1.03.2010

We´re not in Rio anymore, Toto.

As soon as I got off the bus in Sao Paolo, I hopped in a cab to my hotel, only to be greeted immediately by a glue sniffer. EVERYONE, including my cabbie, told me to be extremely careful in this neighborhood. I was warned about Rio, but somehow I feel this is worse!

Tomorrow I will be riding around Sao Paolo with Renata Falzoni, to whom I was introduced by Gary Fisher last time I ran into him at the market in SF. So I can give you the full report of Brazil´s largest city by bike later this week. Tonight, I am trying to get through the night unscathed!

Biking in Rio seems to be on the up and up. My friend Holly was our tour guide for the week. She led us through a tunnel that she used to ride through all the time when she lived in Rio 10 years ago. On the other side, we realized, when a fellow urban cyclist was laughing at us, that a bike lane through the tunnel had been added! The day we rented bikes, we met another urban cyclist named Fabio on the bike lane that encircles Guanabara Bay. He leads group rides in Rio on Sundays, up to 50 people. When it started pouring down rain so we all ended up taking shelter and drinking beers instead, which made riding back to Copacabana soaking wet a little easier. Rain or shine, the views of the mountains, the water and the Christo from the bike lane are spectacular.

No photos until I get back to the states. Tchau!

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