Downhill fear

[HillSlugger]

Not sure if it was already mentioned, but try keeping one knee on the top tube, or clamp it between both knees, to keep the bike from shimmying.

I happen to love fast descents, but when I'm on one I don't know well and can't see exactly what the road is doing I have to remind myself to relax my upper body and keep my elbows loose and bent. I'll also gently scrub off some speed by applying light pressure on and off with the brakes.

[kimikaw]

Glad I'm not the only one. I'm ok on downhills (at 25moh or under) but discovered over the weekend that I'm not so okay riding across a high bridge. Hubby and I rode the Natchez Trace last Friday, and had to cross what felt like a 300 foot high bridge (in actuality 155 feet above the road below).

Going out I was maybe 1/3 - 1/2 of the way into the car lane, despite a wide shoulder. Just kept looking at the rail and thinking if I fell, I'd tumble over the side. The return was worse. Pretty significant descent from that side heading into the bridge.A pretty good crosswind had blown up. I was convinced the wond was going to pick me up and toss me off the bike at any moment. Rode almost to center of road, just could not force myself over. Unsure what i would have done if a car came up behind. Realize now that my death gripe on the bars didn't help.

Stopped on other side and took these pictures. And found out hubby was equally freaked by the crosswind (he was behind me, so don't know his line across).

[Ritamarie]

try keeping one knee on the top tube, or clamp it between both knees, to keep the bike from shimmying.
.

Isn't something wrong with your bike if it is shimmying? I've regularly gone over 40 mph downhill on my road bike and have never had it shimmy. I'm not super brave on downhills either, mostly because I am afraid of wildlife running out around here (I almost got run over by a deer the other day!) or I imagine blowing a tire mid-descent, but I never worry about losing control of my bike due to it behaving unpredictably. I save that worry for when I'm on my horse.

[Crankin]

It's not so much that my bike is shimmying. It's that I find it hard to follow the road at high speed. Like, I have to fight not to end up on the wrong side of the road. Yes, I keep my leg down, press against the top tube and try to look where I am going. It's that the feel of everything is different when descending at speed. I start shaking and that's it... I might add that this problem is mostly when I have to turn/curve right. I am much more comfortable with left hand curves.
Pretty sure that this has something to do with my astigmatism that is not corrected. I also feel awkward just turning right.
Mostly, you wouldn't this if you saw me ride; you would just think I was a very slow descender.

[OakLeaf]

It's really common to have an easier time turning one direction than the other. I suppose there's more discussion of it on the moto boards just because most beginning bicyclists don't spend a lot of time thinking about handling techniques?

Tight turns to the right are much harder for me, too. I attribute a lot of it to vision as well. But crowned roads can make right turns really tough, too, which can set you up for a loss of confidence that gives you trouble even on flat surfaces.

[Crankin]

Yea, I really got to know the crowned road phenomena this summer in Camden, Maine. I felt like I was sliding off the road the whole time. But, my DH noticed it too. The difference is, that it doesn't bother him.

[Zen]

Isn't something wrong with your bike if it is shimmying?

Not necessarily. Shimmying is otherwise known as speed wobble