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‘Downhill Madness’ Cycling Tour
The most dangerous road in the world, otherwise known as ‘Death Road’ has, in the past, claimed the lives of over 100 people per year, due to its narrow, winding switchbacks and sheer drops. It starts at 4,640m in the snowy landscapes of the mountain tops and descends 3,345m, through cloudy rainforests to the hilltop town of Coroico. Nowadays a new alternative road, wider and safer, is more heavily used by traffic, but today construction work on one of it’s bends, caused an unusual amount of traffic to use the Death Road, which only contributed to our obstacles. The first quarter of the ride was smooth-going asphalt and some of the guys in our group including Greg, reached speeds of up to 55kmh. Then it turned to loose gravel and the fun started!
Our mountain bikes were top of the range with full suspension rigging on the front and back wheels. But, even so, it was a bumpy ride, navigating boulders and ruts especially when the road was narrow and there was a long drop on one side. I couldn’t help my imagination running wild at times, thinking what would happen if I hit that stone wrong! A picture of Nicky when he broke his wrist falling head first over his handlebars just wouldn’t go out of my head! Greg was very kind to rein in his desire of an adrenalin rush and stayed at the back of the group with me. At times I would pick up speed and do really well without thinking, then suddenly remember that only in May of this year a cyclist doing just what I was doing lost their life over the edge, and I would pull harder on the brakes and take it easier.
We covered about 47km all pretty much downhill and, by the time we reached the hotel where we were having lunch, I’d developed aching knees, with the intense vibrations from the rocky road, a sore bum from bouncing around on the bicycle seat and tenderness in the palm of my right hand from having my fingers clutching the brake constantly.
However, despite this, the trip was well worthwhile- the scenery alone was spectacular. We were descending through cold alpine mountains which turned into humid tropical cloud forests with dozens of butterflies and colourful birds. At the end of the day, we could say we’d survived the most dangerous road in the world.
The most dangerous road in the world, otherwise known as ‘Death Road’ has, in the past, claimed the lives of over 100 people per year, due to its narrow, winding switchbacks and sheer drops. It starts at 4,640m in the snowy landscapes of the mountain tops and descends 3,345m, through cloudy rainforests to the hilltop town of Coroico. Nowadays a new alternative road, wider and safer, is more heavily used by traffic, but today construction work on one of it’s bends, caused an unusual amount of traffic to use the Death Road, which only contributed to our obstacles. The first quarter of the ride was smooth-going asphalt and some of the guys in our group including Greg, reached speeds of up to 55kmh. Then it turned to loose gravel and the fun started!
Our mountain bikes were top of the range with full suspension rigging on the front and back wheels. But, even so, it was a bumpy ride, navigating boulders and ruts especially when the road was narrow and there was a long drop on one side. I couldn’t help my imagination running wild at times, thinking what would happen if I hit that stone wrong! A picture of Nicky when he broke his wrist falling head first over his handlebars just wouldn’t go out of my head! Greg was very kind to rein in his desire of an adrenalin rush and stayed at the back of the group with me. At times I would pick up speed and do really well without thinking, then suddenly remember that only in May of this year a cyclist doing just what I was doing lost their life over the edge, and I would pull harder on the brakes and take it easier.
We covered about 47km all pretty much downhill and, by the time we reached the hotel where we were having lunch, I’d developed aching knees, with the intense vibrations from the rocky road, a sore bum from bouncing around on the bicycle seat and tenderness in the palm of my right hand from having my fingers clutching the brake constantly.
However, despite this, the trip was well worthwhile- the scenery alone was spectacular. We were descending through cold alpine mountains which turned into humid tropical cloud forests with dozens of butterflies and colourful birds. At the end of the day, we could say we’d survived the most dangerous road in the world.
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