Day 624 5th April 2018
47 miles (Sorocaba to Itapetininga) Average speed 9.8 mph Top speed 38 mph
A very tough day of many hills.
I got up at 8 for a good brekkie of ham and cheese toasted sarnie, sausages and melon with cake and passion fruit juice with loads of coffee. I checked out and left at 10.30.
I followed the cycle path by the river, but decided to take the one inland over many hills to avoid the main road. It was not the most satisfying of routes with lots of hills and broken paths and lots of going up kerbs. After an hour of ups and downs I made it to the main SP 270 and joined the motorway traffic. Many cyclists use rear view mirrors but I think it would be a distraction and if a lorry or car is going to veer into the hard shoulder I’m not sure I want to see it coming! I am sure I would hear it before I saw it anyway.
Lots of traffic today but I never felt threatened except at junctions and as long as you keep your wits about you it’s OK. The shoulder is wide enough for me to stick to the inside and never get close to the lorries but the back-draft is always a welcome pull especially when climbing hills, of which there were many today. Google maps topography didn’t show this many inclines, but I made it eventually. I stopped for lunch at a truckers restaurant and had a ham and cheese pastry with 2 litres of lemonade.
Hotel Universitade 75 reais inc brekkie.
Nice double bed with fan and very hot shower.