Death Road

I’d made my way to La Paz so that I could meet up with Jerry and B, as Jerry wanted to do the Death Road with someone and so did I, so it worked out perfect in the end.
No one really uses the death road anymore, apart from many groups on mountain bikes, and the odd local car using it to get home.
The day started off quite relaxed with a later pick up from the hostel, then up to the highest point outside of la Paz for a snack and to get our kit on. There were about 6 different tour groups at the lake doing the same thing. We had a big group of 14, and a big spread of people. It was going to take us all a lot shot of Adrenalin to wake up, but it was a good group.
Bikes all sorted and kit on, pads and full face helmets all round, we bunched up to give the standard ceremony to Pacha Mana, with a 96% spirt alcohol, and then we were off!
The first section was to be a 20km stretch of tarmac road down to the start of the gravel road. This was good and it gave everyone a chance to get used to the bikes. The breaks in the UK are switched sides compared to the rest of the world, so making sure you know which one is the back break is a little important! It took us a little while to bomb down the road with stops n stuff, but it was good fun avoiding pot holes when going as fast as the tyres and wind allowed us.
Tarmac over and time to start the main event! The ting on my mind was the drops at the side of the road, but being more confident on wheels than my feet in these situations, made it a doddle. The main road is basically just a fire road that you find in any hilly place, so I capfuls have been in Wales, but it was great seeing the scenery and getting the history. The day was more of a sight seeing tour for me rather than an extreme day of riding, but the weather was spot on and the views were awesome. At the lake, we were well over 4000masl and the end of the road was a good 2000m lower. It was a bit cold at the top, with all of us I long pants and jackets, but by our lunch stop I was just down to shorts and a base layer, it was warm!
On the way down, there were many stops for photos at the famous corners, and the many tales of deaths too. Quite a few people have died on bikes here, so we were constantly reminded of the Japanese girl trying to take a selfie ☠️
The day finished at a house with beer where the bikes were washed off, then on to this weird holiday park for a swim and a buffet dinner. Me and Jerry got more beers in for the 3 hour journey back to La Paz, a proper good day I think! 👍🏽Read more