down hill scardy pants

[Thorn]

What they all said...repitition and looking ahead and where you want to go.

I'm getting better. I can handle about 35mph if I know the road and/or can see that the road surface is in good condition. Otherwise, I ride the brakes and stand in awe at the pros in the peleton that travel those speeds with other riders near by. [[Shudder]]

I rode on a trip with a woman who skewed to being one of the slowest riders in the group, if not the slowest. That is, until we came down the mountain pass. Nearly everyone rode their brakes on the way down, but not her--she never hit the brakes once. As a former downhill skier she had no fear and blew us all away.

I'm convinced it is all perception--if you think it is too fast, it is; if you think it is fun, it will be. I'm still working on the latter.

[tctrek]

I hate going up the hills, but LOVE going down them. I've hit 40 mph on a few. The only hills that really scare me are curvy ones where I don't know what's around the curve -- is there a car backing out of a driveway, a stop sign, a big dog, a pothole? Until I ride it a few times, I use my brakes on the curves. But once I can see ahead of my, I get as aerobic as possible and let it fly -- sometimes that gets me half-way up the next hill and that means less climbing !

[OakLeaf]

This seems like a good time to insert the lecture again.

Being familiar with a hill means you know where the line goes - camber, turn radii, cracks and potholes, etc.

It does NOT tell you whether there is an obstacle or a slippery surface around the next blind curve, or whether a deer or groundhog is about to dart across the road.

If you notice yourself getting a lot faster as you become familiar with a hill, search your soul as to whether you could really stop or swerve in time if there was oil or gravel just around the turn, or whether (in the classic Motorcyclist example) one lane was blocked by a refrigerator, and the other by the pick-up truck that just dropped it.

The limit on your speed should always be your sight distance and your braking and swerving skills. Work on those skills and enjoy those descents! (I love them! but I know I can be a little over-bold and ought to be doing more skills drills. )

[tctrek]

This seems like a good time to insert the lecture again.

Being familiar with a hill means you know where the line goes - camber, turn radii, cracks and potholes, etc.

It does NOT tell you whether there is an obstacle or a slippery surface around the next blind curve, or whether a deer or groundhog is about to dart across the road.

If you notice yourself getting a lot faster as you become familiar with a hill, search your soul as to whether you could really stop or swerve in time if there was oil or gravel just around the turn, or whether (in the classic Motorcyclist example) one lane was blocked by a refrigerator, and the other by the pick-up truck that just dropped it.

The limit on your speed should always be your sight distance and your braking and swerving skills. Work on those skills and enjoy those descents! (I love them! but I know I can be a little over-bold and ought to be doing more skills drills. )

Well said. We always need to have a balance of skill and awareness mixed with the sheer joy of downhill.

[Kelly728]

<~~Joins the scaredy cat hill club

I have always been like this. I remember back when I was 7 or 8, riding out the neighborhood on my bike. There was this "large" hill one street over and I braked the whole way down. It wasn't because of a fall, I'm just extremely timid and have difficulty being fearless.

[Reesha]

I don't know what happened to me-- as a child, I would bomb down hills with no helmet and then skid out as soon as I hit the bottom to see how long of a line I could make. Lived on a dirt road that was a giant hill!

Methinks common sense set in with age

[hipmama]

Oh yes, as a kid I flew down the hills, even in college when I lived in the mountains I was fearless. I think it's something about being a mom now... there's this whole different respect for my life needing to be preserved.