The Death Road

Just outside of La Paz is what is known as the World´s Most Dangerous Road and it has become a major tourist attraction to cycle down it. I had a day spare so I thought it would be fun and it´s not as dangerous as it sounds. The road got it´s reputation when it was used for traffic but, because it got such a bad name, the road was closed and a new one built. This means it is a completely deserted road that buses used to go down (and so therefore is reasonably wide) and so for bikes there is very little risk.

We had to set off quite early and we drove to the beginning of our cycle route. We all got given our safety equipment - full face helment, knee/elbow pads, jacket and trousers and then got on our bikes. The first part is down the new road and so you are able to get used to the bike on full tarmac. I was in a group of 6 and you immediately realise who is going to be dangerous and who isn´t. And then stay far away from those who seem out of control!

It was an easy ride down the new road and very quickly we were at the Death Road. Here the guide stopped us again and gave us more instructions, explaining them in Engish to make sure that every detail was fully understood! And then we began...

You can immediately see why the road is dangerous for buses. None of it is paved - it´s all stones and gravel and at some parts I don´t understand how a bus fit round the corners. However, for bikes it´s brilliant. The fact that buses were able to go round the corners mean it is easily big enough for a bike. I also had a bike with decent suspension which was needed as the road was not smooth!

It was brilliant fun though - you followed the guide and this meant that you had to keep to a certain speed. I still went slower than the guide for most parts because I like being in control. The road was wide enough but if you made a mistake then you didn´t go into a wall you went off the cliff. I decided that it was worth keeping the speed a bit lower than normal.

Inevitably there was one person who looked out of control the whole time. I refused to cycle in front of her because I didn´t want her crashing into me. And, after going round a particularly tight corner, I saw her off her bike with scratches on her side. She wasn´t hurt but I think she was a little more careful after that.

It was an easy bike ride as the whole way was downhill - we went from 4,700m to 1,100m in a couple of hours. It the lowest altitude I´ve been at in about 4 weeks! At one point the route was quite flat and so you needed to peddle for the first time and I though I should have been more out of breath until I realised I was at about half the altitude that I had been that morning.

Despite being downhill all the way we were all still very tired at the end! You have to keep concentration the whole time, which is tiring in itself. We got a free lunch and there was a swimming pool to relax in and then we started the drive back up to La Paz - along the new road rather than the old one!