Day 16 – Part 2, Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada

Black squirrels are common in Michigan and Ontario.

Only 39.07 miles today, into constant headwinds. The night before I consulted on Google maps about hotels in Ridgetown. It showed just one, The Ridgetown Inn. I made that an intermediate goal for the day, should I not be able to make it to a further destination, such as Port Stanley.

The day was decent, some sun, billowy clouds here and there, and flat roads, perfect for bicycling. There is one exception, as you’ve no doubt guessed: wind. The wind was out of the east and terrible. I was going east so I struggled through a headwind. It was like riding uphill all day. At least a hill goes down once in a while, you get back you kinetic energy that you have stored.

The wind generators all over the landscape were whirling away.

They also have lots of solar panels in the region, but they have sensors on them that move them horizontally when the winds get too high, to prevent wind damage. I don’t know at what point they go horizontal, but they were all up. One report showed winds of 23, with gusts of 30 MPH (40-50 km/h). It was a serious struggle to make it to Ridgetown.

Plum tomato harvesting in Ontario.

For many crops, it is harvest time. There were miles and miles of tomatoes being harvested, all by machine. Plum tomatoes are reasonably tough and can be machine harvested.

Plum tomatoes ready for processing. I saw many loads of these. Somebody is going to make spaghetti.

I can’t imagine how many tons of tomatoes were on their way to be made into sauce. Truckload after truckload passed me.

Politicians in Florida are in the pockets of the fossil fuel energy companies. They grandstand on the legislative floors and make speeches about Florida not having enough sunlight to make solar power viable. Think about that, our license plates say “Sunshine State.”

Everywhere I go up here in the north I see prime examples of using solar energy to solve problems. In the photo above, an agricultural industry by the name of Green Hill has indoor plant growing areas. They’re surrounded by solar panels and wind generators. They’re growing tomatoes, peppers etc. in an area that has severe winters. They’re slogans reflect a locally grown mentality. This is a huge operation, not some backyard industry. Gotta love Florida politicians.

Arriving in Ridgetown I couldn’t find the hotel. I asked a young man walking down the street and he said he didn’t know where they were, but he did see one by the highway. My search earlier had shown only one in town, so that had to be it. It was 3.6 miles (6 km) away. I was already beat, but what could I do?

After riding to the motel, I was able to get a room. The place looked deserted. There had to be fifty rooms and I was the only one there. The manager, the only staff I ever did see, put me in the same room that James, the fellow on the recumbent, had stayed in the night before. He was probably in Massachusetts by now, or Europe.

I rested for a bit and then went to the hotel restaurant, noticing that the indoor pool had no water in it. The restaurant was locked up tightly, with no sign that it wasn’t in business. Tables were set, everything looked ready, but the lights were off and there was nobody home. The manager yelled up to me that the restaurant was out of business. He has a grasp of the obvious.

He pointed up the road further to a gas station and indicated they have a restaurant. I walked up there and they indeed did have a dining establishment. It wasn’t a terribly appealing place, but I was now hungry. I ordered the meatloaf plate.

I should have taken a photo. The meatloaf was fine, but the baked potato was smaller than the small container of sour cream that came with it. I’ve been riding by fields of potatoes for weeks and this is the best that they can do. Recall my adventures in Idaho where I couldn’t find a baked potato anywhere. Well, I did find one in Ontario, but it was barely visible.

Returning to the room, I went to take a shower. The manager cautioned me that the hot water takes a while to get warm. He wasn’t kidding. I turned on the water and started reading a book on my Kindle Reader. I think I read ten pages before the water was hot. They must have a pipe that comes from the Icelandic steam beds.

At last, it was time for bed. I slept like a baby. I guess exercising all day will do that.

Day 21: White Bird, Idaho to Grangeville, Idaho

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The sign lies; the old route actually goes up higher, maybe another 300-400 feet! Old route takes a right at the sign.

21 Miles. Only 21 miles and I was spent. It all started out well enough. I slept in the White Bird, Idaho, municipal building. I slept until about 04:00 am and then there was a very loud “bang.” I figured somebody was just shooting a rattlesnake somewhere and went back to sleep.

What I didn’t notice was everything was very dark. From the school house, I had seen some street lights when I went to sleep but didn’t pay much attention. The loud “bang” was a pole transformer blowing out. Not long afterwards, a crew showed up to repair things. I awoke to voices and flashlights, very powerful flashlights, shining everywhere. There must have been six or so people working on replacing the damage. It wasn’t an easy task, the pole isn’t on the road and is halfway between the highway above and the main road I was on.

They had to manually lug all that equipment up there to make the repairs. With all the rattlesnakes in the area, that must be a joy. I had considered going up to the local swimming hole before going to sleep but was warned that the area is crawling with rattlers, especially around sunset and I opted to avoid a confrontation.

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The pole that needed repairs, in the dawn light.

Breakfast was not an option. The one cafe that does serve breakfast didn’t open until nine  and the convenience store was not opened on the previous day, so I couldn’t stock up on anything. I set out as the sun was rising, hoping to make it over the pass in good time.

The climb up to White Bird Pass is long, arduous and hot. There is almost no shade at all and the sun just pounds down on anyone exposed to it. I started around sunrise, but by 10 am, it was stifling. I did have a good quantity of Gatorade and water, so at least I had liquids.

In spite of suffering the heat, the views were breathtaking.

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Looking back from whence I had come. This is about a third of the way up the climb.The schoolhouse I started from is in the upper right-hand corner of the photo.
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The road just keeps going up and up. The new modern highway is way off in the distance on the upper-left of the photo. At one point this road joins it for about a mile. Add 100+ degrees F to really enjoy this.

In all, I spent about six hours climbing. I ended walking for about the last 1.5 miles  (2.5 km), it was just too steep in my weakened condition to pedal. The new, modern, highway is an alternative, but it so busy with tractor trailer truck traffic and speeders that this older road is the better alternative. As it is, the old road does join the new highway for about a mile, and it is no joy.

I rolled into Grangeville, Idaho in mid-afternoon and made a beeline for a Mexican restaurant. I still wasn’t that hungry but knew I had to eat. I can recommend the Palenque Mexican Restaurant as an excellent place for a hungry biker. I must have looked a mess, yet they treated me with kindness, caring and lots of cold drinks and the food was very good. I had Arroz con Pollo (Rice with chicken) and finished it all. I ordered from the luncheon menu, hoping for smaller portions, but it was still huge.

I decided, once again, that I just wanted to be indoors tonight and opted for a hotel. I’m going to break the bank, but the heat is killing me.

After a shower and nap, I walked into town for a milkshake, I’ve been yearning one. I had one at a place called Yummies. The fellow that runs the place told me he has been thinking about expanding into something to go along with the ice cream business. I suggested he think about an idea that my father-in-law had, the late Roger Veilleux. Roger was from Maine and thought that a fast-food business based on beans and potatoes would be a winner. I agree. So many people like beans and baked potatoes. The trick would be to come up with a cone-like container for beans and a convenient way for someone to walk away with a ready-to-eat baked potato. Idaho, being the Nation’s potato capital could easily fill that bill. I could see the young man’s gears in his head whirring. If he tries this and succeeds, you heard it here first.

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Grass-fired steam tractor.

One of the great things about hiking and biking, as I’ve mentioned before is getting to see the local towns through a different lens. As I walked around Grangeville this evening, I took in many of the historic markers around town and this tractor caught my eye. It looked big, heavy and powerful and ran on burning dried grass, or wood when they could get it. It was impressive looking and I could just see them out in the fields sweating away, feeding fuel into this monster to keep it running.

Not far from where I am staying there is a museum of Mammoth bones that have been found in the area. This area of the world is known for its mammoth finds. As much as I should spend some time seeing all this, I will head out in the morning. It is essentially a long, gradual climb to Missoula, Montana from here and I could be there in a few more day, it is about 166 miles.

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