Out with the Old; In with the New

We're riding across southern Ontario and the north side of Lake Erie, and it seems like a land of contrasts.  We've seen numerous old ranch/farm houses like this one, looking like they could be from the set of "It's a Wonderful Life":

 

And then right across the road will be a whole bunch of 21st century wind generators.

 I was able to frame several images with old barns in the foreground and wind turbines in the background.

 And then this schoolhouse with a 1914 engraved plaque on the gable and satellite dishes scanning the sky from a corner.

 I got a kick out of this modern solar panel array lurking in front of an old barn, unable to find any brightness to extract energy from.

Then there was this sign touting Elgin County's progressive stance, apparently placed there by some form of the local government.....

followed less than a block later by several of these signs opposing further development of a renewable resource that doesn't emit global warming gasses, creates no radioactive waste, spews no mercury-laden smoke, doesn't kill androgenous fish, and uses no fuel that occasionally fouls oceans and lands.

 So while we are in a foreign country, they seem to be dealing with the same problems that us Americans have, in a similar manner.  I guess we should be glad that the dialog is happening.

Day 42 We go to Port Stanley Ontario. Wallaceburg, Ontario to Port Stanley, Ontario.

Day 42.  We did 85 miles and only climbed 612 feet to Port Stanley, Ontario.  One of these days we will start dealing with hills again, but right now it is a nice way to travel.  The ride was nice even with a little rain.  The drivers have been courteous and there just is not that much traffic.  I think 4 dollars per gallon fuel might have something to do with that.  Anyway, the biking has been fun and we have had views of Lake Erie - looks like the ocean.
Today was a house day.  Lots of neat houses - but old ones.  Here are a few.

As for signs, we saw a few interesting ones.  The first seemed to advertise just about anything you would want to do to improve your appearance.  So, how does a mouthguard get "fun colours"!?

Next, this is a family that does not need electronic house protection.  It is already in the family so to speak.  Blow up the picture and read the sign.

This sign pretty much says it all.  I did not get to the studio.

Finally, this is an interesting way to show your name.  I wonder where this association came from.

Tomorrow we go to Port Dover and a B&B - and only a 65 mile ride.

Wadham to Avoca Trail

Today's highlight was a ten mile ride along the Wadham to Avoca Rail-Trail.  Since we were following the Adventure Cycling route, we had only planned to ride three miles of the trail.  But after looking at the map and talking to a couple of locals, we decided to attempt the entire trail.  The concern was that the first six miles was not paved.  We decided to risk it and divert from the A-C route to see if the trail was rideable from Avoca, Michigan.  If it was not passable for our road-bikes we had a paved "bail-out" route.  We were pleasantly surprised when we started onto the trail - it had the same fine grade crushed limestone surface that the North-Central Trail had and it was just fine for our skinny tires!  Here's Paul C. cruising along at 15mph.

We soon realized that an added advantage, like on the N-Central trail, was that
the trees and bushes on both sides of the path were blocking what otherwise was a pretty strong headwind!  The highlight of the ride was the high bridge over Mill Creek.  We met a couple of other cyclists there enjoying the warm sunny day like us.

 The trail surface is fine for equestrians and we saw lots of evidence of their use.

However, the last five miles of the trail in the vicinity of Wadhams is paved.   The rail line originally went all the way to Saginaw (about 75 miles NNW of Detroit) and was owned by Port Huron and Northwestern RR company, eventually becoming C&O, then B&O, then Chessie System and finally CSX.  The line was converted from rail use to a trail in 1999 and is now being enjoyed by cyclists, walkers, horse riders, skate boarders, and roller bladers.

We didn't have such a good experience on the Bridge to Bay Trail in and around St. Clair, MI.  In some places it was OK, but much of the trail was bumpy, broken down, or poorly routed.  With all the curb crossings, gravel, potholes, and disjointed routing, we finally gave up on it and rode on the adjacent road shoulders.

Day 41 Into Canada - Eh? Marlette, Michigan to Wallaceburg, Ontario.

Day 41.  We did 82.6 miles and only 200 feet of climb into Wallaceburg, Ontario.  Crossing the border was on a ferry, and customs going in was the usual "Have a great time, and spend money!"

On the ferry we met several guys who went to the USA to get beer and liquor.  He looked very happy!

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The place we "stayed" last  night was - at least so far - the worst place of the trip.  It was soooo bad that I actually set up my tent!  Gayle and Paul P. stayed in the room, but the next morning we went by the local vet and got them sprayed with tick and flea medicine (No, not really!).  Here is a picture of the place.

Along the way Paul P. and I took quite a few pictures of old barns and houses.  Here are a few more.

We also had a great find - the Avoca to Widham trail!  It is a rail-to-trail conversion that is half covered with crushed limestone and half paved.  It went over a really neat old bridge.  Here are some pictures of this.  While this is not on the Adventure Cycle map in it's entirety, we went ahead and tried it and were wonderfully rewarded.

Along the way we saw runners, ladies with their children in strollers, and folks out walking their dogs - like this gentleman.

As usual, we did see some interesting signs.  Here is the funeral home I would like to use.

Then, there is an interesting bar just about everywhere, and this one is perfect for me.  Too bad it was closed.

Finally, as we love to look at old cars, this one was a real find - a 1927 Packard!  What a beauty.

Tomorrow we are off along the north shore of Lake Erie to Port Stanley, Ontario.

Roadside Rubbish

We made some interesting observations about Michigan today.  At lunch, Paul C ran into the grocery store to toss out a pop bottle and the clerks mentioned that he could get a refund for it.  So he put it into the machine and it gave him 10 cents.  This afternoon I was wondering about that and got to looking at the roadside and was amazed by what I didn't notice: beverage containers by the side of the road.  There just weren't any.  I mentioned this to Paul C. and for the next 3 hours we looked for cans and bottles.  Between the two of us, we didn't see more than a dozen containers and we probably rode 35 miles! 

 Compare this to Idaho, which has no bottle law, and you'd probably see several hundred beverage containers every mile, whether you were on main roads or secondary ones.  Our conclusion: bottle bills really do virtually eliminate roadside litter. 

On the other hand, their highway department has a destructive habit of spreading copious amounts of road salt on the highways to reduce winter ice.  The salt spray, combined with high humidity,  just disintegrates anything made of steel.  Yes, it probably does reduce the dangerous ice on the roadways, but there are other chemicals, albeit more expensive, that are just as effective at melting ice, without the corrosive properties.  Vehicles either look like this:

or they're brand new and haven't had a chance to rust out.

And then just a couple of photos from today's ride.  Below is the ominous cloud that hung over us as we skirted around Bay City, Michigan.

 

And here is what it looked like about an hour later as we rode along the Harger Trail north of Frankenmuth.

 

Day 40. Another rainy day, at least at part of it. Standish, Michigan to Marlette, Michigan.

Day 40.  We went 90.1 miles and 577 feet of climb to Marlette, Michigan.  It was a typical Michigan day it seems - sunrise, rain, then a sunny evening.  We certainly got drenched though.  Here is a picture of Paul P. getting rinsed.

On the way there we saw some local points of interest.  Here is an ice house.  Looks kind of small, and there is no ice there now, but looks neat.

Next, we came to a "bike shop" - just not what we were using.  Note that they have a special on ladies shirts.  I would have liked to see those!

So, there was a "step-up" place.  I always wanted to go up in life!  They weren't open either.

What to do with all those hay bales?  Here are some suggestions.  If you use a baler when you do your lawn, maybe you can do this too!

Along the road we took we saw a lot of bike trail signs, and this was by the rail crossing.  This is the first I have seen, but it is important.

While we were in Bay City, we did see infinity!  Pretty neat to see what has up to now just been theoretical.

While we stopped for a rest along the way, Paul P. gravitated to this shop.  Interesting choice!  It was closed.  I can't imagine him biking in a tux!

By the time we finished the day, the sky had cleared and we actually had a bit of a tail wind!  As you can see, the road was dry as well.  Still, you have to look out for bears.

Tomorrow we might actually get into Canada!  On we go!!