Ontario by Bike

Today was a relatively short day along nice rural roads until the very last 3 miles which required riding on a slightly busier road.  Our first discovery of the morning was a "flush" portapotty.  I'm serious. I didn't know they existed. Oh, those Canadians! In fact, a few days later in the trip I came upon a portapotty that not only flushed, but had a sink and running water.  Very civilized when you are out in the middle of the countryside. Today was a church day--we rode on Baptist Church Road until we turned onto Langford Church Road.  We made it into Brantford shortly after noon and met up with Cheryl and Priscilla who had driven from KC.  After lunch we toured the Woodland Cultural Center which provides lots of historical and cultural information about First Nations People.  Unfortunately the treatment of First Nations People in Canada was not unlike that in the U.S.   We walked across the parking lot of our hotel to dine at Crabby Joe's.  I

The ride to Caledonia was almost entirely on beautiful and quiet rural roads. Sandy did an excellent job of finding us great routes! The weather, however, was an entirely different matter.  We again encountered thunderstorms--this time with some lightning which prompted us to take shelter.  However the rain did not last long. We were carrying our lunch as there were no towns to speak of on our route today.  We were looking for a likely place to stop to eat when Sandy spotted a nice row of trees with grass. It was someone's yard, but since they were working in the garden we asked if they minded us picnicking under their trees.  They not only said yes, but brought us chairs, water and ice.  We had a wonderful visit.  The wife wanted to move their family to the country (she grew up on a farm) and since they are realtors they can work from home.  She said it was a tough sell to her husband and kids, but now the family loves it. We learned a lot of local information! O

We started the day by riding down to the falls.  We wandered through some gardens, saw the Tesla statue and then started on our way toward Welland. The ride to Welland was by and large on very quiet rural roads and fairly flat with lovely countryside.  We were slightly unsure about one road and stopped to ask a fellow who was parked on the side of the road.  As it turns out, he was mapping bicycle routes! He gave us good information and a map. The universe works in mysterious ways.  We were planning to cross the Welland Canal in Port Robinson on the ferry, but alas the ferryman had died.  At least that's what I thought I heard.  In reality the ferry motor had died.  It all resulted in the same outcome-- no ferry! So instead of being able to ride on a lovely bike trail along the canal, we had to backtrack and ride into Welland on a fairly busy road.  The road goes through a tunnel under the canal. As you come out of the tunnel there is a rather steep hill--all of this i