Joao Pessoa is both a wonderful and terrible place to go on a bike a ride. It all depends on where you go. Riding into the city center is like playing Russian roulette – its a success as long as you escape it alive. The drivers have no abandon and the roads have no shoulders. Buses swerve between lanes, cutting you off with abrubt stops. Downhills are the most precarious. Boxed in by passing cars you never know when a cavernous pothole will appear. There is no room to try and avoid these potholes – all that can be done is to pump the brakes and hold on tight.
While this gauntlet of challenges is adrenaline filled and never dull, it is best avoided. Thankfully, there is another side to biking in Joao Pessoa. Along the beach road there is a pleasant path, fully separated from the passing traffic. To the south, the development is less dense. The path, shaded by palm and cashew trees, passes old fishing boats that bob up and down with the tide. Biking north, the path goes along the heart of the city. Shaded by the inland skyscrapers, the path mirrors the curvatures of the bays. It nevers wanders more than a hundred feet from the sea. Industrial cargo ships occassionally dot the horizon. Closer to shore, the kitesurfers and swimmers compete for space. Around every corner, small wooden stalls sell the popular beach refreshment, “água de coco.” Its a world away from the city center.
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