Tuesday: to Uyuni

Today will be cold as we head to Uyuni on the edge of Bolivia's salt flats. We start out hitting the black stuff again but after about 100km on Route 1 the road turns to dirt and gravel as we transition to Route 30. On the map this is shown as a main Bolivian road but as we've come to learn this is no indication of the road quality. The road from La Paz to Oruro was in the process of being upgraded to a twin carriageway and we were constantly diverted to dirt tracks running parallel with the main road; but Route 30 to Uyuni made no pretence at being in the 21st century.

On the tarmac section of Route 1 we were able to keep up a fair lick of speed; this, coupled with the cold morning air, meant that even gift wrapped in extra layers we were all feeling the cold. To take my mind off the chill I started singing the song trapped in my head: Manilow's Copacabana! It wasn't long before I was moving and shaking on the bike, tapping my toes at 60mph. This worked wonders and really helped to warm me up. I tried to persuade my buddies to join in but for some reason they were happy to let mad Dom continue his solo performance.

Fresh tarmac where present is very good

The road became harder the further south we headed. In particular the road developed a hard transverse rut pattern. At speed this vibrated the bikes violently, so much so that bits were falling off them. Along with the ruts, sand, gravel and dust, we also had to contend with herds of skittish lamas. These roamed across the roads at random and we had to take special care to slow down as they were known to run in front of traffic when spooked.

Steve Dent navigating the transverse ruts

We stopped in a very picturesque and isolated spot for lunch, a flat pasture of thorny grass with a meandering river in the near distance and a rocky outcrop overlooking us on the other side of the road. We played about with the bikes, posing for shots by the river with snow capped peaks in the far distance and miles and miles of nothing in between.

What a nice spot for lunch, Gerard and Danny

Moving on, the road's hard surface and gravel was also causing punctures; we had three. Two of these punctures were to my front wheel, the last of which occurred on a speedy run where I noticed the front end becoming very vague as I slowed down to meet the assembling group at one of the catch-up stops. This on top of the puncture I'd had the day before, meant that Cory decided to fit a new tyre to replace the soft worn one I had been running on. Cory and Steve Dent were becoming very speedy in replacing inner tubes, but replacing the tyre was much more of a challenge. Once fitted, my bike was instantly upgraded with a much grippier knobbly tyre, great for the sand and mud.

Cory uses a Mick-powered bike sidestand as a tyre bead breaker - very ingenious!

Despite the grippy new tyre, I manage to fall off in a short muddy section where the mud was unbelievably slippery. Any application of throttle and the bike's rear wheel fish-tailed madly. My only face saving was that Cory was also caught out and like me ended up with an afternoon mud bath. In my fall I managed to trap my thumb, which later became swollen and bruised. That evening Doctor Rosie examined it and concluded no major damage had been done. This is confirmed by no reduction in my BlackBerry key tapping.

After seeing a lone flamingo in a shallow lake (this area is famous for flamingoes), we eventually arrive in Uyuni just as the light is fading. A quick fill of petrol and we're ready for another day. Tomorrow, the salt flats. .

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well thumbed from my BlackBerry