Originally Posted by exas
don't forget if your tires trip over a rock or a bump going at that speed and you fall you will die
Oddly enough, I get into a "relaxed hyper-aware groove" when I'm going fast like that. I probably should be nervous (and I'm old enough to know better), but it's nearly the opposite.
To avoid hazards, I've learned to make quick "flicks" of the bike, and to bunny hop.
That said, I really don't want to hit the asphalt at speed again. Last February I got put on the ground when a guy towing a trailer clipped me while I was going 40 mph...and it hurt like hell
(thankfully, nothing was broken except the bike).
But, the sheer joy of bombing down a big mountain is just too much of a rush to pass up.
One of my most fun moments on the bike came when I was descending Loveland Pass in Colorado. I came up behind a semi loaded with Cadillac Escalades as he approached a tight left hand switchback at 25 mph. There was another semi coming up the pass about 250 meters down the hill. I put my 50-year old sprint in gear, passed the semi at about 40 mph, and moved back into my lane as both truckers blew their air horns at me (I think they were congratulating me
). And the semi I passed? He didn't catch up to me until the road flattened out about 7 miles further on.