The next thing on our list was Salar de Uyuni, but in order to see it we first had to ride to Uyuni. The views were spectacular but, since I forgot to soften the suspension for this rough road, the trip was not without incident: the rear rack broke and we had to use the tie-downs to be able to advance.
Tags: offroad
Yungas Road was exciting but not as challenging as expected (by me, hehe!), so I began looking for thrills elsewhere. I found soon a mountain road that began descending sharply through the forest. After about 5km the road began to look as if no vehicle has been using it during the past 10 years. Curious to see where it will lead us, we continued.
At one point we met an old woman who was living in a nearby chalet. She advised us the road was leading to a dead end but we couldn´t really understand where and why the road will end.
Thinking the woman wasn´t fully aware of Palomina´s off roading capabilities, I dismissed her warnings and decided to proceed. But after another hour or so through the bushes, we found the answer: the road was no longer in regular use because a rock and mud slide has destroyed a portion of it.
So we had to return, but climbing back with a 200kg bike equipped with 50-50 tires and passenger and luggage is not as easy as it might be on a 150kg cross, so it took us the rest of the day to get back to the asphalt. On some section we had to remove the luggage and/or push in order to make it, and we almost dropped the bike off a cliff. But what would life be without the unexpected?
Tags: offroad
Once in Coroico, we found the entrance to the old road and we began ascending. At 1500m altitude and in the middle of the rainforest it is pretty hot and humid, but after only 50km you will find yourself at 3600m surrounded by a spectacular alpine landscape. Unfortunately, the road is now not as spectacular as it used to be until 2003, when many trucks were using this one lane road as the main route for transporting goods to and from La Paz. Today this is mainly a tourist attraction, especially for the ones interested in mountain biking.
Tags: offroad
The kunas are indigenous people living in the coastal areas of Panama and Colombia. To get to Carti, our destination, we had to ride for about 90 minutes on a muddy road going through a thick jungle and crossing the Kuna reservation. A tropical rain made this more fun! Plus, the bike overheated at some point (the Yamaha fan seems to be not as good as the original…) so I had to cool it down with water from a nearby river.
Tags: offroad