October 3, 2010
Route BR293 day 3
I'd to close the hood of the sleeping bag snugly around my head last night. I don't think it's been that cold at night since the Andes during the first few days of the tour. Consequently having been awaken by the cold in the night I didn't stir till seven this morning and the sun was already well up. I've now eaten breakfast of instant porridge with Dulce de Leche stirred in or is it Doce de Leite as it's called in Brazil. The plastic tub container has a picture of a jolly looking cow and the text MU MU underneath. I had blue cheese which may or may not have come from a jolly cow spread on bread, yes spread as thats the way it goes out of the fridge but it still remains good for a couple of days.
It's a nice warm morning and the tent is already dry. I'm hoping to ride 95- 100ks today. I used to look at 110km as optimal but it is difficult when it gets dark comparitively early unlike Patagonia in December or Norway in June where it's bright to ten in the former and bright all night in the later.
I got on the road at 8.30. It's now ten amd I've just passed a roadside restaurant which I first had thoughts of stopping at for an early elevens but it's looking lifeless this time of a Sunday morning so I tthink I'll press on instead. I saw while stopped looking at the map that the town of Dom Pedro is another 33km which I should reach by lunch time. It has according to the key at the side of the map a sizable population so finding somewhere to eat shouldn't be a problem.
Another good thing about Brazil is the truck drivers seemingly don't work on Sunday so I can ride on the road as the shoulder is surfaced with rough stones.
The countryside now is very like Uruguay, that dry seed grass rough pasture bordering on moorland in places. All isn't well though as on the horizon I see white plumes perhaps another cement factory or power station. I swoop down a hill with a bridge at the bottom. There's a police car at the other side parked on the shoulder. A policeman is out taking notes of what he's seen. He's seen me, puts his thumb up and smiles at me as I pass calling out 'oppah'. Is that hello or something? A portuguese fraze book is badly in need and is on my priority list.
On reaching the urban area Dom Pedro there were clusters of giant grain silos all along the road on the way into town. There was a power station too but there weren't any cooling towers or plumes of steam so had I imagine it earlier. I first stopped at a service station to fill-up on water then began the long ride off the main road towards the centre on a very rough uneven street. People stopped and looked at me as I past. I saw a place that done pizza and burgers and as it was still quite a way to go to the centre decided to stop there. I'd some type of sandwich which was 10 reals the same as I could've got a whole meal for if I'd found a buffet restaurant.
I'm now sat writing, disatisfied with with my lunch stop, in a bus shelter on the way out of town. I've covered 63kn this morning and hope to cover another 40 this afternoom. The prices in that place back there were expènsive. Pizzas ranged from 17 to 24 Reals or roughly upwards of 11-12 Euro. I'm hoping in future not to find many places like that. To fill the hunger gap I bough crisps and biscuits which I don't particularly like as unless you find oatmeal biscuits there's barely any nutritional value apart from the instant energy boost of the sugar. I prefer to get my energy boost from cakes preferable baked on the premises in a bakery as biscuits tend to be full of all types of chemical substants. I do wish I'd a nice homemade Alfarjor oozing with Dulce de Leche now instead of biscuits.
The pleasant landscape of brown-ish rough pasture continued in the afternoon now with ponds and small lakes. There was though one large track of industrial farmed arable seedbed and a cluster of giant grey silos at the far end. I continued to ride on the road as the shoulder was realy rough. There were quite a few trucks now, so not all take Sunday free as I'd earlier thought, but they always gave me space. The car traffic was lighter than week days too. The cars there were where possible moved onto the opposite side of the road while passing. There was the odd, don't you get them everywhere, driver which thinks he's invinsable that wizz pass very close as if you're not there or they purposely do it who knows as a little further they're out by the white line. Do they lack control of there vehicle as well as common sense?
There were abundant wild camping possiblities when the time came. I'm now as I write camped in a roadside grove of gum trees hidden from the road by undergrowth. The veiw across the fence away from the road is rough pasture with a lake.
Today's ride: 97 km (60 miles)
Total: 3,345 km (2,077 miles)
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