X-Rated Rides
For some, best means beautiful, for others, bonkers. Here are three big, bad roads that should come with a health warning…
North Yungas Road, Bolivia
You could equate cycling Bolivia’s ‘Death Road’ with other thrill-seeking activities like bungee jumping or skydiving, though that would be to ignore the lower margin for error of this daredevil stretch of road. Connecting Bolivia’s administrative capital La Paz with Coroico in the Yungas region, it climbs to 4650m (from La Paz’s already steepling 3650m) and drops to 1200m over 64km, down a largely singletrack gravel road, crossed occasionally by streams and carved precariously into the mountain side. Few barriers offer protection from cliffs dropping away vertiginously up to 600m. The construction of an alternative highway, as well as the banning of buses and trucks since 2007, means it’s not quite as dangerous as it once was, though deaths still occur. Its reputation has made it a magnet for tourists, with companies such as Altitude Adventures offering guided tours and bike rentals for people wanting to say they’ve conquered ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Road.’
Hehuan Mountain, Taiwan
Best known in cycling circles as the mountain of the world’s longest hill climb race (the Taiwan King Of the Mountain Challenge), Hehuan is monstrous. In the east it rises out of the East China Sea and gains altitude unerringly, with gentle slopes at the bottom turning savage as the Wuling summit nears. It’s in the final 10km, as the altitude closes in on 11,000ft and your body gasps for air, the gradients tip consistently into double figures, leaving you bowing to Hehuan’s majesty, all 85km of it. It’s the only paved road connecting the east, west and north of the island through the Central Mountain Range, but it’s only really on the weekends that it gets busy with traffic. Like Bolivia’s Death Road, Heavy Goods Vehicles and buses are now, wisely, banned, which will have eased congestion, as will its notorious reputation as a treacherous one for drivers.
Mortirolo Pass, Italy
If the North Yungas road can be deemed as X-Rated for its wild construction, and Hehuan for its indomitable length, the Mortirolo Pass gets this dubious badge of honour for its steepness. In the Lombardy region of Italy just down the valley from the town of Bormio and the Passo dello Stelvio, to many it’s the toughest climb in professional cycling, averaging 10.5 per cent over 12.4km from the toughest Mazzo di Valtellina side, the scene of all but two of its 12 appearances in the Giro d’Italia. Unlike the spectacular Stelvio, the Mortirolo is a murderous grind through suffocating woodland. Panorama is a dirty word to the Mortirolo. If you fancy giving it a go, amateurs can now race it in the Granfondo Stelvio Santini, which largely replicates stage 20 of the 2012 Giro and finishes atop the mighty Stelvio, part two of a fearsome double header.