Worlds Most Dangerous Road

Yesterday we road "The Worlds Most Dangerous Road", otherwise known as "Death Road". We had read about it earlier, but decided not to do it...considering the name. But then when we told people we were going to Bolivia, they all said that we had to do Death Road and it was absolutely amazing. So we decided to trust them...

There are a bunch of different groups you can go through, but we choose the most expensive one with the best equiptment. The bikes were awesome and we felt really safe. It is mountain biking, since the whole road is dirt and gravel, so the bikes made a huge difference. This company also had medical help, which none of the other groups had...you would think most people would want that security!

We met at a cafe yesterday morning and then took a bus up to the highest point where we would be starting...at 4760m, which is about 15000ft...I think? They fitted us for the bikes, and we got to ride around a little...and then we were off! The first few miles is paved, since it is a new portion of the road. It was really smooth though, and we got gonig pretty fast down the hills!

Eventually the paved road goes another route, and we start on the gravel. It was scary at first, since I haven't ridden on gravel much and you are going downhill, but the bikes we good and they gave us good instruction. The whole reason the road is the most dangerous is because the road is all downhill, with no railing or fixture to keep you from falling. It is really curvy too, so you are constantly switching positions and always have to be ready! So on one side of us was the mountain the whole way down and the other side was nothing...it was a straight fall. So that was scary at points, but as the road went on we got more comfortable with the bikes and riding. Towards the end the gravel was really tightly packed anyways, so there weren't many loose rocks.

There have been deaths and really bad accidents, but it usually occurs in other groups without the good equiptment. Luckily, no one on our group even fell on the gravel...our guide was proud!

We stopped periodically to enjoy the views and they provided snacks. At the bottom of the hill, at 1100M, we stopped at an Animal Refuge Center and had good lunch there. The place was pretty neat too..we saw monkeys, a boa constrictor and lot of birds.

The whole ride was about 70KM, and we descended 3650m...pretty far! It was so gorgeous though, and it really wasn't that scary. I thought the scariest part was riding back up the road in the van, since you are overlooking the cliff the whole time...and on the bike you are so focused on the road, that you aren't noticing the 80m fall!

I am excited to show pictures of the road to everyone...

Love, Kimmy