Dangermouse- you got served

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Today i officially mountain biked down the 63kms, that officially make the worlds most dangerous road, aka Death Road. I was scared to death (no pun intended), and prior to speaking to a lovely Saffa- Rosanna i wish i had your email adress, thanks a ton!!- who informed me she thought it was just as a stupid idea as i did, until she found aaron, his puppy sam, and his company downhill madness (biiigggg plugg)- where she fell in love with the kick of adrenalin it offered!!
We, as fate would have it bumped into aaron walking sam in the street, fell in love {with boy and puppy who he rescued from death road..melting}, and booked our downhill adventure with him promptly- not so savagly convinving him to swap his day off so we could ride with him.
Basically you drive to this mountain, hop on your bike, after it being drilled in that FRONT BRAKE LEFT, BACK BACK RIGHT {opp to home} , and wiizzzzzzzz down you go. I was last, for basically the entire road, not even making the slow group, but the slower than slow class, and let me tell u my hands have never been so sore!! I was gripping them brakes tight!!
Unfortunetly/luckily, it was pouring rain and so foggy u could barely see 2feet in front of you, so for the first 20ks, which was bitumen, i was riding blind- constantly asking myself wether it safe to take one hand off the handle bars to wipe my goggles, or better to risk the absence of sight for safety of road!!
While trying to keep up with the 'semi slow' group, i was thinking 'this is ok..' when suddenly SLAM i was hit with the oncoming of gravel road- much like falkingham at its worst in history, basically the next 40ks, is all these conditions, with a shere drop of 600ms on your left side {which u have to stick to so traffic can pull out in front of you,needless to say i made my own rules here and rode straight down the middle}, and waterfalls on your right. Eventually the fog began to lift and we were bewildered,in a half second glimpse, every 10minutes, of the most stunning scenery i have ever witnessed, here we were speeding down this 3m wide dirt TRACK, and the greenest mountains,lushest rainforests, and most amazing fauna sourounded us. No time to look!!
Ok I'll b honest, it looked a lot like home, but i was pretty sure i was finally in the real bolivia now- coca plantations everywhere.
After lunch, i decided to give my hands a well deserved break and let up on the breaks a little, this was wwwaaayy more fun and i gave way to the speed and danger of the real death road.
Fortunetly, we only had one accident and that was my friend abby who came off under a waterfall, but suprisingly {and michael and i were sure we would die} no fatalities.
The drive back up the road was a little more hairy, as its a well known fact that biking it is the safest way to go, van- the upmost most dangerous. Aaron also pointed out lorry wrecks, dragged to the side of the road to remind u of its danger, 97crosses in one spot to respect the busload of people killed 3 years ago, Isralie Corner where a girl came around and threw her hands in the air in excitment, hit a rock and flew off the edge, Frances Bend where a french boy skidded in the mud, his bike fell off and when he grabbed it he also went tumbling over the edge, and the tragedy of a dutch girl who stepped out of the way of a honking truck, and slipped backwards.
It was mortifiying to hear, and see the remants of tales told and deaths gone by. I wasnt so sure i would of done it if i'd seen all this prior to the ride..
However, today, i stepped out of my comfort zone, took a risk, challened myself and im so proud of what i took on. This was acknowledged when i arrived at the end and everyone stood up and cheered me on- i may have been last, but genuinly the most terrified!!

DO THE DEATH ROAD!!

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Photos

Hardas
I think i see a future..

Micheal and Miggel
The boys pump it

The bus Up
Guess who just DIDNT want to ride

On your bike
The worlds most dangerous ride

Tahnee
Sam and Tahnee braved the bus.. both ways