flow

Fashion was meant for the Bicycle.

Flowing to the music of Emiliana Torrini, "Birds."

jacarés, tuiuius and capybaras, oh my!

This is the Transpantaneira.

147 kilometers of elevated dirt road with 126 bridges over swampy wetlands. And lots of wildlife to be encountered along the way.

So I followed my knife-wielding guide one non-rainy afternoon to check it out. (Can a knife in a sling be considered a fashion accessory in Brazil?)


Pantanal Panda.


Capybaras, the world's largest rodent, can be seen crossing the Transpantaneira en famille.


They are quite adorable, kind of like a giant guinea pig! Cuteness!


I would not describe all animals of the Pantanal as cute. Especially the ones that got their eye on you. Like this jacaré, a cousin to the alligator.


Creepy, yes. Cute, no.


Even though there are said to be three jacarés per human in this region, the colorful tuiuiu remains the symbol of the Pantanal. Pure beauty & elegance.


From my saddle, nary a jacaré was missed...


nor were these purple flowers...


nor these snail eggs...


nor this fox...


nor this rainbow.


The Pantanal provided a pleasant change of pace from my experience cycling elsewhere in Brazil.

And yes, that is a plastic poncho tied around my waist.

breezy|sexy|cool

This beautiful blonde with her flowy, breezy off-white poncho looks like she could be right off the streets of Copenhagen. We alternated places on the bike lane until Duboce Park, and all the while I was quite mesmerized by the way her poncho floated gracefully in the tailwind.

Stops 2 and 3 (tdc part 4)

I have a couple more cupcake posts in me; so, brace yourself!

When we last saw our heroes, they had decided to head up the hill in hopes of finding a station with MORE cupcakes since the last cupcake station had run out. We got a little lost, but after carrying our bikes up a flight of stairs, we found the cupcake station with the highest altitude. While this photo contains many from our team, I was also taken with the orange skirt on your left sported by a lady I do not know.


Here's KT looking oh-so-fashionable with Becca who is just simply adorable even without full vogue. We decided to go OVER the hill instead of around it like we would normally do.


Danielle crests the hill en vogue with Becca just behind....


Our next stop was on the Panhandle where we had some of the best event-sponsored cupcakes of the day. I think KT already posted photos of these two, but here's my record.

Suited man navigates


Girl in black wearing shoes that match her Bianchi


At the stations, they required proof of the number of cupcakes you had eaten either in the form of the wrapper or your solemn oath (when there was no wrapper).

Encore de cupcake (tdc part 2)

As KT already mentioned, the Tour de Cupcake was pretty much the greatest thing that ever happened to anyone. Biking brings out the kid in everyone, but with the addition of cupcakes, you do take the risk of it all just being too much. Here are some kids ready for the ride:

The Bike Kitchen expected about 100 riders. Instead more than 400 showed up. The line was around the block. The wait provided me the opportunity to capture perfectly San Francisco outfits like this yellow mini with arm warmers.

Here's KT in full awesomeness with stylish hat, poncho and her usual vintage town bike with our friend Jeff:

This woman did the ride in heels, knickers and lovely green jacket and purse.
Finally, a few riders were in costume. I walked up to this guy and said "you dressed that way because you didn't want anyone to notice you, right?" He agreed by posing for me. His friend in pink is also fabulous.

I have enough photos for at least one more post. So, sit tight.

[richardmasoner] Emily and her pink cruiser

Emily commutes in style in Menlo Park, California on her beautiful pink cruiser bicycle. "I love my pink bike!" she exclaims.

http://www.cyclelicio.us/