The World’s Most Dangerous Road
28 Dec 2009 06:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wayfaringwordhackThat’s the subtitle they use for El Camino de la Meurte, the dirt road that leads down to Coroico. It is dangerous; one year alone, when the road was still heavily used by regular traffic, over 320 people died on it. Since the first company started the downhill mountain biking, 20 cyclists have passed on to the Great Beyond. That doesn’t mean, though, that the Camino de la Meurte is the most dangerous ride, or the most difficult, technically speaking.
It is dangerous. Twenty deaths and numerous injuries can attest to that, but it isn’t out of reach for someone who is ridiculously useless at biking....in other words, moi. Which means that it is likely, er, very likely, you can do it, too.
However, if you do want to try it out, go with Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking. They are serious about safety, and their motto can be pretty much summed up in one word: respect.
- Respect your brakes (they're good, really good; you can trust them).
- Respect the road (20 deaths, only one with Gravity, but it was apparently a heart attack and not truly due to the road)
- Respect others (only Gravity riders have the courtesy to let others know they are passing).
For those that want a technical ride, Gravity does the Ghost Ride and and a Secret Single Track that are more likely to please, but the Most Dangerous Road is still a satisfying descent with gorgeous scenery. Worth doing.
I'm almost positive that this cross was put up in memory of the first cyclist's death on the road:
(the diagonal line or break in the vegetation above the cross is the road...)
Postcard curve:
Not as scary as it looks, but that is a 800ft drop there. :P
It is dangerous. Twenty deaths and numerous injuries can attest to that, but it isn’t out of reach for someone who is ridiculously useless at biking....in other words, moi. Which means that it is likely, er, very likely, you can do it, too.
However, if you do want to try it out, go with Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking. They are serious about safety, and their motto can be pretty much summed up in one word: respect.
- Respect your brakes (they're good, really good; you can trust them).
- Respect the road (20 deaths, only one with Gravity, but it was apparently a heart attack and not truly due to the road)
- Respect others (only Gravity riders have the courtesy to let others know they are passing).
For those that want a technical ride, Gravity does the Ghost Ride and and a Secret Single Track that are more likely to please, but the Most Dangerous Road is still a satisfying descent with gorgeous scenery. Worth doing.
I'm almost positive that this cross was put up in memory of the first cyclist's death on the road:
(the diagonal line or break in the vegetation above the cross is the road...)
Postcard curve:
Not as scary as it looks, but that is a 800ft drop there. :P
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 28 Dec 2009 10:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 15 Jan 2010 01:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 28 Dec 2009 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 15 Jan 2010 02:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 28 Dec 2009 11:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 29 Dec 2009 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 15 Jan 2010 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 29 Dec 2009 02:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 15 Jan 2010 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 29 Dec 2009 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Mar 2013 07:08 pm (UTC)What is the altitude there, btw? (I'm wondering about the guy who had the heart attack.
So did the people who died all go off the road? Or were some deaths due to crashes with motor vehicles? (Or maybe that's not known?)
no subject
Date: 6 Oct 2022 12:47 pm (UTC)This article (https://franks-travelbox.com/en/suedamerika/bolivien/el-camino-del-muerto-strasse-des-todes-bolivien/) says that it climbs 3450m, and its summit is at 4650m. Obviously, I only went down. I would eat the bike before I would cycle uphill that many meters. :P
I think most of the deaths were falling off the road, yes.
no subject
Date: 5 Oct 2022 08:19 pm (UTC)(LOL, apparently I commented on this at the time, but I totally forgot!)
ETA: Okay, not quite at the time but several years ago.
no subject
Date: 6 Oct 2022 12:47 pm (UTC)