[Spiff]

Here's a ride report from my state in Brazil. We were supposed to have more riders but we got dumped on by rain the day before and most folks dropped out.

The trail is an 18mi combination of abandoned double track roads, old roads and some more heavily vegetated sections. Many *bonus* tech sections with lots of rocks.

My friend forgot his shoes at home and rode the whole thing trying to balance over the tiny 540's platform.

Although we've been having lots of rain lately conditions were mostly tacky, but some sections covered with filit rock were ultra slippery (crash galore !).

A stream crossing after a rockgarden


That's me trying to climb this massive, long rockgarden (to no avail, too damn slipery)


My friend, Marco, with some scenery


That's stream crossing rainforest style. You have to be extra careful when moving branches out of the way because they
frequently harbor hornets' nests and sometimes snakes. Trust me, you dont wanna be chased by mad hornets in this environment.


getting the bike over the stream bank


Leaving the heavy tree canopy


A nice tech section.


That's me rolling a steep, slippery section towards another stream crossing


Almost got it (did I say it was slippery ?)


My friend Marco coming down through in this old Eucaliptus forest, head cut off and stuff.


Best wishes to you all

Gui

 

[Timo]

Thanks for the report

Looks like you guys had a lot of fun....even if it was slippery. ;-)

Nice bike too!

 

[Rev Bubba]

Nice stuff, nasty drops

I'm done riding for the season with 8 inches of snow on the ground and tempertures around freezing. Nice to have people in warmer areas sharing their rides. Of course, the skiing has been good.

 

[E !]

Nice

Great pics. Trails in the rain forest eh? Must be nice, or shall i say, a sharp contrast to what i live in. The desert.
Thanks for the passion hit!

 

[Cycledelic]

manera

Nice shots - that looks like fun riding. what state are you in? where's the best riding found? I'm taking my bike next time I go to Brazil.

 

[wg]

Good to hear from ya again. Don't be such a stanger!

Nice looking shots and trail. Post some more, we don't see enough of your neck of the woods.

 

[KRob]

Yeah, thanks for posting. I love seeing rides from other parts of the world. I've done a little biking in Brazil. What state you in?

 

[Spiff]

The state is Minas Gerais. It has plenty of mountains and it is arguably one of the best states for mountain biking. Most of the trails have little flat sections, you are either climbing or going down.

The vegetation is a mix of tropical forest and a kind of savanah called "cerrado" (albeit more dense than the typical Savanah). Although very little of the original remains. As you can see in the panoramic pic, there are spots of dense forest here and there, most of it around and following the streams.

A lot of the trail system was build by MX'ers. I'm still in the process of getting to know the best spots (there are other trails in the region of the pictures and we hope to find connections to some singletrack).

December and January are not the best time for riding because it is our summer and also the rainy season. Thus it is hot and very humid. Riding in a hot/sunny day just after heavy rain in the previous day can be difficult, you get scorching sun and all the water evaporating from the soil bumping up the humidity close to 90%. You sweat like there's no tomorrow. But alas, that's far from keeping us out of it, everybody just get used to it and take a few precautions.

On the other hand july/august/sep are winter (not exactly cold from a temperate zone perspective but milder temps.) and pretty dry. That would be a good season for riding although some days can still get hot.

If anyone drops around here send me an email and I'd be glad to help you get in contact with folks that know good riding. If it happens to be close to my region I can do it myself of course.

Werner, how's sunny Norcal ? Oh boy, I miss riding Tahoe/Downieville/Yuba a bunch. Great times.

Best,

Gui

Minas Gerais state


Close up of the state, the Google "placemark" indicates the position of the Capital Belo Horizonte (where I live)



Fly by, the trail is somewhere in the red circle

 

[Sourdough]

Great Post

Spiff, those posts taken together (ride pics and then the Google Earth) are great. I really like how you used Google Earth to "bring it home."

Oh, and by the way, here in Alaska its cold, dark and covered in ice and snow. Its good to know that somewhere there are still mountain bike tires on dirt, mud and rock.

 

[Cycledelic]

The state is Minas Gerais.

Spiff, that's cool. Thanks for the pictures! I passed through Belo Horizonte on my way to Ouro Preto, for a few days eating great food and exploring. It's a beautiful place. Didn't take up any adventue bike tour offers, but maybe next time I'm there I can connect with you for ride suggestions! Probably going back next June.

 

[Spiff]

You happened to go to the one of the prime regions in the state for MTB (Ouro Preto and thereabouts) and also pretty close to my city (Belo Horizonte). Send me an email next time and we'll hook you up (gmarques_br AT yahoo DOT com).

Gui

Spiff, that's cool. Thanks for the pictures! I passed through Belo Horizonte on my way to Ouro Preto, for a few days eating great food and exploring. It's a beautiful place. Didn't take up any adventue bike tour offers, but maybe next time I'm there I can connect with you for ride suggestions! Probably going back next June.