When researching places to visit on my 2012-2013 ride through South America, the architecture of Brazil’s capital jumped out. My travels some 10 years ago led me along Brazil's northern and eastern coastline. Brasilia is in the center, and the country is very big. A hard examination of the schedule informed a difficult choice; a visit to the capital was cut from the itinerary. Flash forward 10 years; I was determined to see the wild government Brasilia designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 2023.

By noon, I could see the skyline of Brazil on the horizon. Brasilia is a planned city designed in the late 50’s and constructed in the early 60’s. The planners selected the center of the country for the location of the new capital, in part to promote the undeveloped Amazon region. Long story short, the city was laid out in the shape of an airplane. The airplane body, or Monumental Axis (Eixo Monumental), is where the government buildings are found. To the north and south are residential “wings” (Asa Norte and Asa Sul.)

My priority is to find a motorcycle shop to replace the worn-out chain and both sprockets. The best practice is to change the chain and then change the front and back sprocket. In Brazil, it’s called the transmission kit. The name is kind of cute if you ask me. My online request for a recommendation returned low-value comments, “You can find a chain anywhere” to “A chain should last longer.” Honda manufactures the XRE 300 in Manaus, Brazil, so I was confident sourcing these common parts would not be an issue. Generally, I avoid going to a dealer for basic maintenance to avoid higher costs. Reaching the northeast section of the city, I used Google Maps and picked ADV Moto Parts.

The neighborhood wings have an oddly repetitive layout. The consistency was in an attempt to eliminate exclusive areas. When trying to find ADV Moto Parts, I would leave the expressway only to find a neighborhood that looked like a clone of every other. Recall I didn’t have navigation mounted on the handlebars, so on-the-fly directions became problematic and my progress was cumbersome. The chain and sprockets were in stock, and the mechanic did his parts swap quickly.

Could I have replaced the parts myself? Yes, but I prefer to have a professional get it done quickly and correctly. The US dollar is very strong against the Reais, so the cost to me was low. I respect riders who do all maintenance themselves to extend their travel budget as far as possible. Alternately, some riders work on the bike themselves to remove any chance of incompetence. Changing oil? Sure, I could save a little if done myself, but then I have to deal with disposing of the used oil. Change the chain? Yes, I have the wrench needed to remove the rear wheel, and the thin rubber gloves I packed take up next to zero space in my luggage. Nah, I’ll leave it to a professional who will complete the steps quickly and make any needed adjustments. I watch the mechanic and check their work. When having the chain tension set, with the luggage in place, I sit on the bike and ask the mechanic to adjust the chain tension under load. Try doing that yourself! Glen Short has a time-lapse video where he sits on the bike and checks the chain tension with his foot, then gets off and loosens the rear wheel axle nut, adjusts wheel placement, tightens the nut, gets back on the bike, and repeat the steps again…  Too much work. Plus, on this trip, I have a budget, so skimming on the basics doesn’t make sense.

ADV Moto Parts had an attractive showroom. While waiting for the chain and sprockets to be installed,  I asked if they had an extra-extra large helmet to replace the helmet after smacking my head on the approach to Manaus. A helmet large enough for my pumpkin-sized head was gonna be difficult to find, so I wasn't surprised or even disappointed that they had nothing large enough in stock. ADV Moto Parts had a GIVI smartphone holder. The holder attaches to the handlebars, which makes using a smartphone for navigation easy. I bought the holder in haste, only to later find it was too small for my phone. Weeks later, the holder was traded in part to pay for motorcycle maintenance done in Guarapuava.

Stopping at ADV Moto Parts, I met a rider, Junior. He has taken many long rides in Brazil. He suggested riding a scenic and twisting road south of Sao Paul called the Rastro da Serpente (Trail of the Serpent.) I didn’t have plans for a return visit to Sao Paulo, but at the vague suggestion, Junior strongly cautioned me against the plan. “You will be surrounded by 3 or 4 motorcycles, and one will have a gun. Don’t go there, you will be robbed. If you must go to Sao Paulo, leave your motorcycle at a hotel outside of the city and take a bus.” I didn’t argue with him, but later cheerfully ignored his advice without consequences. Junior gave me a great tip: go to the TV Tower on Tuesday night for the motorcycle meet-up. Huh? The corridor in the center of Brasilia, the airplane body where the government buildings are located, is a large TV tower. Tonight, bikers will meet up. I didn’t have plans for the following evening, and going to a Brazilian motorcycle meet-up sounded most excellent.

Before leaving the shop, I asked the service manager if they happened to have a slightly longer kickstand in stock. The kickstand is a little short, leaving the loaded bike tipsy. The mechanic happened to personally have a slightly longer kickstand and agreed to sell and install it. As a final step, the chain tension was adjusted while sitting on the bike, and I was good to go.

The afternoon was wearing on, and I wanted to get to the government center to scope out wild buildings before the sun got too low. A quick scramble on the expressway delivered me from the north wing to the airplane body that is the center of governmental buildings.

There was some apprehension tugging at me. It had been less than a year since the January 9th 2023 Brazilian Congress attack the federal government buildings—a shocking event reminiscent of the January 6th Capitol riot in Washington, D.C. I learned from personal experience that tourists are not permitted to photograph the Parliament House Complex in New Delhi, India. Armed guards behind sandbags made the prohibition clear—no pictures, even from a considerable distance… Would I encounter like restrictions in Brasilia? I was speeding towards a wound that was still healing. Would I encounter barricades and legions of military police?

The speculation and mental hand-wringing were all for naught. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a heavy security presence. Police cars were parked out of the way, resting discreetly under the shade of trees across the street. A guard or two was patrolling here and there, mostly far from the road. There were two guards in ceremonial uniforms in front of the Palácio do Planalto building.

Once reaching the Monumental Axis, it was easy to find one off-the-hook building after another. The skills acquired from being a photographer for decades, allow me to work quickly and confidently. On the first day, I moved from one building to another like a whirling dervish, sometimes parking on sidewalks and sections of the road that technically didn’t allow stopping. 

Before leaving Brasilia, over three days, I returned to the famous government corridor three times, first for late afternoon light and twice at sunrise, and was never approached, told to move along, asked for a photography permit or to show identification. I was, without a doubt, under surveillance, buzzing around on a motorcycle, snapping photos like a maniac. At the entrance of the Congresso Nacional the parking attendant gave me a look, to which I replied with a raised finger (not the middle finger) that I would only be a moment. No problem. I love Brazil!