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Similar event to the one featured in [i]that[/i] valparaiso video from last year, only this time in Bolivia.
I checked my big bag of talent and seem to be substantially short of the required skills and bottle to even think of trying that.
I checked my big bag of talent and seem to be substantially short of the required skills and bottle to even think of trying that.
mr tumble's spotty bag has more talent that your "big bag of talent"! 😆
The penalty of failure does look to be a tad severe in places.
it needed more steps, I thought.
I never knew that there were "cebras" in Bolivia.
I spent some time in Bolivia and wondered how cool a race in town could be, now I know.
Its also 4000m above sea level, just walking fast is hard.
Holy flirking schnite!
That's gotta be some of the craziest riding I've seen!
Are they zebras or stripy bears?
They are zebras - La Paz's traffic control team of disadvataged youths in zebra suits.
[url= http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2009/1027/bolivia-in-andean-capital-dancing-zebras-direct-traffic ]http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2009/1027/bolivia-in-andean-capital-dancing-zebras-direct-traffic[/url]
Only slightly less mad than some of the riding in that vid!
La Paz was an amazing place to stay for a few days. Really great culture, not westernised and fantastic scenery, food and friendly people.
Dear God, dey is mental.
😯
To make it fair I think they should also do it going up as well.
Blimey, ask a stupid question, get an actual answer that teaches me something new? This place is going to the dogs...
Looked pretty flat, would probably do that on a rigid
Crazy place La Paz, there is a 1km difference in altitude between the top of the city and the poorer part in the bottom of the valley.
Had surgery in a clinic there following an accident on "The Road of Death" on a bike and got flown back as a medical emergency to Heathrow.
Made the mistake of telling customs that i was flying from Bolivia and that I had not packed my own bag, rubber glove merchants wet dream!
^^ At the risk of being morbidly curious that sounds like a hellavua story scud... has it been covered on here before? 🙂
"The Most Dangerous Road in the World" is only supposed to be dangerous to drunken latino truck drivers and anyone unlucky enough to meet them coming the other way. Countless bikes shops push the trip for a few dollars, on badly manintained bikes, with a t-shirt at the end.
Scud - that was unlucky. Try some DH next time with Gravity Bolivia, probably safer! It's tough riding a big bike at 4000m though...
La Paz is mental, Zebras are par for the course, as are armed security guards outside Burger King whilst local business men eat inside. The national football team didnt loose a home game for 2 years until they had to play at a lower altitude (Nepal would have been a decent match).
Amazing country, you can climb on ice to 6,500m one day, sit on Copacabana beach a couple of days later, then be in the Amazon rain forest for the weekend. They've even got a navy, look at an Atlas and see how weird that is 😉
I was out in Peru to do all the classic touristy things when we met a couple of Aussie fellas who said we should get a bus across the border into Bolivia if we liked biking and do the Road of Death.
Seemed like a good idea at the time! Most of the people doing it were with american owned firms and wore coloured vests and were told to control speed, we went with some dodgy Bolivian firm, who promised full sus Iron Horse bikes, we arrive to find that they are 10 year old Trek hardtails with mechanical disk brakes.
Cue this very hung over fella going far too fast down the infamous road when the rear tyre pops and wheels buckles chucking me, 62km into the 64km's down.
Ended up dislocating my shoulder and snapping the head of the humerous off and sticking the brake lever through my leg. Took 8 1/2 hours to get tiny antique support bus back up to La Paz, turns out that the guide buggered off and the support bus had no first aid kit.
Got to clinic in La Paz, had surgery at 5200m above sea level to re-locate shoulder and put 2 pins in, but they miss where i stabbed myself in leg, so started to bleed out overnight.
Cut a long saga short, took 3 days to get back to UK due to flight cancellations in Miami connection, then went to hospital here to be checked out, only to find out that they had no idea what the Bolivian surgeons had done, and that i had to have the whole surgery done again!!!!!!!
Other than that, great trip..
I think I retracted a little watching that!
Blimey, where the hell is the hospital at 5,200m? Was there some medical advantage from having it done in thin air?!
There's a good video of Gracia riding some proper stuff here:
[url]www.pinkbike.com/video/9674/[/url]
@ scud wow, that must have been a very eye opening (read pant wettingly) scary experience. Sounds you like you were very lucky as I imagine its very remote in that part of the world with a serious injury such as that.
😯
One or two moments of 'into the unknown' it seemed in that run.
😯
Bigger testes than I by some way.
I have to agree that there is a bit too much 'go 18 inches offline there and you're dead' type stuff in there!
A bit like a lot of the high mountain videos on Mid-week mini-movies. Interesting, but I still can't get rid of the feeling that some of it's a bit too dangerous.
I love smashing through rock gardens and coming out of the other side wondering how I stayed on, but the penalty of certain death is not one I'm willing to pay!
What's with the flash of rider 33 right at the end of this? As if they're trying to instill something into our stoopid little minds!
Think this run is awesome AND most importantly it's done with the brand new Evil Undead carbon DH machine:
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Which of course makes it waaaaaaay cooler!
Talking about La Paz and crazy runs, it reminds me this from Alejandro Paz, enjoy:
Almost as hard as my paper round on the top estate when I was 13 but without a bag full of Sunday supplements to carry and no mad dogs chasing ya 😉
I'm not sure what is crazier - the Alejandro Paz video of the La Paz video
Recently read 'Bolivian Marching Powder' and have a real urge to do a cycling trip out there.
Whats the worst that can happen? 😀
Bring Scud for added highlights!!
My tiny brain can't even understand what's going on in that Alejandro Paz video....
Has anyone got a liink to the wall ride video from this event? I saw it before but can't find it now!