Biking the World´s Most Dangerous Road

The fog is masking a massive vertical drop!

Ready to ride!

What a totally awesome day!

Before the ride, for good luck, we had to spill some 97% alcohol on the front bike tyre, a bit on the ground for Pachamama and then we were supposed to put a bit on our lips. From my face you can see that I accidentally swallowed some and it burnt my insides!

So I survived biking down the World’s Most Dangerous Road thanks to Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking. We were a group of 14 and the day started off well until the torrential rain started. I have never been so wet in my life without going swimming. By half way down the road I was soaked through to my underwear. Fortunately, I remembered to put my camera in the van before it got too wet. I forgot about my money belt though and ended up with some soggy dollars.

Still smiling...

The ride was totally awesome, even if we couldn´t see much of the massive cliff drops for all the fog and rain. I had a smile on my face the whole way down! I later learnt that most companies dont´t encourage riding the road in the rainy season, and if they do run trips, they don´t encourage beginners to go. I was certainly not one of the people right behind our crazy guide, Cody, but neither was I with the girl from NZ at the back that shouted “jesus fucking christ” every time she arrived at a stopping point.

Near the start of the ride. The people in ponchos are protestors who have been marching from the Beni province in Bolivia to La Paz since August. They were protesting against the construction of a 185-mile road through the Isiboro Secure National Park and Indigenous Territory (Tipnis).

I was fine on the asphalted roads but somewhat slower when it came to riding down on the rocky, narrow road. I don´t think I´ll be taking up mountain biking any time soon. Think I´ll stick to my touring bike, thanks!

Me concentrating on the wet and rocky road

We ended the day at an animal rescue centre for dinner where we showered, got fed, and saw amazing animals like spider monkeys and parrots.

We were supposed to go back up the World´s Most Dangerous Road to get back to La Paz but with all the rain there had been landslides on the road after we left. So we took the ´new`road (which was still quite rough and unpaved in parts) and got back quite late to La Paz.