| Another tragic death on the world's worst road | | | | people telling you NO, travellers will always put |
| I recently received news from a friend in Bolivia | | | | themselves in positions that they would usually |
| that one of her travelling mates had been killed | | | | avoid at home. Sometimes you just need to get |
| while cycling down the 'death' road in Bolivia. For | | | | somewhere on a dodgy bus, sometimes you |
| those unfamiliar with this stretch of road and its | | | | make decisions to do things that might be better |
| well deserved title, its a road that winds down | | | | avoided. |
| from Bolivia's capital La Paz, to the small resort | | | | Cycling the death road is as good an example of |
| town of Corico and then into the Amazon basin. | | | | this as any. I wonder if there was an Australian |
| At its best you could call it a road, at worst its | | | | stretch of road so monumentally poor that 250 |
| nothing more than a one lane goat track with no | | | | people a year were dying if people would even |
| railings and thousand foot cliffs to drop off. | | | | choose to drive along it, let alone cycle down the |
| Before a bypass was built recently over 250 | | | | bloody thing? Yes we would probably fix the road, |
| people a year did just that. You can see the | | | | and liability would prohibit the tours, but you can |
| evidence of mangled buses and cars through the | | | | see what I mean. Aside from the risk there is |
| mist below the road. | | | | something kind of morbid about taking a thrill in |
| Despite the new bypass reducing traffic along the | | | | riding down a road where so many people have, |
| road the risks are still there, as highlighted by the | | | | and continue, to be killed. |
| continually high road toll and the deaths of a | | | | The news from Bolivia has brought back |
| number of travellers on orgainsed cycling tours. | | | | memories of my experience there. I was almost |
| This ride down the 'death' road has become a well | | | | killed in a bus crash further down the same road. |
| entrenched part of the backpacking route through | | | | It's fair to say that that the decision to to this |
| South America. It kind of begs the question: | | | | ride might be an ill informed one, but a bit of risk |
| Why? When travelling away from home people | | | | will never stop backpackers when they are away |
| tend to take a different view of risk. Call it the | | | | from home. Please just consider the history of |
| thrill of being far removed from responsibility or | | | | the place before getting on the bike! |