Jakey

This morning I hit 55.2 MPH on a STEEP decent... And I got to thinking, at what point do you go from a little crazy to ride that fast, to downright stupid? The bike felt smooth (a little crosswind caught my attention ) but as an afterthought....it wouldn't take much at that speed to knock you off....and then..you'd almost be lucky if it killed you.

cryogenic

I don't even wanna think of the road rash you'd get from going down at that speed. Skin transplants may very well be in order at that point.

skydive69

Probably a speed somewhat under what you achieved this morning!

Jakey

Yeah, thats what I figured..haha.. One of the guys in our group stopped halfway down the hill to take pictures of everyone going down...he said I sounded like an airplane taking off as I went by... Its a STEEP long straight hill, with a flat straight run at the top where you can get a nice speed over the crest. 60 isn't out of the question, but I don't think I have the kevlar balls to do it.. I know someone who hit 67 on a tandem!

53-11_alltheway

That's right. Pretty dangerous when you consider you are doing this all on 23mm tires.

You get a blow out and your in trouble (hopefully your QRs are good and tight). Pray a car is not behind you either.

TheKillerPenguin

If it's a hill that I know well, there's no such thing as too fast!

New descents though, I keep it under 40 so I can spot road hazards before I reach them, and get a feel for the road.

JavaMan

That's too fast for me! I try to keep my speed around 45 on steep descents.

my58vw

I hit 52 MPH on a 1.5 mile decent, that I climbed at 8 MPH on the way up. Going around some very very hairy corners I finally said that it was too fast. My limit is about 50 MPH on anything that is not a straight shot down. Saying that it is a thrill going down hill at 50 MPH is something that has to be experienced.

travis200

On the decents for the Death Ride it is not uncommon to be hitting high 50's for a few miles at a time. Especially coming down from the last pass you are close to 60mph for what seems like forever but it is only 14 miles or so. The cross winds are what makes it a little scary at times. Plus the cars passing you then seeing you in the rear view mirror since you are going about the same speed and then tapping their brakes because they freak out.

TheKillerPenguin

Just curious, do you all wear cycling glasses? I don't, and I've been hit in the eye twice by bugs while descending around 45mph.

UmneyDurak

I wear sun glasses. They are not "cycling" glasses (i.e. the ones that cost 100+ and "specially" made for cyclist), but they keep wind and bugs out of my eyes quite nicely.
I usually descent ~40 mph, I could go faster if I pedal, but I preffer just to go aero. At the bottom of my usual descent the road becomes really twisty, so it's lots of fun. I'm also in a state of denial, I don't really want to think what would happen if my tire blows out or some tard stops his/her car in the middle of the road. It won't be pretty.

Patriot

What's really scary, is doing it in the rain.

661

you people are crazy!

Patriot

Hey, you only live once.

Oh, btw, you also want to make sure you've paid your premiums for your life/medical insurance this month.

skydive69

I tell you - I don't scare easily. I am a certifed crazy person. I have 659 skydives, and have jumped out of a jet airplane at 175 mph. Having said that, I am not sure I have the cajones to do 60 mph with those skinny ass tires!

Boise_Pedaler

I was listening to Sean Kelly commentating the Giro on Eurosport.com the other day and he said at one point he hit nearly 70mph on a decent. That's insane.

blipzandstripz

A real trick would have been to have a digital camera in one hand and snap a picture of the computer while going that fast! Another real trick would have been to hit that speed on a fixed-gear.

Just joking, wouldn't want anybody to go down going that fast. That's insane.

Rich22

LOL you guys are nuts to go that fast, if u fell you would def be in trouble. next time snap a pic of the speedometer like blipz said ;-)

Mojo GoGo

If the road is smooth and the curves aren't too severe there's no such thing as too fast! The best I've ever done was 53.3 - I think I could have gone faster but I had to break to keep from rear ending a SUV as it was in a 45mph zone. Besides, if you're on a motorcycle that wouldn't even be going the speed limit (and if you wipe out you're not under a couple hundred pounds of bike )

Wurm

*****, they've been doing that off the big climbs in the Grand Tours for years.

If you're not sure enough about your rig, tires, and skills, you're going to be just as dead or banged up crashing at 45 mph as you are at 60+. Only at highway speeds it won't take quite as long to find that tree or guardrail.

Doggus

Anything over 186,000 miles/second is too fast. You will reach infinite mass and blow a tire.

zing28

45mph. The bike was steady as a rock though. So I may go a little faster on that descent next time.

The best part of going that fast is the weird looks you get from people in cars.

cryogenic

never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly

Waxbytes

No blowout because you'll be on tires of infinite cross section and volume to support the mass.

zing28

Plus everyone will have aged quite a bit when you return from your ride.