40-50mph is motorcycle speed, which those guys/gals are running in full leathers and a full-face helmet (the smart ones, anyway). I've rarely exceeded 35 on a bicycle, and am in no hurry to do it again soon. A little slower is still fun. Joe "where ya goin in such a hurry, boy" Bernard Vallejo, CA.
On Friday, July 13, 2012 8:15:32 AM UTC-7, Will wrote: > Intuition is a good thing. Listen to it. > > On Friday, July 13, 2012 9:53:40 AM UTC-5, Michael Hechmer wrote: >> >> I'm not a particularly anxious person, although I do get anxious when >> someone compliments my courage! I regularly downhill at 40+ mph and have >> hit 50 on good pavement and reasonably straight mountain descents without >> too much anxiety, but one hill this year has me spooked. >> >> One of my favorite routes is a 23 mile ride with 1400 feet of climbing >> that is equally divided among lightly traveled & good dirt roads, mostly >> descent chip & seal town roads, and a third of moderately traveled state >> roads. It provides beautiful pastoral scenery, a good view of the whole of >> the Mt. Mansfield ridge line, and a stretch along the Lamoille River, >> including the impressive Fairfax Falls. In the past I have always ridden it >> counter clockwise, which includes a beast of a 3K climb, including a K of >> 20%+ grade right in the middle. This year I reversed direction and have >> been riding it clockwise on my Rambouillet, with a very nice set of Grand >> Bois Cerf tires. The first time down it I discovered the pavement on the >> steepest section was not in good condition, no pot holes or heaves, just >> lots of broken chip and seal. The bumping was quite dramatic and I felt >> like one good hole could toss me over the handle bars. Garmin was showing >> 47.5 when I lightly squeezed the rear brake. Fortunately the Paul's Racers >> have excellent modulation and I safely slowed enough to feel OK. >> >> But when I got to the bottom I asked myself why I chickened out, since I >> was just fine, and thought that the next time I would lay off the brakes. >> But this hasn't happened. Instead each time I have gone down it, I have >> gone slower and slower. Today I took out my Trek, which has 32 mm TServes >> to see if I would feel more comfortable at higher speeds with the softer >> tire. But when I got to the top of the hill I realized I had no real taste >> for the experiment. I went down at 25, until I could see the good pavement >> at the bottom and then I let it roll out to 39. >> >> So I ask myself, is this wisdom, or just yielding to irrational anxiety. >> >> Michael >> Westford, VT >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/X254zJBOfv4J. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
