I have been looking forward to this for a very long time! And today is the day I get my long awaited adrenaline rush!
Altitude picked us up from the hostel at 8am and we headed an hour out of town to the La Cumbre (the peak/high pt). Its at 4700m!
Here we got our gear, including a full head helmet, jackets, and knee and elbow pads and our bikes. Jim and I opted for the high end Specialized down hill bikes!
The first 21km of the ride is on pavement and its allllll downhill. We make a few stops to pay the road maintanence fee and to let the stragglers catch up.
After the pavement we all loaded back up into the vans to drive through the uphill part and to reach the gravel and the offical Death Road!
And this is where the real fun began! The rest of the ride was all gravel and all along a cliffside. Some of it was slick with water and some of it really dry. All of it was a blast. The rule for cliff is that you drive on the left side. This gives the drivers a better view of the cliff from the drivers side. That means while riding down the mountain, if you see a car, you have to steer towards the cliff and either slowdown or stop while the oncoming vehicle passes you. Eeekkk!
Jim and I managed to stay towards the front of the pack most of the day. And geeez, what fun. I'm thankful that I had a bit of mountain biking experience. It really allowed me to enjoy the experience and the rush and not worry too much about riding.
In total we road about 55km. And it was fantastic! Not only was the ride itself great fun but the scenery was beautiful as well. Some places were more dangerous than others. All along the way you could see crosses in places where people had died in the past. The guides also told us that there is an average of 2 tourist a year that die while riding the death road. Crazy.
At the end we were taken to a hotel with a pool and free buffet. They gave us a towel and shampoo for a shower and let us relax by the pool for a few hours. Ahhhh what a great day.
Also, included with our tour was a T-shirt that says I survived the Death Road and a CD with the days' pictures. I dont have a CD drive but when I get to one Ill upload those photos as well.
If ya wanna ride the Death Road next time you are in La Paz check out Altitude!
Altitude picked us up from the hostel at 8am and we headed an hour out of town to the La Cumbre (the peak/high pt). Its at 4700m!
Here we got our gear, including a full head helmet, jackets, and knee and elbow pads and our bikes. Jim and I opted for the high end Specialized down hill bikes!
The first 21km of the ride is on pavement and its allllll downhill. We make a few stops to pay the road maintanence fee and to let the stragglers catch up.
After the pavement we all loaded back up into the vans to drive through the uphill part and to reach the gravel and the offical Death Road!
And this is where the real fun began! The rest of the ride was all gravel and all along a cliffside. Some of it was slick with water and some of it really dry. All of it was a blast. The rule for cliff is that you drive on the left side. This gives the drivers a better view of the cliff from the drivers side. That means while riding down the mountain, if you see a car, you have to steer towards the cliff and either slowdown or stop while the oncoming vehicle passes you. Eeekkk!
Jim and I managed to stay towards the front of the pack most of the day. And geeez, what fun. I'm thankful that I had a bit of mountain biking experience. It really allowed me to enjoy the experience and the rush and not worry too much about riding.
In total we road about 55km. And it was fantastic! Not only was the ride itself great fun but the scenery was beautiful as well. Some places were more dangerous than others. All along the way you could see crosses in places where people had died in the past. The guides also told us that there is an average of 2 tourist a year that die while riding the death road. Crazy.
At the end we were taken to a hotel with a pool and free buffet. They gave us a towel and shampoo for a shower and let us relax by the pool for a few hours. Ahhhh what a great day.
Also, included with our tour was a T-shirt that says I survived the Death Road and a CD with the days' pictures. I dont have a CD drive but when I get to one Ill upload those photos as well.
If ya wanna ride the Death Road next time you are in La Paz check out Altitude!
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