Wednesday, October 31, 2007

MONSTER RIDE

TO BRASILIA: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28
What is it with Brasilians? Given the warnings I receive, I could be in the US. Warnings? To keep to the coast road. Not to travel in the interior. The Federal police were the first on the road from Santana de Livramento my first day in Brasil. And the smart woman at the gas station. Yesterday in Cutiriba a Fedral cop on a motorbike gave me the same warning. Brasilia? You have to go to the coast, to San Paulo. A huge dogleg, why? Is it dangerous? Are there brigands? Is the road so bad? The answer I receive is that everyone travels via the coast.
Not me. I leave at dawn, head due north and ride 700 kilometres - a personal record for Honda and I. The road is excellent, much of it dual carriageway. One short stretch of really bad tar - probably explained as punishment for a local politico or Governor who angered Federal Government/President.