A Postscript to the War between Butt and Brooks

Asuncion has come and gone, some days the clouds and rainbows do the same. As with all perfomances, as with many battles, there is a climactic finale. The last 200 km Paraguay is over rolling countryside, the road at times moderately busy, but as there’s a wide hard shoulder, it is safe. In many ways it’s a perfect road for the legions of small motorbikes and the few cyclists. Or it would be if they hadn’t added a full width strip of tar, near pedal high every 25 metres. I’ve done the math and hung the road architect who sanctioned this crime. Approach berm, apply brakes, bump front wheel, bump back wheel, panniers clatter on their carriers, now start pedalling all over again. Repeat 8000 times.

Hanging is to good. Tarred and feathered would be appropriate and a good start. The saddle has been battered and pummeled into submission, which hurt to a degree, however it was the constant concentration that gave the real tension headaches, and didn’t allow much time to appreciate what all was going on around about.