A Change in Plans

So after a rough day seven, the group had an even rougher day eight. On a day where they planned to do around 200 km, they found themselves at the 100 km mark when they stopped for the evening. Same rolling hills, rough shoulder with lots of heavy truck traffic and a good headwind made for a less than ideal day. They are currently just outside of Ribas do Rio Pardo which puts them about 240 km from where they are supposed to be at the end of tomorrow. I don't think they are letting that bother them much and they will be able to make up the difference it may just take a few days to do so. We will wait and see how conditions are tomorrow before we make any predictions. Here are some highlights from today.

So the plan was that the would ride from the church back to the highway in the morning since it was quite a ways away and the kids who planned on driving most of the team never showed.  After waiting and waiting they finally loaded everything up and packed all ten people into the already very crowded van.

All eight bike up on to!

More comfortable than on the saddle?

Chuck's rack design is a winner.

Gabriel taking a break from the Van.

This is what they have to travel on...not ideal.

They did find a nice lunch stop where they were able to catch the first half of Brasil v Mexico.

Let see if they can make it to Tres Lagaos tomorrow.  Sleep well and pedal hard.

The End to a Very Long Day

Another 200 km day in the books, 206 to be exact.  They made it to their hosts in Campo Grande around 8:30 this evening.  They were on the road at 6 am and this stretch they found themselves climbing hill after hill.  They were all much more exhausted they they thought they would be but it went well.  Also, today marks the half way point of the trip both in days and km/mi traveled. Way to go Team!

An early started aided by the van lights. 

This was the hilly terrain the dealt with throughout the day

Respect the Wildlife

A little R&R

Here is a (good?) look at the bike rack we had made for the trip. It will hold all eight bikes if needed.  They loaded up a few after arriving in Campo Grande to get to the church where they are staying.

This is tomorrows day if all goes as planned.  It is around 200 km but is also all hills so they will see how they feel in the morning and make adjustments if needed.

Contact has been made.

So at the end of day six the cyclists are in Miranda.  I just got word from Julie that all is going well and it was a beautiful day.  And for those following along who are birders, she said she saw some pretty amazing birds.  The Pantanal is gorgeous and a wonderful place to see wildlife.  They did about 150 km today and will plan a 200 km day tomorrow to get back on schedule.

 

Day 5.  As you can see if they were walking it would have taken 30 hours...good thing they are on bikes.

Paraguay River

It wasn't only birds they saw

Safe arrival.

This is what they have to look forward to tomorrow.  Wish them well!

The Rest of Day 5

Here are some images from day 5.  They left Corumba and Pedro lead them out of town by making them climb a steep hill where they do the 12 stations of the cross.  After pushing bikes up and wondering what was going on, they realized he was pranking them..he always was the jokester.  They did get out ok and did 65km to the Rio Paraguay and found lodging there.

Waiting at immigration.  I was a smooth process.

Julie, Luly and Deneen

Happy Father's day to the MEN.

Crossing the Border

So if you have tried to follow the GPS tracking you might be a little confused as to what is going on.  Well, this morning everyone went back to the border to official cross into Brasil and they were there for over an hour but it went extremely well, there were no issues crossing and once everyone got things they needed (phone cards, money changed, food, etc.) they headed back to Pedro's house to do some bike maintenance and have lunch.  They then will be heading out to the Paraguay River and will look for a place to stay when they get there.  It will be about a 70 km day so will get a bit of an unplanned "break" from the previously planned back-2-back 200 km days.  They will however have to make up this distance at a later date.

This is what today will look like.

The first 200+ day

UPDATE:

They arrived in Corumba around 7:00 this evening and are with our friend Predro and his family.  They did indeed leave at 5:00 in the morning with the support trailing them until sunrise then again in the evening had the van tailing them until they arrived.  They did 9 hours and 48 minutes cycling and a total of 220km/137 mi.  Here are a few more shots from the day.

Mario joining the group!

Gabriel with part of a meal.  I would like to know more about where this came from.

A little stretch

I believe this is them leaving Bolivia.

Mario, Milton, Pedro and Neto relaxing after a long day.

The schedule will be modified a bit for tomorrow.  The Brazilian border was closed when they arrived so they will have to go back at 8:00 am to do their paperwork.  They had planned another 200 km day but they will do a shorter one tomorrow and they add the extra km's on one of the planned shorter days...confusing, I though so.

END UPDATE

Looks like the group is making great progress so far today. Check out the tracker to see where they are at and when they arrive in Corumba. Here is some of what has been going on today other than cycling.

A good skillet for breakfast. 

Irai's turn to try out a new ride.

If all goes well, our next communication should be from Brasil. Thankfully they are having better cycling weather they we are here in Santa Cruz. 

This is what it looks like today in SC

End of Day Three and All is Well

I have word that the team made it in to Aguas Calientes around 4:00 this afternoon and other a few flat tires they had a really good trip. It was a gorgeous day and although it was quite windy, it was mostly a tail wind and at times they were doing 38km/h without over-exerting themselves. They are working on getting an internet connection to send the days pics and I will post them as soon as they arrive.
Mario is planning on taking a bus this evening to meet them before they leave in the morning. More on that as it develops.

UPDATE:
So here are the guys starting the morning with the Brazilian national anthem.

Rest stop along the way.

In the end they opted for the bicycles.

Tomorrow they have their first 200+ km day so the plan is to leave as early as 5:00 am to make sure they have enough day light to complete the leg. The support van will run behind them until sunrise. Here is what it looks like on the map.