Death Road - Mountain Biking La Paz
One of the most popular excursions out of La Paz is mountain biking down the Death Road – the original road that snaked through the mountains from A to B. I don’t even know where “B” is and I’d be lying if I said I cared or thought it was relevant. There is a new road now – paved and safe – leaving the original gravel route for people to explore on mountain bikes.
The bus ride to the start point was longer than I’d hoped. Thankfully I made a friend on the bus – Matthew from California. His Spanish skills were impeccable, and he translated for me more than once during the day.
The bus ride to the start point was longer than I’d hoped. Thankfully I made a friend on the bus – Matthew from California. His Spanish skills were impeccable, and he translated for me more than once during the day.
I think the first part of the bike ride was the most fun. We weren’t on the “Death Road” yet, we were just going down the mountain on the main highway which was paved and smooth. That means speed! I loved the speed. I couldn’t hold back – I passed most of our group and caught up to our guide. I didn’t even need to pedal, just duck and be aerodynamic. My guide seemed a little surprised to see me pull up behind him when he stopped. I guess I can only take that as a compliment.
The next part of the “Death Road” was the original gravel road that earns its name in several ways. It’s a gravel road that winds down the mountain, always with a steep drop on the left. On bikes, we were able to keep a safe distance from the edge, but I imagine that large buses wouldn’t be able to drive the road. And for smaller vehicles, passing would be difficult.
There were little water falls and streams at every bend of the road. And it wasn't so much a gravel road as it was a mud and rock road. I had to dodge a lot of the larger rocks.
It’s been a while since I did any real mountain biking, but I really didn’t think it would be a big deal. And… It really wasn’t. I was too cheap to spend the extra $20 for rear suspension, so I spent a lot of time standing on my bike. And with a bit of speed, the rocks rattle every bone in your body. I had some interesting muscle pains the next day, but nothing debilitating.
There is another reason the road is so dangerous – and we saw it firsthand. We hit a point about one quarter of the way down the “Death Road” where the road was completely blocked by a landslide. Our guide climbed up the slide to take a look and said there was no way the road was passable. I heard rumors that there was a small landslide in that spot the day before, but that it had been passable. There were thoughts by others that maybe the road had been blocked the day before but didn’t want to hand out refunds, so they were feigning surprise. I don’t think so.
There were little water falls and streams at every bend of the road. And it wasn't so much a gravel road as it was a mud and rock road. I had to dodge a lot of the larger rocks.
It’s been a while since I did any real mountain biking, but I really didn’t think it would be a big deal. And… It really wasn’t. I was too cheap to spend the extra $20 for rear suspension, so I spent a lot of time standing on my bike. And with a bit of speed, the rocks rattle every bone in your body. I had some interesting muscle pains the next day, but nothing debilitating.
There is another reason the road is so dangerous – and we saw it firsthand. We hit a point about one quarter of the way down the “Death Road” where the road was completely blocked by a landslide. Our guide climbed up the slide to take a look and said there was no way the road was passable. I heard rumors that there was a small landslide in that spot the day before, but that it had been passable. There were thoughts by others that maybe the road had been blocked the day before but didn’t want to hand out refunds, so they were feigning surprise. I don’t think so.
On the mountain bikes, we could go no further. And obviously our bus (that was following us) couldn’t get past the landslide either. We walked our mountain bikes uphill to meet the bus. And then we walked a little further while the bus stored our bikes. If I’m being honest, I really enjoyed the walk uphill without my bike in tow. There wasn’t a lot to see – it was so foggy. But it was quiet and beautiful and mysterious.
On the bus, we drove for what felt forever, but I was watching on my phone and saw that we were going back to the “Death Road” from the other side. And so, we were able to continue our mountain biking downhill only having missed (in my opinion) 10 km of the trip.
Eventually we hit a town where we dropped off our bikes and stripped off our safety gear. And there was beer!
From there we went to a hotel which served us a great buffet meal and offered showers and a pool. It was too cold to swim, I think – nobody went into the pool. But I made a friend that seemed to want to cuddle. I probably have fleas now.
From there we went to a hotel which served us a great buffet meal and offered showers and a pool. It was too cold to swim, I think – nobody went into the pool. But I made a friend that seemed to want to cuddle. I probably have fleas now.
The ride back to La Paz was soooo long. It felt like forever – close to 3 hours. I was packed into a row of 4 and totally didn’t mind that the guys on either side of me got cuddly while they slept – I just felt jealous that they were able to sleep. I was tired, but not tired enough. But I was really happy that the bus was able to drop me off just blocks from my hostel. I literally unlocked my room door and stepped in just long enough to grab my towel and a bar of soap and then walked straight into a hot shower.
I had a great time. I think the scenery was more interesting than the bike ride, and it would have been nice if I’d been able to fall asleep on the way back. For about $45, it’s a good deal. The bikes have suspension and hydraulic brakes (though I only had 3 functioning gears). They provided safety gear, jackets and pants, dinner and they even provided some videos and photos after the trip.
(Nobody died).
I had a great time. I think the scenery was more interesting than the bike ride, and it would have been nice if I’d been able to fall asleep on the way back. For about $45, it’s a good deal. The bikes have suspension and hydraulic brakes (though I only had 3 functioning gears). They provided safety gear, jackets and pants, dinner and they even provided some videos and photos after the trip.
(Nobody died).