Day 204 - Tuesday 11th April 2006

Meeting for breakfast at 7am before setting out to the starting point of our 64km downhill bike ride I was little groggy but looking forward to the day ahead. With the repuation as the worlds most dangerous road, the route fell over 3,500m in the 64km - from 4,800m to 1,100m ASL. We booked through the oldest and supposedly most safety concious tour operator, Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking.

These were probably the most expensive at about US$50 for the day, but they also had the coolest t-shirt as part of the package. As we arrived at the jump off point for the biking jaunt we were kitted out with overall, safety gear and of course, bike!

The staff gave a quick run down of safety tips and how to ride a bike (for those who had decided to learn on that particuar day!!!) and we began. The first 25km were on asphalt roads, which made it easier to look around, especially as there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We cruised on down the hill, twisting and turning as the road sank deeper and deeper into the ravine. We got some decent speed up, at one point managing to overtake a lorry on the way down. Mirror, signal, manouvre.

As we approached the end of the asphalt section after about 90 minutes (there were a lot of stops to let straglers catch up) we had decended into the clouds and couldn’t see very much. It was also pretty wet as the water hung in the air, soaking us. It was no suprise that the roads were also pretty wet and after 2 minutes on the unpaved roads we were all totally filthy. I had hired goggles to keep the mud out of my eyes but there was so much backsplash that they became impossbile to wear. Instead I made my way in the rain and fog, caked in mud squinting and trying to keep the mud from my eyes. All this on a single lane track carved out of the mountain, with a cliff face on my right, and a sheer drop of upto 1,000m on my left- all with no safety barrier.

These conditions carried on for about 25km of the 40km remaining and it was not a matter of going fast in these sections, but staying on the bike and not missing a bend and careering over into some ravine! It was pretty cold and wet and really miserable, but it was definately one of the best times ever on a bike!

When we got below the cloud level the road dried out and the opportunity to increase the speed came about. We began to absolutely fly down the road and through the rivers and waterfalls that came onto the road. The rest of the ride - about 15km - literally flew by and by the time we got to the finish of the trip we were all caked in mud but grinning from ear to ear after one of the best days of the trip (photo above).

We went up to a hotel for lunch, showered and got back in the van for the 4 hour trip back up the same road to La Paz. It was Robin’s 21st birthday so when we arrived back in La Paz it was a quick turnaround and out on the town. for us anyway. We went to Olivers Travels and he did the top shelf, which put him out of the game. He went back to the hotel in a taxi while we went to Mongo’s the expat bar in La Paz to carry on the party.

As I was hurtling down the road trying not to fall over the edge I didn’t get many photos of the day, but the professional dudes who were the guys managed to get some. Have a look at this link to see what it was like (it may ask for a passowrd - think it is just ‘photos’)…..I did have a CD burned but I forgot to upload them before I posted it home to England - maybe I will put them on when I get home…