Biking down the Death Road

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
~Robert Frost

Thursday, November 6th 2008

The North Yungas Road is a 61 to 69 km road (depending on source) leading from La Paz to Coroico. It is legendary for its extreme danger and in 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank christened it as the "world's most dangerous road". One estimate is that 200-300 travelers were killed yearly along the road. In 2006 a new road replaced the old one which now have much lesser traffic. The danger of the road ironically made it a popular tourist destination starting in the 1990s, drawing some 25000 thrill seekers.Mountain biking enthusiasts, in particular, have made it a favorite destination for downhill biking, since there is a 64 kilometers (40 mi) stretch of continuous downhill riding. Even more ironically all the guide books now list the road as a "must see" attraction... Well I can proudly say that I biked down the road and survived. Well, almost...

The first step down the road was, as always, to find a good agency to get you there. The "Radical Rides" was highly recommended for their equipment and safety so it was the one that was chosen. The activity starts, as always, by boarding a small van that takes you to the starting point- in this case the La Cumbre pass about 40 minutes outside La Paz. In the starting point, as always, I met the guides and got my equipment: bike, helmet, gloves, safety vest, goggles and knee guards. After a short practice on the bikes I started going down a fast paved road towards the Unduavi tourist checkpoint. This was a fast wide twisty road with nice mountains views. I went really fast downhill and the morning wind chilled my bones despite the good jacket I wore. Just before the checkpoint we got to a tunnel in the road which we had to circumvent using a narrow dirt road. It was quite a difference than the good asphalt I had under my wheels so far and as our guide said, a taste of things to come. I got safely to the checkpoint and paid the entrance fee, so far so good...

Shortly after things changed dramatically. We veered off the beaten path into a narrow dirt road hanging on the side of a 600m cliff that you just can't believe that it was once used as a two way road - you had to be insane to take a bus down that path with trucks coming in the other direction! The road was not only narrow but also had steep downhill grade and was a little muddy and wet with waterfalls flowing from the sides as the scenery changed from the high mountains to a lush green cloud forest. Luckily we had a good clear day and the view was not obscured by the fog the characterize the place. The fast pace dictated by the slope together with the bumpy road and many turns put a lot of strain on the hands trying to keep the bikes steady or pressing the brakes - it was a real hard work.. after a frantic 40 minutes we stopped for a short break. I took my goggles off as they bothered me a little and as we continued riding I forgot to put them on. When I noticed that I don't wear them, I kept my distance from the bike in front not wanting to catch a small flying stone in the face. I thought for a second that I can safely continue this way, but than I felt a sting in my left eye. I cursed myself for not taking flies into account and tried to put my goggles down with my right hand while trying to blink out the bug with my left eye. Big mistake. Huge. I almost immediately started to loose my balance and with my right hand on my helmet, the brakes were out of reach.. I did the only thing I could think of and crashed the bike with me on them. Luckily it was a relatively wide section of the road and I was far from the edge. Not so luckily there was a repair crew in that spot and my forward slide was stopped by a wheelbarrow that stood on the side of the road. I crashed head on into the cart - and from the loud bang sound I deduct that it was a good thing that I was wearing a helmet.

Cursing and swearing I got up, put my goggles on and continued biking. In the first few seconds I didn't felt anything but than a stinging sensation from my right hand told me that I hurt more than my pride in the fall. After about 5 minutes the group stopped for taking pictures and the guide immediately saw that I crashed. I told him that I was OK but as I posed for the picture I started to fill dizzy and was sent for recovery in the support vehicle. I drank a little water which made me fill better and my wound was cleaned with alcohol and bandaged. It turned out I earned a nice long cut on my right forearm which didn't bled much but stung as hell. After a 15 minutes rest the group stopped for snacks and I joined them insisting that I want to continue riding. The rest of the road was more of the same insane downhill action through the green cloud forest with hard turns and beautiful views. This time I took it more slowly and made sure that my goggles or sun glasses are protecting my eyes. It took less than 5 hours including stops for pictures and snacks to cover the 67km from the pass to bottom of the road where we boarded the van for a short ride to a nearby hotel to have our lunch and shower. In the hotel I met by chance two old friends from Huaraz: Gili and Harel and rested a little before we boarded the van on our way back to La Paz. On the way back I learned an important lesson: the Death Road was so dangerous not because of the conditions - but because of the Bolivian driving style...