I should have been checking the weather forecast yesterday since this morning I got surprised by a bad weather front. Not only was it raining down cats and dogs but it was also freezing cold when I left Cascavel… 4 ° Celsius! This is not Brazil!
Yesterday, I was already fighting with the forces of the nature while the wind was blowing pretty strong. Sometimes I would be struggling to keep the bike in the middle of the lane… apparently things get a lot worse when moving down to Argentina and especially Ushuaia shall be famous for its unpredictable wind forces. However, Today I was dealing with something else… heavy rain and 4 ° Celsius! Yes, you are right. I am still in Brazil and even here things can get nasty.
I was hesitating for a second if I shall not stay for another day or simply risk it. I was curious to see if my material would be resisting the conditions and got myself prepared for a nasty 2,5 hours ride from Cascavel to Foz do Iguacu. Of course, I wanted to see first if my normal waterproof clothes would do the job as sometimes you get surprised by rain and can’t get yourself changed immediately. A 1,5 hours drive would not be too bad (this was my first estimate) and I wanted to see if things are really bulletproof! After driving 5 minutes in the monsoon, I changed my plans, lol. It was just too much and I did not want to risk my luck… At the next petrol station I made a stop and was looking for my rain gear hidden in my metal side boxes.
I bought the clothes in “medium” as it was just fitting perfectly in the accessories shop in Sao Paulo. I should have listened to my former work colleague Thorsten, who recommended to take the clothes in the largest size I could find. Now, I would find out why he was making such a “ridiculous” suggestion. It was just a pain in the arse to get the trousers over my wet boots and more exhausting than driving in the rain to be honest, lol. I was just glad that I had a roof over my head and I would certainly know it better next time…
The sight was really bad and fog would make driving an additional challenge. I took out my speed and was carefully driving despite others who could just not wait to pass me until they got stuck behind the next truck. Driving with foresight and patience are words which do obviously not exist in the vocabulary of the Brazilians 😀
I was changing my driving mode from “road” to “rain” and luckily I did not have to find out if the electrical intelligence of the motorbike would act differently in case of an emergency stop on wet terrain. Furthermore, I was keen on trying out the heatable handlebars of the bike. I switched to level 2 and almost immediately I felt the heat as well as my senses coming back into my numb fingers. After 2 hours, the rain and the cold still won the fight and I was looking forward to finally arrive in Foz do Iguacu.
My conclusion of the day, after driving under bad weather conditions: It is essential to have warm and waterproof clothes available which do easily fit, but driving while the sun is shining is still my preferred way of traveling 😀
PS: I could just not help myself and stop on my way while finding my future garage of choice: TITANFOZ, LOL!
