Day 39. London to Brantford, Ontario

Nice day, country roads, warm with a high of 83. We had cross winds most of the day we occasional head winds. We didn't get on the road until 0830 due to only having to go 70 miles. The terrai was mostly rolling with no big climbs. Lots of crops including green beans, soybeans, corn, asparagus,cabbage, tobacco, and ginseng. The town of Brantford was named after an Indian chief named Brant. He wa part of the Six Nation Indian tribe in NY. He brought the tribe he to Brant's ford and the rest is history. Other people who have lived here are Alexander Graham Bell, Tonto (Jay Silverheels) and Wayne Gretzky. Today we ride to Niagra Falls and have our 5th and final rest day.i've never been and am looking forward to it.

Day 38. Poet Huron to London, Ontario, CA

82 miles into Canada. First thing this am we crossed the bridge into Ontario. It was pretty cool having the bridge to ourselves. It was overcast all day and several times I thought we were going to get wet, but once again we were blessed. Can't say it looks any different than Michigan except for the Canadian flags in the yards. Lots of farms growing corn, soybeans, and something else which I think is beets. I don't think it was more than in the low 80's with a cross wind, mostly from our back. Stopped at a good sandwich and ice-cream shop for lunch. Little did we know our one hill was right around the corner. Oh well, I guess I burned off a few of the calories I consumed at lunch. All in all, it's been a good day. I'm feeling much stronger now that we are on flat terrain. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Day 37. Birch Run to Port Huron, MI

We got lucky today. It was pouring when we got up and had breakfast. The trip leader pushed back loading for 30 minutes and the weather cleared. We didn't get a drop. The humidity must have been in the 90's and we were all soaking. Wet, but i'm not complaining. There's something thing about starting in the pouring rain that is hard to do. We rode 89 miles and had 680 feet of climbing. The scenery was nice most of the day and the lake is nice. Tomorrow we cross a large bridge into Ontario, CA. Should be fun, I understand they close the bridge to traffic for us. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Day 36. Mt Pleasant to Birch Run, MI

We road 75 miles today and climbed only 350 feet. My kind of riding. The weather stayed cool only warming to the low 80's. We had a moderate cross wind making it a little more of an effort. Many people thought today's shorter ride was more difficult than yesterday's 113, I didn't. Even though yesterday was an easy century, it was still 113 miles which takes a toll. I got in with enough time to go to the pool and hot tub which is what I like to do after a ride. Went to some kind of road house for dinner, many wild game on the menu. I had elk tips over noodles which was pretty good. Most of us had homemade pie made by the 90 year old grandmother. Yum! We are all talking about needing to start cutting back on our eating, getting ready for our return to reality. We have an 80% chance of rain tomorrow unfortunately.

Day 35 Ludington to Mt Pleasant, MI

We had a nice ferry ride yesterday, the weather couldn't have been better. Today we completed our last century for the trip. I think it was the easiest century I've ever done. We rode 114 miles and I easily could have kept going. Winds were mostly cross but temp was in upper 70's with gently rolling terrain. I saw asparagus crops for the first time. I'm learning a little about farming which has been interesting.

Day 33. Fond du Lac to Manitowa, WI

Today was a short day, 57 miles and 1325 feet of climbing. We left later than usual because they didn't want us to get in too early and not have any hotel rooms available. I know I am tired because each of the small climbs felt like mountains. Tomorrow we take the ferry across Lake Michigan to a town called Luddington and ride our last century on Tuesday, 115 miles. I'm praying for winds from the west. Winconsin was a great state to ride through. Overall very scenic and it was nice being off the highways. The other thing that we noted was how nice everyone kept than yard. Lots of wildflowers too!

Day 32. Wisconsin Dells to Fond du Lac, WI

Today was 83 miles with 1750 feet of climbing. The terrain was gently rolling with a mild tail wind. It must have been really gentle because I never felt it! It was 68 at departure and 83 when we arrived. Felt hotter to me due to the humidity. Those of you on the east coast now know what it felt like here a few days ago in terms of the weather, hot and humid.

I think everyone I'd starting to drag a little after 4 1/2 weeks on the road.

Fond du Lac means foot of the lake. We are staying a t the foot of lake Winnwbago which is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the US at 28 miles long and 10 miles wide.

Tonight after dinner we had a long discussion on safety issues. I guess many of us have slipped into bad habits.