Into Urban Decay

London turned out to be a very bustling place. There was a large mall close by, with all the related traffic. Anya, Eberhart, and I managed to get up to the mall on our bikes, and took them inside with us to the food court. Other than that, I didn't try to anything else in London. Our goal for today was to get to Brantford, which I somehow thought might be more laid back.

On the way, I got another good morning shot showing the mist that made the riding pleasantly cool for a while.


I got this shot of Sarah taking a picture of the same thing. This is how we take pictures on the fly.


I ran into this other recumbent rider (almost, literally) at an intersection about halfway to Brantford. His name was Fred, and his bike was almost like Larry's. He was a local and knew all the roads we would be riding. He was on a 60 mile loop if I got my facts straight.


Tobacco seemed to be the main crop in this area, which surprised me. I thought tobacco needed the hazy, hot, humid weather we have in the south.



At one point three of the coolest bikes were together on the route, including Larry's recumbent and the tandem of Barb and Steve. Mine, of course, didn't quite make the picture.



I didn't take any more pictures because I found the rest of the route to be rather depressing. Our course took us through the former main drag of the old town of Brantford, and most of the businesses were boarded up, closing as the transition was made to the more suburban areas with WalMarts and McD's. Our motel was in the older area, which must have been really nice at some point, but no longer.

Dinner was at another restaurant where the staff was not prepared to serve us. It took about a half hour for them to get the hot foods onto the steam table, and they once again took drink orders, rather than just putting pitchers of water, tea, and soft drinks on the table. I am working on a list of suggestions for the restaurants which the ABBike staff could give the restaurants in order to make sure we can get in and out in less than 2 hours. Having spent ten years in food service, I know I could have organized any of these meals quite easily, and it doesn't take a nuclear physicist to figure it out.