Dakar Rally organizers have revealed the route for the 2014 edition of the legendary off-road race. Scheduled for Jan. 5-18, 2014, the 35th edition of the Dakar Rally returns to South America and adds Bolivia to its route. The route will include several marathon stages and special stages, testing competitors’ endurance as well as their tactics.

The 2014 Dakar Rally will begin in Rosario, Argentina, the birthplace of Che Guevara located on the Paraná River  about 185 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. From Rosario, the route travels westward before turning north towards San Juan and continuing alongside the Andes to Salta, which will host a rest day Jan. 11. From Salta, the route travels north to the Bolivian border. Continue Reading »

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Okay, we’ll admit, we will make up any excuse to get to read Playboy at work, but this is a story worth sharing no matter what the source.

James R. Petersen, a longtime writer for the Bunny mag, is also a lifetime motorcycle enthusiast. He also has a degenerative eye condition that makes it increasingly difficult to see. The part of his eye responsible for focusing is leaking fluid, severely affecting his ability to see. While he still has enough sight to ride, his editor at Playboy pitched the idea of an Ewan McGregor-esque adventure riding story. Petersen accepts.

With blood vessels doing to his retina “what tree roots do to sidewalks”, Petersen heads to South America for a 5,000 mile motorcycle ride from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,  to Lima, Peru, including a stretch on Bolivia’s North Yungas Road, one of the world’s most dangerous highways, colloquially known as “El Camino de la Muerte“, or the “Road of Death“. It hangs atop a 2,000-foot cliff with no guardrail to protect riders from a deadly plunge. The North Yungas Road claims the lives of 200 to 300 people each year, most of whom probably aren’t dealing with severely degenerated vision like Petersen.

The video above is fascinating, but not as fascinating as his story. Check it out at Playboy.com or in the March 2011 issue of the magazine.

[Source: Playboy]