【明報專訊】Passing numerous crosses on the side of the road in the misty haze brought a shiver (顫抖) to the spine. This ghastly haunting sight was a sign that we were now entering the arcane boundary of the world's most dangerous road. As we cruised down the steeply narrow and winding road without a second to spare, we were told to remember certain spots such as the Balcony, the Waterfall, the Irish corner, English corner, American corner...etc and was promised a story about them afterwards. The Balcony was just like any other corner overlooking the abyssal cliff (懸崖). The history behind it, however, was immense. The reason why it was called the Balcony was that prisoners of the Peruvian-Bolivian war were brought there and told either to jump off the cliff or shoot themselves. Many chose to jump, in the hope that they had a better chance of surviving. That made it one of the sites responsible for most deaths along the road. The Waterfall is an actual waterfall, and one of the narrowest parts of the road, making the surface even more slippery and precarious (不穩定、危險的), killing many, including experienced leaders. The last accident involved a young Israeli girl, forever remembered by a plaque sent by her grieving family. Otherwise, the different corners are simply named after the nationality of the cyclists who died there. Hearing these stories made the experience even more surreal, as any second could have been our last. It was difficult enough to keep concentrating for 4 hours straight, knowing that any moment could be fatal if I lost focus. Before I knew it, I had ridden 65 km down this road at a flying speed, fingers hurting from holding the brakes too hard at points. Exhausted and worn out from the adrenaline (腎上腺素) rush, I was yearning for more, as I had survived the Death Road! I seriously doubt I would ever do that again — life-risking once in a while was enough.