First some information about the so-called 'Death Road'...
According to our guide, no one has died on this road for 2 years...But from the beginning: I booked a downhill mountain bike tour on the Death Road through Xtreme Downhill. Early in the morning, we were picked up at the hostel and taken to the starting point of the descent to El Cumbre at an altitude of about 4600 m. After breakfast and a short briefing, we put on our equipment, while the guide appropriately played the song 'Highway to Hell'. At first, we went 8 km downhill on asphalt the curvy road. We covered another 8 km by bus because it went uphill and the gringos usually can't handle the altitude. Then it really started on the Death Road, about 44 km on a narrow, winding dirt road with world-class views down. After 300 m, I already had to say goodbye to my bike, the chain was out and couldn't be fixed anymore. Luckily, we were accompanied by our bus with spare bikes. With the new bike, I cautiously went down the slope in the back midfield. But I quickly got bored with that, at some point I just raced after the guide at full speed. At the side of the road, you could see several crosses and many of the curves had names like Germans Corner or French Corner because someone had crashed there before. After we all arrived safely at the bottom (well, except for pain in our hands, arms, and buttocks), we had a delicious lunch and a refreshing dip in the pool. And of course, a t-shirt to prove that we survived the Death Road. A super adrenaline-filled trip....
