Portuguese can be confusing at times, but it seems relatively easy to understand, in written, as a Spanish speaker. I have no expertise touring, but I have been talking to a friend in Rio about planning a cycling trip in southern Chile. Now, I am *very* curious about the Estrada Real... For those who might be reading and curious, the "royal roads" were for the circulation of gold and diamonds from Minas Gerais ("general mines") to the ports and then to Portugal.

I have been only to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia a couple of times, but not to any of the cities and towns along the roads of the estrada.

Anyhow, do you have a set route already, how long are you planning on touring versus non cycling? There are several cities along the estrada real that I would check out, such as Ouro Preto and Diamantina, both on the World Heritage list (baroque architecture), or Paraty and Petrópolis, but you probably won't go through both Paraty and Petrópolis, as you can see in the following map: http://www.estradareal.org.br/mapa_press.pdf (in the map, "PN" stands for national parks, and "PE" for state parks).

There is a book you can find in Amazon, "Journey on the Estrada Real: Encounters In The Mountains Of Brazil," that seems to be a good read.

The link to the map is from an institute (Instituto Estrada Real, http://www.estradareal.org.br/) that publishes a tourism guide on the estrada real, and supposedly there are English and French editions.