We had booked the same tour as Carlee and Andy for the cycle down La Carretera de los Yungas aka the World's Most Dangerous Road and also arranged to stay in Coroico afterwards instead of returning to La Paz. Our bags were put into storage at Arthy's at 7am and we walked across town to Oliver's Pub, La Paz's 100% Fake English Pub which also doubled as the meeting point for the Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking tour.

The pub was packed with people - it turned out to be 2 groups of 14 people which meant there were 2 guides (plus 2 assistant guides) and 4 vans. Our guide was Steve, a Kiwi, so we knew we'd be in good hands. Nobody was drinking though, even hungover people will be breathlysed and not allowed on a bike if they over the local drink drive limit.

Not long after 7:30am we all piled into the vans and drove out of La Paz and up into the mountains. After about an hour we stopped at La Cumbre, which would be the highest point of the day at 4,700m above sea level. Needless to say, it was pretty cold and we were thankful to have the insight to put on thermals, a few layers and wear our windproof jackets. We would shed the layers through the day though as we would descend 3,500m into the jungle along the 63km road, which starts on standard two lane asphalt but soon changes to a dirt road only 3.5m wide, at some points, with steep drops of the side of the road. This road has had the most fatalities and therefore earned the nickname "World's Most Dangerous Road" or "Death Road".

The safety gear was handed out and bikes allocated. Helmets and gloves were all tried on for size yesterday, in the office, and correct sizes allocated to everyone. Even the bikes had been allocated to specific people based on your height and whether you preferred the font brake on the right hand or left hand side.

The bikes were proper Kona mountain bikes with hydraulic breaks and full suspension, the front forks had a 20cm travel to absorb the big rocks and holes we'd be riding over later in the day. We all had a quick practice in the car park to make sure we were comfortable with the bikes. Maria's gears were not working properly but they fixed them on the spot.

We had a briefing about the bikes, how they differed from road bikes and hybrids and how best to ride them. It sounds stupid but we also got a briefing on the road rules. The first 22km would be ridden on the busy two lane asphalt road and as much as local road users were used to bikes being on the road, they expected certain behavior from the cyclists to prevent any unnecessary accidents.

Before setting off, Steve took us through a local ritual to appease Pachamama, "Mother Earth". A bottle of ceremonial alcohol was passed round each rider to pour a little on the ground for Pachamama, pour a little on the front tire and then take a small drink from the bottle. The alcohol was pretty rough but if it was going to bring us some luck and safety on the ride then it was worth doing, it was after all the World's Most Dangerous Road and statistics proved it.

The ride down on smooth asphalt road was fast even on a mountain bike, the first section was steep with corners that the bike could take easier than a van or a truck. Despite the speed, we were still able to take in the views of mountains and valley. We all stopped just after one particularly sharp bend for a photo opportunity. We were high on steep cliff looking down the valley. There was also the shell of a crashed bus at the bottom. We were reminded again to stay within our limits, accidents still happen on this road.

The second asphalt section was even faster than the first. It wasn't as steep but the road was straighter with big sweeping curves. We reached speeds close to 60kph and again overtaking the slower traffic. We stopped again, just before a tunnel and were told we wouldn't be going through. There was a short section of loose gravel on the outside of the hill that we would take instead. We all got a bit of a shock, we were used to a bit of speed on the bikes but this track took us by surprise. The loose gravel was deep and it immediately made the bike slide around a bit. While we were concentrating on that, there were suddenly 15cm deep ruts in the path that had been cut out by the rain. The immediate reaction was to brake but that only made things worse and the bike more unsteady. We had to ride it out and trust the bike. The bikes, of course, took this type of terrain in their stride, we just had to learn not to follow our natural instinct and allow the bike to do the work. We were all pleased to hear that the later section of gravel road was not quite as bad as that bit was.

We were at a break point in the tour. The next section was 8km windy, undulating roads and it's always easier to put bikes back on the van to save some energy and time. We were given bananas and chocolate while we went off to pay a tourist fee of Bs.25 to cycle on the gravel section.

As we drove round in the van we could see a steep sided valley ahead but it wasn't where we were going, we were going to the next valley which had even steeper sides.

The van turned off the asphalt road, down a windy gravel road for a couple of kilometres before stopping at the side of a wide section of the road. The bikes were unloaded and we were given another briefing about how to ride on the gravel and the rules of the road. Whilst the road was 'closed' to traffic, there could still be vehicles coming up the road and we had to give way to them. One different rule on this road however was that you drove on the left. This meant that we, the downhill traffic, would be on the side of the steep drop rather than hugging the hillside.

It was getting warmer as we continued to descend so a layer or two was taken off before getting back on the bikes. We headed off down the road through thick green vegetation and it wasn't until the first bend that the valley opened up before us and we could see with our own eyes the sheer drops at the side of the road ahead.

As well as Steve, our guide, we had his assistant, Ricardo, who helped keep our group together and took photos and video of the trip. We had plenty of photo stops for the views but Ricardo would take action shots as we were riding so there was no need to stop and take our own, we were just to concentrate on riding.

The gravel section of the road is 33km and it was split into a number of sections so we had a briefing of what lay ahead before each one. As well as contending with the gravel road and steep, potentially fatal, drops at the side of the road, there were also roadworks, waterfalls and couple of small rivers to navigate through.

The ride down the road might be gravity assisted but it is by no means an easy 'walk in the park'. It requires a lot of concentration and a very good grip on the handlebars. As you hurtle down the road, the front wheel is getting battered by the uneven surface and the slightest relaxation has the steering being bounced in a direction you really don't want to go.

Despite the breaks for photos and section briefings, the time went incredibly quickly. No sooner than we were passing under the waterfalls, we were racing down the long straights with wide curves towards the river crossing, than we arrived in the village of Yolosa. It was the end of the road!!

We all made it one piece, only one guy didn't listen closely enough to our instructions and came off on a deep gravel section. He was fine, just hurt his pride a little. The tour included a beer at the end which was great, it was thirsty work especially as we'd dropped to only 1,200m and it was really quite warm. Some of the group went off to do some ziplining while the rest remained at the bar having some more beer and our mid-route sandwich (which didn't arrive on the road because the van got a flat tire).

Afterwards we went to Senda Verde for a pasta lunch which again was included in the tour. Senda Verde is a sanctuary for rescued animals but doesn't receive government funding. On our way in we saw a few parrots and couple of monkeys but we didn't do the short tour, we've seen heaps of monkeys in the wild in Central America. We also decided against the chance to swim in the river, the water was looking pretty muddy and fast... and cold. The buffet lunch was ok, there was salads, vegetables and pasta with various sauces. Not included but definitely worth paying extra for was the brownie and ice cream dessert.

We were all given souvenir t-shirts that had been tried on for size in the office when booking, but Maria's was the wrong size. We need to try to get back to La Paz early enough on Saturday to change it because an XL is way more than 'just slightly too big'.

As we were not going back to La Paz, the company paid for a taxi to take us to Coroico. We had to pay Bs.15 extra though to get from the Plaza to El Cafetal, which is a little way out of town. The four of us were given two rooms with a fantastic view out over the valley. There was a nice pool which hopefully can be used tomorrow when the rain stops (luckily the rain only started after the tour finished). After showering we chilled out on the covered deck and were joined by a couple of the local dogs.

We didn't stay on the deck too long, it had been a long, hard but exciting day and we needed bed. As we lay in bed listening to the rain on the roof, we began to feel the pain and stiffness in our fingers and forearms. Maybe it had been a white knuckle ride down the World's Most Dangerous Road and we just hadn't realised at the time.