84 is too crowded
On weekend afternoons in warmer months. I drove up the road once last year on a Sunday and was amazed to see how many bike were descending--many sandwiched between a car right in front of them and one right behind.
I mean, no room for error and didn't look like any fun to me.
I used to work at Palo Alto Square in the '80s and it was great leaving work and going up OLH to 84 and back. I had 84 all to myself. But what I see on weekends, no thank you.
Scary to hear about the severe injuries suffered by the riders making the turn for Portola. I don't like to see tenative or paranoid cyclists descending at 20 mph either. It makes bicyclists even more unpopular when that happens.
I think the road can be safey taken about the same speed as an average car driver, but yes, you have to have the road wired into you and a weekend probably isn't the best time to learn this.