For those of us who have forgotten that the word rainforest means a lot of rain, the last few days have made this very clear. Since Randy wrote in the blog about lots of rain, we have had an increase in rain. In fact it has probably been raining continuously for the last 48 hours.
So yes, we are all wet but so far the spirit of adventure is holding strong and we are moving right along as per our plans.
Our Brazilian cyclists that are riding with us, tell us that there has not been so much rain in 70 years. Mata Atlantica rainforest in which we have been cycling is only 7% of what it used to be, but if the rain keeps falling the way it has, this area is sure to expand quickly.
I guess I am almost dry now, so it is time to get out there and make my way to camp.
It was in 2005 when I first pitched the idea to Henry to run a bike tour in South America. But the original concept was to ride from Gros Morne Park in Newfoundland and end here in Brazil for carnival. After much refinement, research, planning and a bit of a reality check, the Vuelta Sudamericana rolled out of Rio de Janeiro last Sunday en route to arrive in Quito 134 days and 12,500km later. It still seems somewhat surreal.
Enjoying our first rest day in Sao Sebastiao a deafening crack of thunder interrupts my chain of thoughts. As I look out from my balcony to see the rain creeping across the channel to Ihlabela and I run to grab my desperately drying tent from the clothesline below. In the first three days this group of 25 cyclists and staff have pedaled 426km and climbed over 2800m of elevation rolling along a spectacular coastal highway of jungle, beaches, islands and fishing villages, but our biggest challenge has been the weather. I know it’s the rainforest, but come on… we haven’t had a single day without several periods of drizzle and at least one torrential cloud burst.
If I was in Algonquin right now I’d be praying to Okanda, but I guess I still have a few things to figure out about Brazil. Even the locals admit that this weather is unseasonal, the rainy season is over. And in 2008 the rainy season was extremely dry. When I hear about a cold rainy summer in Muskoka, increased avalanche frequency in BC due to snowpack instability or intense tropical storms that swamp coastal cities I revisit the debate on global warming. The truth is that weather inconsistency is becoming far more obvious than the subtle annual increase in average centigrade. Seasons no longer have a trend. But the question that remains is weather or not this is a response to anthropogenic activities or just a natural change in evolution of Gaia. Perhaps the TDA Foundation’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality is more than just jumping on the green bandwagon; it’s an investment in the future… for everyone.
The days leading up to any of our epic tours are always busy, but launching a new project is sheer pandemonium. The last week in Rio was a blitz of shopping sprees, welding bike racks and trying to figure out where to find 3000 energy bars and 1200L of electrolytes without paying the gringo price. The group is still forming, but it’s truly dynamic. At camp people speak to each other in French, German, Spanish, English and we all struggle with Portuguese. There is a good mix of experience and those who are still green. The starting line was an opportunity to reunite with some old friends and meet the newcomers. A sense of community amongst us is essential to the success of the tour and the foundation has already been set. Every person here is making positive contributions to the greater good of the group, the staff are hard working and the clients are quick to help with loading bags, fixing bikes and most importantly supporting each other through the daily challenges. The first three days have been very difficult, to be honest I was concerned that they may be too hard for being so early in the tour. But together they have faced the rains, the winds, the hills and all achieved their personal best. A fantastic start.
The next four riding stages take us through Guaruja, the holiday destination for the rich Paulistas, day two we pass a crazy festival in Iguape, then we have a series ferry boats to take us island hopping until Cananeia which was one of the first ports of call for the Portuguese colonialists, where we will spend our next rest day.
Ayer llegamos a Sao Sebastiao bajo una lluvia torrencial. Fue un dia intenso con 160 Km de pedaleo y una ruta con algunas secciones muy empinadas. Afortunadamente tenemos un grupo de ciclistas bastante fuerte que esta resistiendo bien las jornadas bastante duras que nos han tocado. Hasta ahora todo el mundo a navegado bastante bien siguiendo las coordenadas que Randy entrega cada noche. Estamos en medio de un paisaje muy verde, casi siempre al lado del mar y pasando entre medio de muchisimos pueblos. Hemos conocido gente muy amable aunque la comunicacion es dificil aun para los que hablamos espanol. Claro que eso lo hace mas divertido.
Hoy es nuestro primer dia de descanso o mas bien, de no pedaleo. Por supuesto hay muchas otras cosas que hacer como lavar ropa, hacer mantencion de bicicletas, conseguir repuestos o cualquier cosa que pueda faltar. Al mismo tiempo tramos de andar bastante por la ciudad para conocer un poco y encontrar buenos lugares para comer.
En fin, todo anda muy bien y estamos con muchas ganas de seguir explorando hacia el sur.
So how does one recount the first three days of a tour when it already feels like a week or even two?
We have covered over 450km. We have been hot and we have been wet. We saw some of the most beautiful coastal areas in the world. The Mata Atlantica rain forest is as stunning as one would expect and the dozens and dozens of little and not so little islands seem as if someone have laid them out in the azure colored ocean. We have climbed quite a few hills, and we have rolled down from quite a few hills.
And of course there are already individual stories. On second day I was slowly climbing another hill, when I came across Tim and Ronda while Ronda was wiping herself heartily.
When I asked what’s up, Tim volunteered “we are having a rainforest moment”.
Tim who is a bit faster up a hill than Ronda stops on the top, picks up a flower and being the gallant gentleman that he is when Ronda arrives he gives her the flower.
As he done several times
this morning Tim picked up a flower, not dissimilar to the one he gave her before.
Ronda in appreciation puts the flower in her cleavage. Well this time, within seconds Ronda began to itch and her skin turned red wherever the flower touched.
And it was at that moment that I arrived on the scene.
Fortunately the itching did not last and we cycled happily ever after to lunch.
And the first day of 2009 Vuelta is done.
For over a week we had been hearing that there will be rain and wind in our faces, but this morning when the riders lined up at the rock formation where Copacabana and Ipenema beaches meet in order to take a group photo, sunshine broke through the clouds and we were off.
The first few km were on a road (parallel to the beach) that is closed on
Sunday to vehicular traffic. The next several km were on a spectaculr road overlooking the ocean. This road was also closed to automobiles due to an accident. The next few km was on more busy roads, but overall we had a fine day of cycling with amazing scenery and good weather.
The inaugural Vuelta Sudamericana 134 day journey, 12,000km from Rio de Janeiro to Quito via Buenos Aires, Santiago, La Paz and Lima is ready to roll. The bikes are assembled, the support vehicles are packed and the support team is now heading for early bedtime in order to be ready for an early start.
Six years ago the team from Tour d’Afrique initiated a bicycle race and expedition across Africa, an event never attempted before. Two years later it was a bicycle tour from Paris to Istanbul. Two years ago we successfully crossed the Silk Route from Istanbul to Beijing and now with only a few hours to go we will attempt the longest and certainly from the physical endurance required, the toughest bicycle expedition ever attempted.
I hope that all of you will join us on our website and follow our trials and tribulations as we cycle (at about 120 km a day – not including rest days) from the beaches of Rio to Quito the capital of Ecuador.
This is the vertical profile of the route from Cuzco to Paracas in Peru. The horizontal axis represents distance in Km’s and the vertical axis represents the elevation in m’s. As you can see these climbs are bigger than the Blue Nile Gorge in Ethiopia, at a higher altitude and there are two of them consecutively. Cuzco is at km 0 on this chart and Nazca is at km 655 where the curve begins to flatten out. The 70 km descent into Nazca is gonna be fucking wicked! This 655 km stretch will probably be the most challenging stretch of the tour
If you would like to join us for this incredible roller-coaster ride, you can do so by registering for the '
Gringo Trail' section of the 2009 Vuelta Sudamericana.
