La Paz (day 3)

Worlds most dangerous road
Erich´s wife Nicshe sent an email a couple weeks ago with a link to a company that offers mountain bike rides down a mountain road in Boliva with a drop that would surely end in you death in many sections. My first thought was what sort of saftey equipment did this company have? Parashcutes? Saftey lines? Then the macho sid of me thought if Nischi a petite girl will do it theres no way that Im going to reneg. Well that was 2 weeks ago and yesterday I pilled on a bus with 12 other unsure but excited pasengers. The height of the starting point is around 3900 meters above sea level (Calgary is 1000 meters) It was cold and the road was smooth and paved. after an the first few stretches I became quite comfortable on the bike rarley appling the break and trying to keep up to the big boys (the guide and Seema´s husband Thad who has years of expiernce.) Well I never quite caught up and upon entering the second part of the downhill, the off road section I began to wonder if it was samrt to try to keep up. But Erich at my back kept encouraging me to go third. BOOO. Really I think I pooped my pants just a little the first time on the gravel and questions simular to whn I first visited the website two weeks eariler came to mind.

Admist my trepidation I brave faced it and keep pushing my self while avoiding the edge. At one point I told Erich that it was his turn to take the uncertain third place position. Im unsure of how it happened exactly but coming out of a corner I saw a very large bolder directly infront of me. Waht did I do? I paniced and slamed on the breaks the bike successfully stoping me contining of top of the rock luckily on the gravel. More dissapointed than hurt I grabed my bike and took off fast as possible as not to cause an accident from the ridder behind and if I was luck no one would have seen my blunder.



The rider behind me a backpacker from Austraila did and mention infront of Seema who bieng the nurturing type did exactly what I was trying to avoid was to bring attention to my accident oh well I wasn´t hurt and the guides didn´t loase any confidence in my bieng able to continue thank goodness.

We rounded the day up by having dinner and a hot shower WAHOO! at a excotic animal recover center. The nice feeling of a hot shower was short lived as I began drying myeslf to the sent of amonia or urine as I discovered on closer inspection a Red Howler (monkey) had marked it for himself and if that wasnt enough the perv was spying on Thad from the glass window above a la spread eagle against the pain while he took his shower I guess we know who is the animal lover.

visit the biking company´s web site
www.gravitybolivia.com/