Originally Posted by
rkwaki
...
Going back a few years I can remember descending in a race at 112 km/h (70 mph) and had a teammate (great descender) come by me like a bullet - he said he was doing 122 km/h (76.25 mph) - the descent was literally like falling off a cliff
Weeeeeeeee
I was OTB in a road race and had a faint glimmer of hope that I'd make up some ground on the pack when I reached 58mph on a sustained descent. That was until a pack of Cat1,2's (who started ~30 mins after me) passed me like I was standing still.
I wrecked hard on a downhill earlier this year (impact w/ wheel attacking dog --> collapsed fork --> 3 fractured ribs, scapula, collarbone in 5 pieces) and, while I've loosened up some on the downhills, it's still in the back of my head -- and until it isn't, then I'll continue to hold back on the downhills to some degree. Next year I'm taking the 55mph descents to 60 (I have medical benefits from work and no kids.
)