So I decided it would be a good idea to do a bike ride down something called "Death Road" in Bolivia. Death Road (also known as the North Yungas Road) comes by its name for being one of the most dangerous roads in the world until a safer alternate route was finished in 2006 connecting La Paz with the lowlands. Before the new road was finished, more than 200 people a year died along the narrow mountain road that drops off in many place in sheer, unprotected cliff. Now that there's a much safer, more modern road through the mountains the North Yungas Road has largely been abandoned by vehicles, and so it used almost exclusively by cyclists. Not having cars to deal with certainly makes the road much safer to bike down than it was, but it's still a dangerous ride that numerous people have died on, and injuries are common.
Even though my Peru tour group was finished I signed up to Death Road with five other brave adventurers that had been part of the group with me. We were joined by three people from the company organizing the bike ride. Two of them accompanied us on bikes (one leading, one roaming around and taking pictures for us) and another who drove a support van with extra equipment and food (driving very carefully) down behind us. We were strongly discouraged from bringing cameras, as many of the injuries and deaths have happened when people were trying to take pictures while biking and not focusing enough on the road, and I was happy to let one of the pros handle the duty (even if the pictures aren't as great a resolution).
The bike ride starts high in the mountains, at 4650m (more than 15,000 ft) and goes nearly 70km, dropping down to 1200m by the end. The drop in elevation means that the route is almost entirely downhill, so there's maybe 10 minutes of pedaling for the entire journey. The change in elevation also causes a large change in temperature, so we'd strip off layers progressively as we descended.
The route itself was a blast. In addition to the sharp turns and huge drops the road was also quite bumpy in places, and in some sections you're forced right through waterfalls, getting soaked.
When we finally reached the end of the road we stopped for a buffet lunch with some of the different groups that had done the ride and enjoyed a nice swim in the pool. One woman in another group had a serious crash and broke her arm on the ride, again highlighting that you have to be careful.
We took the newer, safer route in the van back to La Paz. Unfortunately construction on a road higher up the mountain was causing a series of minor rockslides, so all the vehicles along the road had to stop and wait for them to finish, and then for somebody to come and clear the road enough to let us through. It was getting pretty late by the time we finally got back. Since our group phase was over I had to check into my new hostel, which was a very Irish hostel/pub in central La Paz.
I stayed there for a couple more days, mostly just walking around La Paz exploring different areas.
When I finally checked out I found my way on foot to the main bus station, and through a lot of waiting and communication struggles finally managed to book and board a bus from La Paz to Uyuni. I ultimately got on the wrong bus (but going to the same place) but when the error was discovered the driver luckily decided it was easier to just let me tag along than to try straightening it all out.
Even though my Peru tour group was finished I signed up to Death Road with five other brave adventurers that had been part of the group with me. We were joined by three people from the company organizing the bike ride. Two of them accompanied us on bikes (one leading, one roaming around and taking pictures for us) and another who drove a support van with extra equipment and food (driving very carefully) down behind us. We were strongly discouraged from bringing cameras, as many of the injuries and deaths have happened when people were trying to take pictures while biking and not focusing enough on the road, and I was happy to let one of the pros handle the duty (even if the pictures aren't as great a resolution).
The bike ride starts high in the mountains, at 4650m (more than 15,000 ft) and goes nearly 70km, dropping down to 1200m by the end. The drop in elevation means that the route is almost entirely downhill, so there's maybe 10 minutes of pedaling for the entire journey. The change in elevation also causes a large change in temperature, so we'd strip off layers progressively as we descended.
The route itself was a blast. In addition to the sharp turns and huge drops the road was also quite bumpy in places, and in some sections you're forced right through waterfalls, getting soaked.
When we finally reached the end of the road we stopped for a buffet lunch with some of the different groups that had done the ride and enjoyed a nice swim in the pool. One woman in another group had a serious crash and broke her arm on the ride, again highlighting that you have to be careful.
We took the newer, safer route in the van back to La Paz. Unfortunately construction on a road higher up the mountain was causing a series of minor rockslides, so all the vehicles along the road had to stop and wait for them to finish, and then for somebody to come and clear the road enough to let us through. It was getting pretty late by the time we finally got back. Since our group phase was over I had to check into my new hostel, which was a very Irish hostel/pub in central La Paz.
I stayed there for a couple more days, mostly just walking around La Paz exploring different areas.
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| "Zebra crossing" guards. These crossing guards were awesome, making cross-walk guarding into a performance art with their high energy and antics. I was sure that this must be some local group that chose to do this, but I have later evidence that this might be a broader thing. |
When I finally checked out I found my way on foot to the main bus station, and through a lot of waiting and communication struggles finally managed to book and board a bus from La Paz to Uyuni. I ultimately got on the wrong bus (but going to the same place) but when the error was discovered the driver luckily decided it was easier to just let me tag along than to try straightening it all out.
