Today was my Death Road Bike Tour so I was up early and ready for the downhill Mountain Biking experience. Unfortunately I woke with Diarrhea again but I wasn't going to let that dampen my excitement. I had to meet my guide and the rest of the group at 9am in a certain part of the city, I arrived and waited and waited - almost ready to give up after 1.5 hours standing waiting the van finally arrived. I was so happy that the van had arrived I completely forgot how pissed off I was. We made our way out of the city, stopping to pick up sandwiches, bananas, chocolates and a few other bits and pieces. In the group there were two Japanese guys who have been working in Bolivia for last year, a lovely couple from Belgium on a one month trip of Peru and Bolivia and a Polish guy on a 9 month trip of the world. Everyone in the group was very easy going and well travelled which meant conversation was easy and we all got along well. After about an hour we arrived at our starting point (4700m) and went about decking ourselfs out in all the equipment which included; pants, jacket, knee/elbow guards, gloves, helmet and our dual suspension downhill Mountain Bikes. The equipment was average and all of mine was way too big, but the bike was good and the hydraulic brakes were working - the most important thing. After a brief safety chat, some info and an offering to Pachamama (mother earth), which included pouring straight alcohol on our bikes and taking a shot; we were ready to begin. The first section was Tarmac and quite a steep decent and the pace we got up was incredible - in excess of 70km an hour. For some reason everyone was whizzing past me and I couldn't work out why as I wasn't using any brakes and I was getting myself into the most aerodynamic position - when we stopped the guide checked my bike and the rear brakes were locked on. After fixing the wheel lock position my bike was 100 times better and I got to absolutely fly down the road and around the hairpin corners - at one point I got the excited shiver down my spine from the rush of racing the MTB down the mountain. After about an hour we came to the end of the Tarmac section and loaded our bikes up into the van for a short drive to the start of the famous Death Road. The guide gave us some snacks as it was already passed midday but unfortunately I couldn't eat any of the food. Now this is where it got fun - imagine off road, rocks, fast corners, rivers, waterfalls and oh a 600m drop to your left - add speeds of 60km an hour and there's my idea of fun. The great thing was we could ride at our own pace and as I had grown up riding motorbikes I was used to this type of terrain and speed, the guide and I took off racing each other down the first section. The adrenaline was certainly pumping and I remembered why I loved riding motorbikes so much, we stopped at various scenic spots to take photos and learn a little about the roads history. We passed under waterfalls, through rivers and around hairpin corners all whilst battling oncoming traffic - the road is literally only wide enough for 1 car which makes corners very interesting. I really like this downhill Mountain biking but when you come to flats or slight inclines it soon becomes not so fun as theses bikes are really not designed for pedaling or going up hill. About every 40 minutes we stopped, waited for the others, drank some water and got our energy back. The last section was my favorite as it was the steepest downhill section around some tight corners and through a little village to the end point. And just like that it was all over, what a ride, what a day and now it was time to get a cold beer and reminiss with new friends. Amazingly there was only one flat tyre and no injuries or come offs, so the guides must be happy with that. After a few hours at the bar we were all starving as it was nearly 5pm and we still hadn't had lunch, our guide was busy getting drunk so I quietly mentioned we were all ready for the restaurant and like that we were off. Arriving at the restaurant we almost broke the door down racing in- unfortunately the buffet wasn't overly flash and had obviously been sitting out all afternoon. On offer was some dingey looking salads that I didn't risk eating, some peanut soup, fried chicken and sphagetti Bolognase. As I was still a little nervous about my tummy I went for a big bowl of peanut soup (terrible compared to Nyrzha's Mothers) and two huge bowls of fried chicken. I was so hungry I ate 3 plates of chicken and would have kept going if it wasn't for the massive pain in my stomach. Everyone was in high spirits having just been fed and having successful completed the Death Road challenge, we chatted, laughed and a few of us braved the cold showers. It wasn't long and we had to go, the van trip back was over 3 hours and painstakingly slow and uncomfortable - we made the most of it by telling stories and trying to sleep. At about 9:30pm we arrived back in La Paz and headed to the ProDownhill Office to pic up our shirts and our photos and videos (really nice touch: 200+ photos and a few short videos from the day). I thanked everyone, said goodbyes to new friends and then made my way back to Nyrzha's. it was 10:30pm when I got back and I was absolutely stuffed but at the same time feeling on top of the world from such an amazing day. The company does another ride from 5400m up, down a ski slope, along a single trek that is a lot faster and more technical for about the same price if I can find someone else who wants to join. Every day should be like today; new, exciting, challenging, unwritten and with great people - something that has been fading from my travels lately. Tomorrow a new start, book my jungle tours and search out some new and exciting experiences.