Built in the 1930s, the road connects La Paz with the Amazon rainforest in the North. The section nicknamed Death Road is a 69-kilometre mostly-downhill stretch of harrowing turns with up to 600m drops on the side in some areas. There are no guardrails, the road is made of gravel, pebbles, and stones, and is often the width of one lane.
 |
| The van carrying the bikes |
The drive to the start is actually quite long, a good 1h30mn, as leaving La Paz and its traffic jams is challenging.
They drove up to La Cumbre, standing at 4,650m, where we will start the paved section of the trip for about an 1h30, descending 1,600m lower at 3,000m, with probably 40 Km to ride I would say / estimate.
Getting geared is fun: they have amazing mountain-bikes, with front & back absorbers, and we will wear a full protection, with integral helmet, elbow and knee pads, wrist-guards... wow, feel well protected!
SECTION 1: PAVED ROAD
Once all geared up, we test a bit the bikes at the top and check bikes & co... well, at that high altitude, despite we've been high since 10 days, doing just a bit of paddling around is already much more exhausting than it should be, interesting to experience.
The panorama is nice, we are just close to the snow limit, with 6-7,000m peaks surrounding us. The temperature is cold... probably not more than 5°C, and it's windy so feeling is less. We're lucky as the day is gorgeous, with blue sky and sun helping to enjoy the day.
The 1st section is pretty smooth to ride down. Except the start where indeed altitude adds a challenge, most of the road is well maintained, so it is easy to ride. There are some crazy trucks & cars passing to watch-out, and amazing 180° sharps turns to handle with low-speed, but all is good.
The scenery is nice, with very dry and arid mountains: it contributes adding a special feel going down this lost road somewhere in Bolivia, in the middle of the Andes, I liked it.
 |
| La Cumbre lake & pass, from where we will start - 4,650m high |
 |
| At the top just before starting, cheering! Marina - Valerie - Nina - Dave - George - Andrew - myself |
 |
| Top view of the paved road to ride the 1st valley |
 |
| Break & briefing |
 |
| Riding as fast as possible, of course ;-) |
SECTION 2: THE DIRT, REAL "DEAT ROAD" PART
After some time riding down, we do a break and have a snack, then get up in the van another 20mn to reach the 2nd part of the road... which is the one which gave the name to the road, as this is an un-paved, dirt & rocks 1-lane width with no guardrails type of road...
From the start, we can see this tiny dirt road winding through a steep valley, with deep rainforest / jungle all around... we are now close to the Amazon, and around 3,000m, so the vegetation completely changed and is very lush.
We have another briefing to learn the rules on this dangerous road:
- drive on the left... i.e. where the cliff is!! oh, wow, ok... that means passing by the right, I got it ;)
- slow down / stop when trucks / cars are passing by... as they are not really driving safely
- be careful on the bike and always control the handlebar strongly: sure, makes sense!
From the start, I loved it. Our 2 guides are taking care of us well, with 1 in the front and the other one in the back, with the 2 vans on top being here to help in case of issue.
The ride on the road is not easy, but not as difficult as I was expecting. There are big rocks and holes to handle, while taking care of not falling in the cliff on the left, or hitting other cyclists, but once you're really into riding down, you do not thing too much anymore of the cliff, and just stay focussed on keeping the bike up and straight.
The views around are also very nice, with this lush rainforest, waterfalls, the full valley winding in front of us... many breaks are done to check everyone is following and to rest, which allows to enjoy the scenery.
We went down on the dirt road for a good 2h, where just before the bottom I follow a guide into a real mountain-biking track on 200m of descent... i.e. straight into the rocks, wow, so challenging but so fun and sporty! Not sure I can add another sport to all those practiced already, but I would like it for sure ;-)
At 3pm we are down, all alive and happy to move to a hostel / restaurant for 2h, where we'll get lunch then some good time in a pool... It's 35°C down here, super sunny, while in La Paz it's probably no more than 12°C... hehehe, this was a good day option choice ;-)
Overall, amazing experience to ride down this famous road I had heard about for years. I can only advise to do it, if you're not afraid of height and like adventure! And when conditions are ok, with rain and/or clouds/fog it is probably a bad idea doing it, too dangerous. Ride on!
 |
| At the beginning of the Death Road :) |
 |
| At the beginning of the Death Road... view of the 1st kms |
 |
| A sharp turn! |
 |
| Me in front of turn with a steep (vertical) cliff on the side... smile! ;-) |
 |
| The group taking THE picture on the steepest turn of the road |
 |
| The last part of the dirty road... not as steep cliff anymore, and it's very warm! |
 |
| Almost arrived... happy group, now it's 30mn down on a smoother dirt road, in 30°C |
 |
| Yes, everyone is alive and happy to have done this ride! :) |
 |
| Sunset on the Andes while riding back to La Paz |
No comments:
Post a Comment