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Published: October 21st 2006
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While Becky decided to do some shopping in La Paz, a few of us decided to tackle the most dangerous road in the world on a mountain bike.
We all met in reception at 7:30am, a little unsure as to what to expect. We has been told that this road has the most deaths per km than any other road in the world. Last year 230 died on the road but only three were cyclist which made us feel slightly better. As we all met, one member of our group pointed out that today was Friday 13th!!!! Great!!!!
We were picked up, taken for some breakfast and then driven 1 hour outside La Paz to start. When we arrived we were given waterproof clothing, a helmet, gloves and a mountain bike. We all tried our bikes out however in the first few minutes the chain broke on one bike and the brakes failed on another! Not a good start.
Our descent started from La Cumbre, at 4,700m, and we were to finish at Yolosa, 1,200m, 70km and five hours later!!!
The first hour was all on tarmac and was brilliant because the roads were fairly smooth and we
could pick up speeds of 40-50kph. We just had to avoid any trucks or buses coming the other way. It wasn´t all downhill however. On the way down, there were a few hills to climb which was hard work in the altitude, but gave us more a sense of achievement when we reached the top.
One hour in we reached a police coca check point and the start of death road. Here the nice smooth surface stopped and an uneven gravel/rocky road began. However this road had sheer drops of 3-400m in places! The adrenalin kicked in and we began. We had a guide at the front and a support van at the back but a few of us wanted to go faster than the guide. So we would let the front group go off and then catch them up. The scenery was truly breathtaking. The road is just stuck on the edge of huge mountains with huge drops. We hardly had to peddle, it was awesome.
We stopped for lunch after a few hours at San Juan waterfall. It was here we witnessed just how narrow the road was. We had to let a lorry through before
we could continue. The truck could only just squeeze past us with less than 6 inches to spare!! It was amazing. The driver just had to move a few inches and he would have gone over the edge. Scary!!!!
We left lunch and were given face masks. We were about to start the "dusty" part of the road. The idea was to try and keep ahead of the buses/trucks that came down however I wanted to stop and take photos. Consequently, I would pass a bus, stop to take a photo and the bus would overtake me, leaving me in a cloud of dust. I would then have to catch the bus up in it´s dust cloud, overtake it, and stop for another photo. I was therefore covered in a thick layer of dust.
After a few hours we eventually reached the bottom at 1,200m. The air was so much easier to breath. Just before we reached the bottom though, I had a near miss with a lorry. I was cycling round a blind courner (not going to fast) and was met by a huge truck. I slammed on the brakes and just missed it, skidding to the
left of it (luckily I had kept to the left).
We all made it safely to the bottom and had a celebratory beer. We were then taken up to a hotel for a shower, lunch and swim.
Once we were all a lot cleaner, we got back in the support truck and started the 3.5 hour trip back to La Paz. But it was here that the most scary part of the day began. Coming down death road was awesome. The adrenalin was pumping and we were flying. You are also in control of your own bike. It is not until we went back up death road that we realised exactly what we had just done. The road can only fit one bus/truck at a time in places, so we were left with a sheer drop just a few inches from the tyres of our van. Very scary indeed!!!! The higher we got, the more cloud/fog engulfed us, but this did not seem to bother our driver. He kept up his speed and flew round blind corners. We all held on for dear life, but eventually made it back on to the main road and back to the hotel
Half way down death road
After following a few trucks, the dust was building on my face, arms and legs!! at 8:30pm.
The whole day was truly awesome, and was one of the best things I have ever done. A truly unforgettable experience.
Thankyou to Ollie and Chris for the reccomendation!!!!!!
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Wig
non-member comment
Damn
That's nuts, man. 'Ultimate respect' as they say in the (far less impressive) valleys