Good Job, Canada!

Ridgetown, ON to St. Thomas, ON
54 miles
558 feet ascent
368 feet descent
1,816 calories

The online booking said the Ridgetown Inn was a Howard Johnson motel (yes, there are still some left), but it sure didn 't seem like it.  These old style "motor motels" as they were called, because you could park your car right by the door to your room and simply carry your luggage a few feet, are a dying breed.  Cyclists like them though because it means you can just roll your bike right into the room and not have to bring it through some lobby, down a hallway, or up some stairs.  Some, like the Ridgetown Inn, have an "exterior" door and an "interior" door to a hallway.  Once inside, the interior hallway reminded me of the movie "The Shining", so I was more than happy to hit the road this morning.

The Ridgetown Inn

Ontario's adopting wind power, and when I saw another set of windmills today, I sighed, since that meant wind.  Sure enough, it blew all day and kept the pace grindingly slow.  However, I must compliment Canada for their lower speed limits and courteous drivers, which make biking much safer.

Ontario Wind Farm

Apparently, more windmills are under consideration because several houses had "Stop The Windmills" signs in their yards.  I'm not sure what their objections are since none of the signs had any reasons stated, but they were very quiet.  It would surprise me if people said they are unsightly, as most of them have at least two or three decaying buildings and or vehicles on their property : )

All of today's ride was through farmland, but there were a few interesting sights.  For example, a crow driven tractor:

A Crow Driven Tractor

A Farm With An Oil Derrick

A Store With Every Kind Of Lawn Figure...

...Including Bigfoot!

St. Thomas threw me for a loop as I entered town and saw these two monuments right together?

Railroad Car & Elephant Monuments

After taking the picture, I read the plaque, and it all made sense.  Well, sort of; it seems a bit macabre to me, but to each his own.

Jumbo Commerative Plaque

What I found much cooler though were all the benches on the main road through town that are made from railroad car wheels.

St. Thomas City Benches