Day 604 16th March 2018
48 miles (Santos to Jabaquara) Average speed 8.6 mph Top speed 32 mph
A very tough, dirty day.
I got up at 7.45, showered and packed. I had the same brekkie again and left at 10.30, saying goodbye to Milton and his wife with a photo.
Brian and Milton
I headed north along the cycle path in the middle of the main road and then turned left before right and through the dedicated bike lane through the first of many tunnels. This one was very pleasant compared to the rest. It was then a reasonable road alongside the motorway which was pretty quiet for about 10 miles.
At this point I stopped at a service station for a pricey can of lemonade – 6.50!! I chatted to a couple of the petrol pump attendants about my trip and stared up at the lorries high above me on the road. I knew I was in for a tough day but this became a real trial of balance and endurance. The first section was a fairly steady climb and with a good hard shoulder the thundering slow trucks were not too much of a problem until I reached the first of many tunnels.
There is at least a cycle path on the hard shoulder
The hard shoulder was no more and I had to ride along the uneven pavement in the tunnel. It often had whole paving stones missing which opened up a black hole of water and god knows what else. There were mice and rats diving for cover as I went over the loose stones. It was dark and when the lorries passed a metre away it was petrifying knowing that one slip would put me under their wheels and they would know nothing about it.
Tunnel
I think the longest tunnel was 1.25 km and it felt much more, concentration levels were very high and at the end of each tunnel I felt relief to be back on the hard shoulder, but even there I had to dodge broken down trucks, cars and vans, needing to venture out into the carriageway to go round them.
River valley
Meanwhile there were many good sights to see over the edge of the road with lots of waterfalls and wildlife to be briefly enjoyed. I lost count of the tunnels after double figures and the fumes were probably not doing my brain much good. Each one full of Diesel fumes and black dust.
Another of the many tunnels
By the time I reached the top at about 700 metres I had run out of water and the only service station was on the other side of the motorway with no access, I could see the shop, but had no way of getting to the cold drinks there.
Altitude
The computer showed no more for another 15 miles! Each time I considered asking someone on the hard shoulder for a drink they either pulled away or needed it for their overheating engines. At one point I thought I’d found a recovery centre, which would normally have a water cooler, but it wasn’t to be. I carried on but was getting desperate for water and in the end I had to lift the bike over an Armco to get to a footbridge over the motorway. On the other side I found a shop and drank half a litre in almost one mouthful. I had a bottle of lemonade and a pastry from the luncheonette next door and asked if there was a pousada nearby. There wasn’t and it was a quite a poor area, so I’m not surprised nobody wanted to visit there as a tourist.
Finding a pousada was not so easy
I went to the first place marked on the maps.me map and climbed lots more hills only to find a cafe and nothing else. The girl in the cafe tried to help but knew nothing of the Pousada exuberance?? So I rejoined the motorway for another 3 miles to find a swimming pool!
Pousada immigrantes Jabaquara 80 reais