Thanks all. After reading the advice here I think I know what I need to do.

Stay on the road.

I'm heading out today for a road bike ride from South Lake Tahoe to Portland, going over Mount Lassen, Shasta, Crater Lake and Mount Hood.

Skinny tires all the way.

Rick@OCRR, I read about your crash on FB and wished you well from afar. You have me thinking that I may not be interested in investing the broken bones and blood it takes to go about "learning more technical skills" as BluesDawg suggests.