Always slow down for corners you don't "know" and can't see through and around. There could be somebody driving up the middle of the road...

So I was following my own advice on Falls Creek Road in the Methow Valley heading up the Okanogan Highlands, which is steep. There's a mile or longer stretch of 15+ % grade. And it's in the desert. I had carbon tubulars, and the brakes started to overheat. They'd make this weird noise when I went to use them, and I didn't have much stopping power. The road had more curves than a sorority. And I'd made the idiot mistake of leaving my water purifier behind in my backpack, so I ran out of water pretty quickly, was feeling more than a little light headed on the way down. I wound up taking a lot of the corners faster than I wanted to, fortunately it's a remote area and I saw two cars in about 20 miles, so I had the road to myself on the way down (and up, too).

Other than the worst pavement I've ever seen, it was a fantastic ride, and when I got closer to town (Winthrop, WA) all of the drivers were amazingly courteous. Every one of them. The area is known for mountain biking, but it's a great spot for road biking, too.