I almost went "too fast" several years ago. At our cabin in Western PA there is a 1 mile long steep sweeping hill that I've hit over 52 mph on. At the end of rides I always try to hit the hill for max speed. On this day it was sunny and shadows from trees made patches on the roadway. While in my high speed position, everything tucked in and with my nose down to the stem, I crossed what I thought was a shadow. It ended up being a shallow pothole where the pavement overlay was missing. My first thought was a front wheel pinch flat, but that didn't happen. Relieved because I didn't end up going over the hillside at 50 mph I sat up and finished the ride. When putting the bike away I noticed the aluminum handle bar had a "smile" crack on it between the stem and the bar tape. Yikes, the computer showed 51+ mph, what might have happened if I was going 53 mph?