Twenty Kilometers of Beach

Andrew, Steven and I rented bikes from an on-line entrepreneur who literally had no overhead.  He chained his inventory to a street lamp and wore a t-shirt with the name of his shop. We pedaled the length of the beaches in Ipanema, Leblon and Copacabana.

It was as close as we got to a favela.  Tensions were running high among residents because Lula, the wildly popular former president known as the "defender of the poor," recently had been imprisoned for bribery.  Unlike a slight majority of the American electorate, Brazilian voters support corrupt politicians for the right reasons.

Ring any bells?  Or I am confusing this with Lula's successor?

Lifeguard station number 9 marks the gay beach in Ipanema, where we spent several delightful sunny afternoons.

My peace sign frames Christ the Redeemer if you look closely.  I had to purchase oversize sunglasses after losing mine in the botanical garden.  For 20 reals (~$6), they worked best on cloudy days.

Later in the trip, Andrew and Steven used Rio's bike share program to circle the city's heart-shaped lagoon.  Live and learn.

Wherever I go, I take random pictures of bicycles.  It makes for a very cool slide show with a unifying theme.  This woman is commuting on Avenida Rio Branco, one of the city's major thoroughfares.

Smoking keeps this Carioca skinny, not biking.

Graffiti in Copacabana.

And a bike merchant in Botafogo.