Originally Posted by EURO
And the best advice I got, from a guy who descends alpine passes on a weekly basis as a guide
7. Don't look at the road directly in front of the bike. Keep your eye on the road's 'vanishing point' as you turn the corner (the furthest part of the road you can see), this gives you much more prior warning of the lay of the road and also traffic.
This is an excellent point, which I first encountered in motorcycling. Looking as far up the road as you can manage has the effect of slowing things down, psychologically. You feel like events are happening in slow motion, at a rate you can manage comfortably. When you're not panicky, you set up the proper line earlier and your body stays looser, which helps the bike track a lot better through the corner.
Another motorcycling tip -- unless you're racing on a closed course, keep enough in reserve so that you can deal comfortably with the totally unexpected. I like to imagine that a delivery truck has just hit a bump around the next corner and dropped a full size refrigerator sideways across the lane, and I always try to ride with enough control that I could stop before I hit it.
I've never actually seen a refrigerator there, but I've seen lots of gravel, more than a little glass, and the occasional stopped car.