Hills and corners.

[Owlie]

The hill in question: The one that played a big part in scaring me off my bike as a kid. ~6% grade. Relatively quiet suburban street (just big enough for two cars). There's a tightish curve in the middle and at the bottom, and the road is such that drivers have a hard time seeing anything from the top or the bottom of the hill.

I've only descended this hill twice (on the same day), and on a weekend morning. Both times I actually rode in the middle of the road (I know...) because I wasn't sure if I could make that curve safely, and because there was no traffic.

So, I'm looking for some advice for dealing with this little 'friend' of mine. Taking the "lane" rather than riding to the far right is probably the best bet from a visibility, safety (for both passing vehicles and me), and means I don't have to go through as tight a curve. Any other advice? I know some of it has to be simply intuitive in terms of how you move. Most of my problems with it are in fact mental!

[OakLeaf]

Corners on hills can be extra tricky because they can be off-camber, and debris tends to build up in them. So no shame in being cautious.

Have you searched the forums? The #1 thing you need to do in ANY vehicle, ANY time, is look where you're going. Once you've mastered that, there are a lot of other tips we can give you about using your body as suspension to keep your wheels on the ground. But work on your gaze first. Everything flows from that.

[marni]

oak leaf has it right, learn to look where you are going, not where you are. Also don't forget the driving rule of slow before the corner, curve, not while riding through it. I am a coward on hills and tend to slow down a lot before curves, and then not go all that fast anywhere else on the downhill. I have however learned to feather the brakes on prolonged down hills which slows me down as well. So I ride up to my maximum terror speed, brake carefully and slow down, down, down and then ride to my terror level unless there are curves or corners then I brake to slow down a lot, creep around the curve brake free and then deal with the downhill after.

Like they say about Carnegie Hall- practice, practice, practice.

[Grog]

Taking the lane sounds like the thing to do...

[smilingcat]

go down the hill with an experienced rider who can act as a pace setter for you and see how he/she chooses the "line". Try to ride your bike on the same "line". Ask the person to take it easy for you so you are not trying to go down at race speed. Do this a few times so your body and your mind get the feel of coming down a hill.

Taking a full lane on a curvy road without or limited shoulder is a smart move provided you are not going so slow that the cars coming up behind you don't have to lock their brake.

Just practice.

fear is not what we want when we ride our bikes ;)

enjoy your ride.