Cindy and I both decided that this was an activity that was best not to tell out mothers about until we had done it and were safely back in La Paz. So we kept very quiet about the whole affair, and went off on our bike ride early in the morning. At the agency the day before, we had been told that it could be very cold up at the top, and that we should be prepared, as sometimes it even snows there. Thinking quietly to myself - what are the chances? - we prepared for cold weather, but were completely unprepared for what was waiting for us up at the start of the downhill ride. It was snowing. Literally. And freezing cold. Thank goodness for the waterproof pants that I hired, at least they kept the wet and cold out for a little while... The first hour of the ride was really cold. Not even two pairs of gloves could stop our fingers from freezing, but as we descended further and further, it slowly started to warm up, warm, of course being a relative concept. The first part of the ride was on a tarred road, so was quite easy riding, and it was a real shock when we finally started on the dirt road. It was quite scary in the beginning, as it felt as if you were going to lose control of the bike and go flying off the side of the cliff, but you soon realised that it was actually better to go faster (within reason, of course) and soon we were flying down the hill. Now I know my family will be having images of me as a child, flying down the hill on my bike, hair waving behind me, but dad, you will be pleased to know that I was wearing a helmet!
We stopped for breaks fairly regularly on the way down, which was a good thing, as the cramp in my hands from pulling on the brakes so much soon became too much to bear! By the time we stopped for lunch, it had warmed up sufficiently to take off all the extra layers of thermal clothing, but luckily we decided to keep the waterproof jackets on, as about 10 minutes after our break, it started pouring with rain again. And I mean pouring! So by the time we got to the bottom, we were all soaking wet and completely covered in mud, from head to toe. At the bottom, we all got a beer to drink and our free T-shirts were handed out to us. After that we headed off to a hotel in Coroico, where we could have warm showers and were actually given towels too. I don´t know if I was more excited about having a proper towel (only the second one since I´ve been in South America) or about having a warm shower. Very close.
Once we had cleaned ourselves, we had a proper lunch, and then headed back to La Paz, back along the Most Dangerous Road, but luckily traffic going uphill gets to stay on the inside and doesn´t have to brave the sheer drops on the outside.
Despite the aching arms, legs and bums, it was really good fun, but I wouldn´t like to be going down that road in a bus...
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