Are you ready to ride over the most deathly road in the world?

martysome (32)in #photography • 6 years ago (edited)

It's okay to take a little risk in your life. Who knows at what places you will end up. Death Road in Bolivia might be one of them.🚵👻

That is the start of my post because it really reflects on what you should be thinking before you drive over Death Road with a mountainbike. Of course you want some context with these pictures so read on my friend and who knows what you will find.

Me and my friend from university went on a trip to bolivia to check out the amazing stuff that the country has to offer. One of the highlights is the legendary Death Road in bolivia. This road use to be a highway for busses, trucks cars and what not and was build to save time travaling between the mountains. However, because this road has no tarmac, has a really steep cliff next to it, and in pretty tight you can amagine how dangerous the roud is for the machines driving there. So check out the youtube vid Top Gear made about how to drive over this road.

A disclaimer to this video is that they really edited the video to make it look dangerous. Probably a little more dangerous then it was at the time they shooted this video because the government actually closed the road for cars in 2009. So since then it is moslty used by tourist to bike down this road to enjoy the amazing views while having the adrenaline kick of a really dangerous road to drive over.

What everyone is asking on the internet and while traveling to La Paz (Bolivia): Should I drive this road with a mountainbike? Well YES, is my answer always for everyone. The views are really really amazing. The drive to the road and the drive back is also some experience as you go up to about 5km up a mountain then down with your bike and back up with a car. And if you buy it as an excursion at the hotel or hostel you are staying you will probably get really great bikes, friendly bolivian guides and some great stories about the road and its history.

So if you ever get the chance to visit Bolivia and in particular the Death Road, you should definitly try it. Some tips i could give before you drive down is to drive a bike before you go there. If you never drove a bike or a slow machine that drives at two wheels, this in not the best place to learn. Therefore, I would suggest you rent a bike somewhere near your place and get a feeling of how it is to sit on a bike. This will make it so much easier for you to drive the Deat Road and feel more save while you are there. This way you can really enjoy the drive instead of worrying about not driving of the road.

Thank you very much if you are still reading until this point. I hope this small post halped you on your decision to drive the Death Road or not. My last advice before finishing is to not drive of the road EVER. Bolivia doesn't have any helicopters that will bring you to the hospital, so if you fall of and break anything. Or if you drive into the wall of the mountain and whatever happens to you, you are in for a really long drive to the hospital. Therefore, please watch out what you are doing, don't do anything stupid and enjoy the ride!