Day 41 -- Canada's Tobacco Belt on a Beautiful Saturday

July 30, 2005

ROUTE: London to Brantford, Ontario, Canada

DISTANCE:  64 miles

WINDS: Southeast

WEATHER: Sunny but cool and breezy

TERRAIN: Flat with a few small hills

TOTAL CLIMBING: 1,250 feet

Riders pedal between tobacco fields

RIDE OVERVIEW:  We ate a late breakfast this morning. Because we had only 64 miles to ride, we were in no hurry to get on the road. Our rooms in Brantford are normally not ready until about 2 or 3 p.m. anyway. The breakfast this morning was a one-time through the line at the motel. We all had coupons for a pretty good breakfast, but last night at Route Rap, Mike warned the riders about the the woman who runs the show . . . someone whom Seinfeld would undoubtedly affectionately refer to as the "Breakfast Nazi."  Mike explained that if you didn't know the "rules," you could come out on the short end. He told us that the BN must have been working there for years and years and that the breakfast line was her little empire. Last year a couple of riders went through when she was out of pancakes so they sat down thinking they'd come back when the pancakes were read. Nooooooooooo, that's not the way it works.  When the BN says one trip through, that's what she means.  Guess those riders didn't entirely understand the term, "One time through." 

This year, riders were told that if the line was out of something they wanted not to sit down until the replacements came out . . . or they'd be out of luck. Thanks to the warning, I think everyone got through this morning with all they wanted. Some even went back and got cereal when the BN was busy helping others to scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, and pancakes . . . and went undetected . . . at least there were no repercussions. Riders were very careful, but the hotel staff should be on red alert too. Coming between a hungry rider of his breakfast is a little like standing on the tracks in front of an approaching locomotive . . . with emphasis on the "loco" part. 

We loaded at 8 am, and riders set off cheerfully for a relaxing, fun day on the road. Our route today was mostly out in the country on undemanding roads with no center line and smooth blacktop.  We popped out occasionally to a highway, but we were on highways only long enough to get to the next easterly blacktop road.  If I hadn't had a route sheet that said we were in Canada, it would have been hard to tell that we weren't in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, or New York.  Yep, again today we passed field after field of corn, soybeans, and rye blanketing the horizon.  We also came upon some crops we hadn't seen before today . . . lima beans, green beans, more asparagus, cherry orchards, tobacco, and ginseng.  As an interesting side note, ginseng takes over four years to mature.  All of the ginseng fields were shaded with dark net screening. 

Actually, we were riding through an area of Canada known as The Tobacco Belt. Staff Karen, and Philosopher John stopped at a tobacco farm and received a grand tour from Chris, the owner (with Bob right). He puts 62 acres in tobacco and clears $400,000 a year on his tobacco crop. After he pays his all-Jamaican workforce (all of whom he houses and feeds and some of whom have been working for him for 17 years), he figures he clears about half that. What a great profit on only 62 acres! It is a lot of work to grow and pick tobacco though. He starts the plants in his greenhouse and then transplants them to his field in May. He explained that when the plants begin to mature, workers pick the bottom three leaves by hand. Then they pick the next three leaves when they are mature, and so on--there are 18 leaves to a plant so that makes 6 different picking cycles for each plant and all by hand. After being picked, the leaves are then taken to the curing barns where temperature, moisture, and curing time are all carefully controlled. It takes about 10 days to cure (dry) 1500 pounds of green leaves to 1000 pounds of dried leaves. From this point, the leaves are taken to the next barn where five people sort through the leaves, separating them by color . . . buyers in this area like those of a yellow color. Then the leaves are wrapped in paper bundles and brought to auction in nearby Delhi, the tobacco capital of Canada.

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All riders were in safely by 2, several groups having found interesting places to explore and good farm market goodies to buy along the route. They of the corn fest last night bought all sorts of fruits an vegies at a farm stand (White and Silver carried it to the motel) and all had a more elaborate repeat of last night's nuked corn  . . . but tonight they used the kitchen microwave I understand. Philosopher John , Mary, and Dianne also stopped in Harrietsville at an artsy little place on the corner that displayed all sorts of welded metal sculptures. Mary bought herself a little frog which she tucked into her pack. John, a metal sculptor himself, had a good talk with the owners. Many stopped for lunch at the Windmill Farm Market Restaurant in Mt. Pleasant just before town.  I rode most of the day with Linda and her group, Team Life is Good, and we stopped for lunch at a Wendy's about 2 miles from the motel. When we got to Brantford and the motel, there was a Wendy's right next door.

Brantford's history can be traced back for more than three centuries to the time when native tribes led by Chief Joseph Brant lived in the area. He was better known to his people of the Six Nations as Thay-en-da-negea.  His statue, made of melted down French cannons in 1886, stands in Victoria Park in downtown Brantford. Chief Brant led his people from their lands in the Mohawk Valley of upper NY to the Grand River basin where they crossed the river. This spot became known as Brant's ford . . . and thus began the name, location, and history of Brantford, Ontario.

There are many notable residents of Brantford: Alexander Graham Bell, who made the first long-distance phone call from here in 1876, Indian poet Pauline Johnson who was born and raised on the Six Nations Reserve (see her poem below); Tonto, born Harold J. Smith, later changed to Jay Silverheels; hockey legend Wayne Gretzky; and comedian Phil Hartman.

HARVEST TIME

Pauline Johnson

Pillowed and hushed on the silent plain,

Wrapped in her mantle of golden grain,

Wearied of pleasuring weeks away,

Summer is lying asleep today--

Where winds come sweet from the wild-rose briers

And the smoke of the far-off fires;

Yellow her hair as the goldenrod,

And brown her cheeks as the prairie sod;

Purple her eyes as the mists that dream

At the edge of some laggard sun-drowned stream;

But over their depths the lashes sweep

For Summer is lying today asleep.

The north wind kisses her rosy mouth,

His rival frowns in the far-off south,

And comes caressing her sunburnt cheek,

And Summer awakes for one short week--

Awakes and gathers her wealth of grain,

Then sleeps and dreams for a year again.

Sure enough, our motel rooms were NOT ready when we arrived around noon. I waited until after 3 for my room to be made up, but Karen and Mike McG were kind enough to let me shower and change in their room. While waiting, some of the riders went next door for the post-ride "feed the muscles" ritual, and others did their laundry. Tomorrow on the ride into Niagara Falls and over the Rainbow Bridge back to the States, riders will wear their red-white-and blue ABB jerseys. The line at the motel washer will probably not dwindle until after midnight, I'm sure. Niagara is arguably our best rest day of the trip with much to see and do and the Falls nearby.  I think everyone is looking forward to a day off.  I know I am. 

But . . . it will be anything but a rest day for the staff. We have 13 cyclists joining us for the eastern leg of this ride.  We'll give them their orientation, enter them on the Website, assemble their bikes, clean Silver and White, organize Box, and prep for the last week. The last week?  Good gads how time flies!  But despite the upcoming "working rest day," the staff will be able to sleep in a couple of mornings, will have our fun staff dinner/ride evaluation to look forward to, and we'll get to meet some new, interesting cyclists. Next week will go like lightning . . . hang on and join us for our finish. 

P.S.  A big thank you to Don for the SS giant gumdrops, and to Josh's family for the delicious birthday cake. Remember Dave O'Dell?  I think his wife, who is a caterer, is going to meet us somewhere around Rochester with cheese cakes. Yesss!  Bring on more families concerned about rider nutrition!

HEARD ON THE ROAD:

• Earring John: "I see you have a worm on your bicycle."Susan: "A worm? Where?  . . . Oh no! That's not a worm, it's my eagle mojo! How can you think an eagle finger puppet is a worm? First Barb calls Eag a penguin and now you call him a worm. I'm siccing the Friends of Eagle League on you two!"
• "Butt break, butt break!" [This call from Team Life is Good does not mean a cigarette stop. It means the group stops to get off the saddle and give the derrière a break.] "Well Joe, how's your butt feel now?" "It's not all it's cracked up to be!"
• [Sung by the guys to the tune of "A Farmer in the Dell" while I was in the corn ladies' room.] ♪A woman in the corn, a woman in the corn, ♪ hi ho the derrière, eh, a woman in the corn!"♪
• "Pride goeth before the flat."

 PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

Where do the SPDs go on these shoes?
Sierra and her mom take a day off to visit friends.

Dianne and Carol pose with stems of foxglove
on a piece of farm machinery at Houses Farm Market

Byron outfits a friendly watermelon with sunglasses and helmet.
Understand that he and a couple of others actually played a tune
 by thumping the different watermelons in a large bin.

How did they know Bill would be wheeling by?
Actually this is not fair as Bill has become a lean,
mean cycling machine over these past 41 days.

Thomas obediently comes to a full stop--both feet down--before a ginseng field

A miniature horse colt, the sun shining through
 its fluffy mane and tail. It had a slightly
 older black and white brother or sister
 in the field too, but we didn't capture
 them together. Too cute!