Cycling "The Death Road", Bolivia

The road from La Paz to Coroico received it's memorable name after some NGO statisticians decided that it had the highest number of deaths-per-kilometre (or whatever the unit of deathliness is...) of any road in the world. The real appeal of death on this road however is not the likeliness (which of course is alarmingly high) but the drama of it. If I am going to go in a road accident then surely better to plummet off a 1,000m cliff with views of cloud forest and waterfalls on the way down rather than expire quietly into an airbag beside a suburban lampost. This at least was the risk I was eager to flirt with as, apparently, were the other tourists who joined the tour to cycle down this spectacular path.

A few numbers about this road. It's 64km long and almost entirely downhill with a drop of just under 3,500m. We began at an altitude of 4,700m in the freezing fog and ended under glorious sunshine and almost unbearable heat. The first part is paved but a large part is dust track which is frequently just 3 metres wide. The road is essentially single track although there are some passing places, thankfully. Since the vehicle on the outside runs the risk of falling off the side of the road the car with the driver side on the outside goes on that side to better judge the distance. This means that the driver takes the opposite side of the road to normal which adds an extra "will they or won't they remember" aspect which makes it a little more fun.

Cycling the road is a social activity too. The more dangerous parts are manned by human traffic lights, women or children who hold out flags or signs to aid drivers in return for tips. Other indigenous fauna are the wild dogs who live on scraps donated by supersticious drivers who believe that feeding them will somehow aid them safely on their way. All the inhabitants seem slightly bemused by the fact that tourists enjoy their perilous workplace but are friendly nonetheless.

Apart from the frisson caused by proximate danger the scenery is spectacular and there are some wonderful outfits to be worn for the occasion. The agency provided an attractive yellow lycra number for us all which sadly (fortunately?) is covered by my fleece in the photo below. Helmets were given to all although their use must surely only be decorative if a rider does plummet 1,000m off a cliff edge. For the last 20km or so we were equipped with dust masks to cope with the clouds created by lorries and cars which completely block all vision and make breathing inadvisable.

Apart from the occasional physical discomforts (such as the forearm pain that is the result of braking continuously for 3 hours) the experience is wonderful. We rode through and under waterfalls and watched the vegetation change from high altitude brush to lush cloud forest in just a few hours. There is also something hugely satisfying about having cycled 64km and pedaling for only around 10 minutes. Oh and of course I gazed off the edge of spectactular cliffs while heavy goods vehicles rumbled by and managed not to fall off.