For a great bike ride in the bright sun, you need more than sunscreen. Thus, in their 150 km ride from Visconde de Mauá to Barra do Piraí, Thomas Scott and Leandro Egito, (T&L) put on their special protection gear basically comprised of a light canvas hat for Leandro, and a pair of Matsuda specs recovered from uncle Michael's trash bin, and duly restored by the Aspiring Designer - Thomas...
It all started with the need to deliver a young, however reluctant to cooperate, crossbred mare, descendant of Arabians and Quarter Miles from Fazenda Arvoredo in Barra do Piraí to its new owners 'up the slope.'.. A transport truck was contracted to carry not only the mare, but also the bikes and their riders to Visconde de Mauá, a secluded mountain village mostly known for its hippie / alternative lifestyle population, high altittude (1400 to 2700 m ), lucky enough to be equally distant and far away from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro . The fact that its nice cool climate with plenty of waterfalls and options for wholesome organic meals does make it very attarctive.
You might think biking basically 'downhill' would be a cinch, but in this summer of 2010 which has been an unusually 'Global Warming' type of summer, marked with daytime temperatures usually above 35 C and frequently above 40C, it was not. This demanded of our bike riders a little 'survival strategy' - much like reptiles in deserts , T&L- took cover under the available bushes during the hottest hours of the day, biking by night and early mornings. The Maglite - as a bike headlight, was another such adaptation. Choosing back roads from point A to B, T&L were able to capture some interesting shots along the way, many of which show a typical rural Brazil still existent but unknown or forgotten by most city dwellers.
Some of these takes edited and posted by Leandro on YouTube include big black leeches trying to harvest 'city food' from T&L exposed body parts as they dipped in the creeks to cool down,. the occasional owl, old fazendas (plantation houses) and country food give a taste of the road trip. A little 'Santeria type' sanctuary found by a roadside waterfall - is also a perfect reminiscent that Brazil is still very sincretic in its religiousness - The Black Virgin, (N. S. Aparecida) the patron saint of Brazil.... All this, accompanied by great music can been seen in their YouTube posted video in two parts, 
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRk7xjVpZ1E
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbXqC4uTvqM
