A mountain bike ride down the "Worlds Most Dangerous Road", also affectionately know as "Death Road", was an adrenalin rush we had to experience while in Bolivia. The narrow gravel road is carved out of a mountain side with sheer drops of up to 600m and very few safety barriers. The name "Death Road" is justified, as on average, one vehicle every fortnight would disappear over the edge. The road is so dangerous the government built a new safer road on the opposite wall of the valley, leaving the old road free from traffic and used almost exclusively by thrill seeking cyclists.

But cycling down "Death Road" is still risky - 15 cyclists have gone over the edge in the last couple of years. There are no safety regulations and we had heard that some of the cheap biking companies cut corners by providing tourists with sub-standard bikes with inefficient brakes! We decided to play it safe and go with a decent company. The bikes were top of the range with front and back suspension and powerful hydraulic brakes.

The road is 64km of mostly downhill riding and our guide couldn't stress enough how important it was for us to "take it easy, it's not a race!". We got going and the view over the edge was terrifying. The road is mostly single track so we were never more than a meter or two from a long fall and certain death. However, as we settled into the dramatic cliff hugging decent, we went through the most incredible scenery - the views across the valley were spectacular. At times waterfalls were cascading down the cliffs and we had no choice but to ride straight through them. We even saw eagles soaring on the thermals. The scenery was so amazing it was easy to forget that we were riding down the "Worlds Most Dangerous Road"! We'd stop every so often to take in the views and snap some photos. By the time we got to the bottom it felt like the 64km had gone by far too quickly. It was possibly the best mountain bike ride either of us will ever experience - a thrillingly terrifying road in a dramatically spectacular landscape.

Check out ‘Bolivia - Death Road’ at http://gallery.me.com/peterjprice/101841