ontario, home of Wayne Gretzky the hockey player and Jay Silverheels who played Tonto on the Lone Ranger. They served us a great buffet, a couple notches above Golden Corral or Ponderosa. Dessert was fresh baked pies that some of the riders bought at a road side fruit stand and transported to the hotel by Karen.
Total Miles 3080.74
Total Hours 208.07
Trip Speed 14.8 mph
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