69 miles ridden – 1394 feet climbed.

We were all excited about a leisurely 69 mile day taking in the sights and smells of the Ontario countryside until we looked out of the window

Yes it really was raining and just for good measure we had a 20mph headwind virtually all the way. It wasn’t cold however – 20C/68F – which on the one hand was good but on the other hand meant that wearing raingear resulted in you getting wet from the inside rather than the outside. By the time I took my rain jacket off after about an hour I was somewhere between ‘wet’ and ‘sodden’ from sweating but very slowly the wind dried me off. I kept my shoe covers on until the road was completely dry so at least I didn’t have wet feet.

First SAG was in a lovely park in the town of Springford and here the sun started to come out which was definitely more pleasant but the headwind was growing in strength and some of the gusts almost brought us to a halt. The countryside was nice though with smaller fields, gently rolling hills, and meadows. There are a lot of dead straight lines of trees which have even planted to create windbreaks.

The roads are also slightly narrower and it feels a bit like riding in England or parts of France. I guess much of the area was settled by Scots though as place/road names like Elgin, Culloden, and Perth appear frequently.

At around 50 miles we stopped at a farmers market where they regularly welcome ABB. Their speciality is home-made pies and I am looking right now at a large cherry pie which we will enjoy after dinner. Or maybe I will enjoy it myself……..

At this stage the sky started to look as though it might rain again so most of us pushed on to Brantford but once we got to the hotel the sky cleared and the afternoon finished nice, dry, and warm although still very windy. We had been warned that Brantford had seen better days and I think these pictures support the idea that the best view is – like Slough – in a rear view mirror.

It is a real shame that the weather was not good today as much of Ontario is extremely picturesque and inviting which is probably why, judging from the home states of the car number plates we see, there are a lot of visitors here. If you are ever in the area, the towns of Springford, Otterville, and Mount Pleasant look worth a visit.

Tomorrow we head to Niagara and back across the border into the US. Exciting stuff.