The Bolivian border crossing was straight forward but slow. Customs is integrated between the Argentine and Bolivian authorities. Our Argentine papers were surrendered and new Bolivian papers signed and stamped. We were warned not to lose this or we would not be permitted to take the bikes back out of the country.
Once in to Bolivia it was not long before the smooth tarmac was replaced by rough piste. A group of us took a wrong turn in a town but managed to get ahead of the main group who pulled up behind us a a toll station. We then set off for Uyuni
This ride has been described by Nick Sanders as one of the top rides in the world. It was epic. For most of the route it was single track unpaved road, winding though the Andes and reaching altitudes of 4000 meters. The total days riding was 550 km with 340km unpaved. It could certainly be described as challenging!
There were tight turns on loose gravel with high unguarded drops, loose sand and clay also meant the bike was constantly moving around - especially on road tyres. For much of the second half of the route we followed a dry river bed though spectacular mountains.
Eventually we had to cross the river bed and the soft mud, sand and clay got the better of many of us - including me. It was while picking the bikes up that many of us got our first taste of high altitude effects. Picking up a 200kg bike is an effort, when it is fully loaded with luggage and extra fuel it takes several people. After getting across the mud myself and helping a couple of other riders, my heart was pounding and I was very short of breath. We also found out that Paul, one of the riders I've been spending time with, had fallen off at low speed but had damaged his ankle. His bike was on the trailer and he was in the truck.
With only an hour of day light and 40km of piste still to ride it was then we noticed Phil had a flat tyre. The other riders we were with rode on and left us to fix it. The compressor Phil was carrying failed to restore pressure. The puncture was located and plugged, but this cost us most of our remaining daylight and we were forced to ride the final 40 km in the dark.
The lights on the SM-T are not particularly good. The loose gravel and threat of animals in the road meant speeds were low. The corrugations in the road meant the bars were constantly slapping in to my hands (writing this a day later my palms feel bruised and my fingers are very stiff). As we rode through the night we could see lightening strikes every few seconds, hitting the mountains on either side of us. During this trip it has felt as though weather systems are static, we ride up to, though and past them. The thunder storms appeared to be closing in on us and it was a welcome sight to see the lights of U?? in the distance.
The town got bigger and bigger until suddenly it filed my vision. Phil asked a local for directions to the hotel, we saw some of the other riders at a round about and we rolled in to the hotel compound.
After dismounting we were all still alive with adrenaline, talking fast and congratulating each other for completing the ride. The hotel is American owned. We had beer and pizza and were about to head for bed when we heard that there had been some problems.
One rider had been hit in the eye with a bungee. In order to get him to town a pillion had been left by the road with another rider. The support truck was also missing. Another rider had collapsed at the dinner table with suspected altitude sickness. A taxi was dispatched with two of the group to go back and pick up the pillion and the remaining rider, but luckily they met the group already coming back in to town with the support truck. The truck had been delayed due to a broken trailer, this also meant Paul had to ride back with his injured ankle.
Update: the injured eye is expected to make a full recovery.
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