Rob and mysef are mountain biking the " WMDR - it starts at 4700m to 1100m and it is about 64km long! Very excited, alhough a little nervous as well, as I have seen the pictures of the road...... We both went with Gravity, which is expensive (USD105 per person), but on a trip like this I am not going to compromise on safety to save a few dollars. The decison seemd to be the right one, as they were very proffesional and our guide was very helpful (he also helped us arranged a taxi back to La Paz). The bikes and our gear was all in very good condition.
All the riders met at the cafe, at which stage we devided into 3 different groups - each one with its own guide/instructor. It was a short littel bus ride from la Paz to the top of the mountain, were we would start off on a section of paved road (for aboput 20 km or so) and then off on the WMDR (which is all a dirt road). Our group was first to get all our bikes etc, so we started first. Halfway through our ride on the paved road, i started raining badly, whcih had all of the other groups half their paved road section and drive straight to the WMDR. So we were soaked when we got to that section! I was very jeoulous when all of the busses drove past us on the rode and here we were cycling in the rain. There was also this section called "Heartbreak Hill" which was pretty tough on a bike with front and back suspension (mental note for my Africa buike trip, only front suspension - you work a lot harder on paved roads with the dual suspension). I started off to quick on the hill, as I felt pretty good at that stage, ala Lance Armstrong, and then just completely burned out due to the altitude that caught up with me badly! But at least we all made it to the top of Heartbreak Hill soaked from the rain (the gear that they gave us to waer was not waterproof, so everything was wet).
We got to the start of the WMDR gravel road, and after a very good briefing, we start riding... All I can say about the ride was that although called the WMDR, it can easily also be called the most scenic! Stunning landscape while you are desending to the bottom (I still dont know how the locals could drive that road - there is a new paved road that recently opended so most of the people are using this instead of the WMDR - for obviouis reasons). I cant recall when I last gripped handle bars so tightly at some of the sections. It is literaslly onw wrong move and you are dead, as the drop off the cliffs are just straight down! The nice thing was also that as you desend further and futher, the weather starts getting warmer and warmer, which jelped a lot with the cold clothes and making us warm again (I was really hating it at one stageb because I was so cold and almost decided that I would go and sit on the bus). In all, it is a stunning road but there are some sections that are very narrow, and I was relying very heavily on my brakes! It is certainly one of the more adventorous things that I have done in my life and something that I will not easily forgot!
Rob and myself had to catch a taxi back instead of going with the group bus, as they were only getting into La Paz at around 8 or so, and I had to be at the bus terminal at 7:30 to go to Potosi. The tax ride was amost as scary as the bike ride, as our taxi driver looked a bit "weird". At least we could also see the enw road, as this was the way that he was riding, which I was very glad, becasue if he had to go up the WMDR I would haev volunteerd to drive! At least we made it safely in La Paz with the taxi and his pretty cool choice of music, which was in the line of Guns N Roses etc. The terminal was a bit hairy, as this was the first time in my travels that I did not meet anyone that I was travellign with and that could speak Spanish, so I had to sort it out all by myself. After a few hichups and with the help of a Frensh couple, I was on the right bus (hoping my back pack was as well!). The rest of the bus was full of locals, so I was the only English speaking person on the bus. Had an intersting time with the toilet breaks, because when the bus stopped, I was not sure if it was to pick up people or an actual break to go to the toilet etc. So this ensured that my bus ride to Potosi was "intersting" and during the trip I had to think very hard not about going to the bathroom! At least at 3 am in the morning, we had our long stop, and the only thing was that I asked the lady next to me "Banos" and poitning outisde, and when she said "Si", I made a run for it! Not very comfortable riding in a bus with people that dont understand English and you being unablke to ask anyone when the bus wil stop....
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