Great story! 51 miles is awesome! I've noticed there is a HUGE variation in people's speeds going downhill, and a lot of people who _look_ like they should just blast down turn out to be really nervous and cautious and say they hate descents- so it isn't just you. Is it the curves that get you, or are you worried on straightaways where you can see the bottom and the flat you'll be riding onto, or the next uphill? I definitely get nervous when I can't see around curves. I start slowly until I have a feel for the steepness, and keep both hands on the brakes, strong but relaxed- not in a death grip, and feather the brakes, slowing more going into the curve and releasing a little about midway through. On the straight parts, I have my pedals level, with my weight distributed equally on each foot (not on my seat!) with my thighs gripping the seat (I think this is a mountain bike descending technique, but it makes me really steady on the road, too) and when I come to a curve, I put down the pedal on the outside of the curve. That lets you keep your weight to the outside of the curve, but still be able to lean into it. If it is a very long descent, I occasionally switch which leg is forward so they stay evenly tired. I've heard that if your frame starts to shimmy, all you have to do is touch your knees to the top tube and this makes it stop- but my bike doesn't do that.

I stay more toward the center of the road- far enough to the right so if an oncoming car is over the center line they won't get me- though I stilll watch out for that, but well away from the gravelly shoulder. It isn't safe for a car to pass in a curvy descent, anyway, and they seem to respect your right to be in the road more if you aren't all squished over to the side where it looks like you want them to pass. If it's long, and I have a place like a turnout to give a car a chance to pass me safely, I will, and in the straightaways I make sure they can see around me that it's safe to go by.

I try to divide my attention evenly between watching for potholes and glass, etc., and planning out the upcoming curve. I've noticed that if I take my eyes off the road for a second, I will inevitably hit a hole, or stick, or something else that I didn't want to ride over- so I mostly watch what I am riding on.

Something else important, that a lot of people _don't_ do, is hold their line on a curvy descent. This means pick where in the road you want to be, and stay there, (when you're in a large group where people are passing) don't be drifting right and left. If you are slower, stay a bit to the right, and people can pass you, but don't allow someone to push you into an unsafe part of the road just to get out of their way, either.

That's great that the ride leader is going to give you a cornering clinic! You know what I hate, is just plain fast cornering on normal flat streets, where you have to watch out for that triangle of sand right where you want to make the turn. _That_ makes me nervous, and I just slow down so I can see- too bad if it makes me take the corner slower than everyone else. I really slow down on RR tracks, too.

You are almost at Metric Century distance now! Ice cream!!

Nanci