Originally Posted by
MinnMan
Yow.
I think my max speed is in the high 40s. I've been on long mountain descents where higher speeds were possible, but I just don't have the cajones to trust it.
I'm most comfortable at higher speeds where it's most safe - i.e., straight road, good pavement, and I can see the road turning back up hill after the bottom.
You never know the road unless you just rode it.
There's a hill called "Fish Hatchery" here, it's about 1 mile long and you can easily hit 50+mph. normally I ride up and know the pavement was fresh and smooth. But one day I took a different rout and went down. About 3/4 of the way down I saw that a large square section of blacktop had been worked on and the top layer was not laid leaving a 1-2" drop in the surface. My only reaction was to bunny hop it which I did.
At age 65 I don't heal as fast so I try to keep max speed in the low 40s.. unless I just road that section that day.