Originally Posted by
Digital Gee
My sense kicks in at 30 mph. If you're a wuss, I'm an uber wuss.
Lol ... add me to the uberwussie list. Here are my rambling thoughts (blame the Cipro):
Frankly, I love curvy, twisty (I guess that's what people call "technical") descents. But I am not a fan of "straight down the hill" high speed descents.
I honestly try to keep my descending speed at 35 or less. Why?
I've crashed at 25+ MPH (blown tire). It sucks. Uber road rash, broken ribs, broken collarbone, and it could have been worse. I'm sure most of you know this, but the physics of the situation is that the severity of the impact increases with the square of your speed. So a crash at 35 MPH would involve almost twice the severity (energy dissipation) as a crash at 25 MPH, which, as I said ... sucks!
Even so, I found myself hitting 53 on a recent descent up in the Sierra without even realizing it ... we had a huge tailwind.
I should say this too. I had an epiphany about my descending technique about a year ago, and that epiphany has made me both faster and safer in my descending at the same time. I'm now confident that I can do mid-turn course changes ... something that was not formerly in my repertoire.
So I dunno. I guess it's all a matter of your experience, what you are comfortable with, what your skills support, and how much you are willing to give up to the possibility of the unexpected (mechanical problem, wildlife, errant motorists).