Is it reasonable...
Discussion
...to use clickbait titles? 
...to be really nervous descending on rural back roads?
I'm not the bravest descender at the best of times, and far from the fastest climber... my average speed is being hammered as soon as I go off vaguely main roads around here (Carmarthenshire). So many of the minor roads hold many or all of the following features:
Never flat - and often quite steep
Twisty
Narrow
Grass/gravel/mud/stones/lumps of wood down the middle
Falling away at both sides
Random extra potholes
Random extra gravel traps
Random water features running off fields
High hedges limiting forward vision
(And nettles overhanging the road, now :grr: )
Here's a typical example - not the steepest (tho if you turn the camera around, you can see it should be a good run), but you can see the edge is falling away, there's plenty of loose mud and gravel up the middle... there's only a few inches of good tarmac to ride on in places, and no clue what's around the next corner. When these roads are grassy, it's almost worse - the grass can be hiding some fairly impressive holes and/or rocks!
I know my tensing up will not help, although I do trust my new bike with discs to scrub the speed much better than my old rim brakes... but on an open road, or even a little wider and better quality, I'd be doing 20+mph down there without a care in the world... instead I'm dragging myself down to jogging pace.
Is there a way of improving this?
Or just avoid these roads when I've found them once?
Or just accept them and my slow speed as the downside of the maze of otherwise fantastic, almost traffic free, roads I've got?
...to be really nervous descending on rural back roads?
I'm not the bravest descender at the best of times, and far from the fastest climber... my average speed is being hammered as soon as I go off vaguely main roads around here (Carmarthenshire). So many of the minor roads hold many or all of the following features:
Never flat - and often quite steep
Twisty
Narrow
Grass/gravel/mud/stones/lumps of wood down the middle
Falling away at both sides
Random extra potholes
Random extra gravel traps
Random water features running off fields
High hedges limiting forward vision
(And nettles overhanging the road, now :grr: )
Here's a typical example - not the steepest (tho if you turn the camera around, you can see it should be a good run), but you can see the edge is falling away, there's plenty of loose mud and gravel up the middle... there's only a few inches of good tarmac to ride on in places, and no clue what's around the next corner. When these roads are grassy, it's almost worse - the grass can be hiding some fairly impressive holes and/or rocks!
I know my tensing up will not help, although I do trust my new bike with discs to scrub the speed much better than my old rim brakes... but on an open road, or even a little wider and better quality, I'd be doing 20+mph down there without a care in the world... instead I'm dragging myself down to jogging pace.
Is there a way of improving this?
Or just avoid these roads when I've found them once?
Or just accept them and my slow speed as the downside of the maze of otherwise fantastic, almost traffic free, roads I've got?
I wouldnt push past 20ish on a descent like that
Something like Newlands corner in Surrey though and I'll go as fast as I can. 44mph I think is the fastest GPS I've managed down it but I can't push the bike any further I don't think. I just spin out.
Managed 46 in Italy twice on a long descent with loads of visibility.
Something like Newlands corner in Surrey though and I'll go as fast as I can. 44mph I think is the fastest GPS I've managed down it but I can't push the bike any further I don't think. I just spin out.
Managed 46 in Italy twice on a long descent with loads of visibility.
MrBarry123 said:
There’s absolutely no way I’d be zooming down that road.
If you meet something going the other way and/or something unexpected happens, there’s nowhere to go and it’s only ending badly for you.
Yep agree newlands corner feels somewhat dangerous to me , generally don’t like to go over 40mph as too much risk even of hitting a random diesel spot or pothole If you meet something going the other way and/or something unexpected happens, there’s nowhere to go and it’s only ending badly for you.
It's reasonable to be cautious, most of them have gravel/sand/mud down the middle so even if your brakes are good then you still need to keep the bike upright if you meet a car coming the other way.
I don't think there's any way to get faster, other than learning the road and optimising your riding to be fast on the bits where it's safe, or otherwise riding as many roads in an area as possible to figure out the roads which are wide, quiet and fun, and then stringing them together.
I don't think there's any way to get faster, other than learning the road and optimising your riding to be fast on the bits where it's safe, or otherwise riding as many roads in an area as possible to figure out the roads which are wide, quiet and fun, and then stringing them together.
I try and avoid roads like that but thankfully i live in south Warwickshire and have a nice pick of roads to choose from when planning my route. However some are unavoidable are often frequented by delivery drivers.
It's worse at this time of year as the hedge can't be cut back yet and you can't see tall traffic up ahead.
I also plan my routes so any roads where the gradient changes and i can't maximise my speed, I go uphill, not down. To me there is nothing worse than climbing one side to then use your brakes on the other to stop for a junc/dodgy bend.
This is probably my "nervous moment" on my common route. it's easily a 30mph bike speed with sharpish bend reducing speed into a village. you just know the drivers coming the other way are accelerating out of the village towards me.
It's worse at this time of year as the hedge can't be cut back yet and you can't see tall traffic up ahead.
I also plan my routes so any roads where the gradient changes and i can't maximise my speed, I go uphill, not down. To me there is nothing worse than climbing one side to then use your brakes on the other to stop for a junc/dodgy bend.
This is probably my "nervous moment" on my common route. it's easily a 30mph bike speed with sharpish bend reducing speed into a village. you just know the drivers coming the other way are accelerating out of the village towards me.
Another one for the "safety first" crowd here - too much scope for gravel/animal poops/potholes to chuck you off - noone cares about Strava and you aren't paid to be fast, so why risk it? I think of the the same way as in a car - good roads, visibility and conditions - go for it. Crappy roads, poor visibility and bad conditions - play it canny.
Saying that, my top speed on a bike was 94kph coming off Glenshee, in the wet, passing a campervan up the inside of a bend - so what do I know...
Saying that, my top speed on a bike was 94kph coming off Glenshee, in the wet, passing a campervan up the inside of a bend - so what do I know...
Parsnip said:
Saying that, my top speed on a bike was 94kph coming off Glenshee, in the wet, passing a campervan up the inside of a bend - so what do I know...
Glenshee is where I saw my highest speed 60mph - also in the wet. Less rolling resistance. I've always been fairly timid descender. Even if you disregard the risk of traffic, so many places that are tarred and chipped; have odd cambers; debris; oil; massive holes; going into shadow or dappled light from bright sun (tunnels from Lauteret down to foot of the Alpe are a nightmare for this). I try to be able to stop within my line of sight or have a not too unpleasant run offThe chaps I know who are good descenders are motorcyclists or quite light. I can follow a line but couldn't lead as fast as them.
For the most part I descend like a complete moron - I'm 85kg and reasonably aero, so it's a case of get on the front or get on the brakes - but I always take it steadily on broken-up single-track lanes like that: round here they very often have the kind of dappled shade that completely camouflages all the gravel, potholes and other bear-traps just to make it even more exciting.
Any pro will tell you one of the really big jumps in skills up to the top level (ie Protour teams) is their ability to descend like they do. (and of course the skills vary there too)
I know it sounds boring to say it but none of us are pro riders (as far as i know) with the skills required to manage crazy descents at stupid speeds (of course some are more skilled than others though), the amount of cyclists i see going hell for leather on descents with no realistic option other than a trip to hospital if it all goes tits up is worrying. i neither pretend to be a skilled quick descender or try to do it. (sadley im not much better going up either )
A guy i know is a reasonably novice rider (im not knocking him for that, we all start somewhere) but he is a terrible bike handler who chucks himself down road descents with total abandon thinking its all a good laugh / trying to prove he is as quick as the bigger boys (which he most certainly isn't). It genuinely worries me and having seen some of his recent strava uploads im convinced im going to get a call one day saying he's had a very nasty accident on a hill or worse
Please be carefull out there everyone!
I know it sounds boring to say it but none of us are pro riders (as far as i know) with the skills required to manage crazy descents at stupid speeds (of course some are more skilled than others though), the amount of cyclists i see going hell for leather on descents with no realistic option other than a trip to hospital if it all goes tits up is worrying. i neither pretend to be a skilled quick descender or try to do it. (sadley im not much better going up either
)A guy i know is a reasonably novice rider (im not knocking him for that, we all start somewhere) but he is a terrible bike handler who chucks himself down road descents with total abandon thinking its all a good laugh / trying to prove he is as quick as the bigger boys (which he most certainly isn't). It genuinely worries me and having seen some of his recent strava uploads im convinced im going to get a call one day saying he's had a very nasty accident on a hill or worse
Please be carefull out there everyone!
Gareth79 said:
riding as many roads in an area as possible to figure out the roads which are wide, quiet and fun, and then stringing them together.
I was just starting to think about this Sunday while I was out. I find that by the time I get home, I'm hazy as to exactly where the good bits and bad bits were... Google/Kamoot/etc just show a web of white roads... I wonder if there's a app that would let me map it (maybe green/amber/red) as I go???Anyhow, overall seems like the answer to "is slow reasonable" is a definite "yes" then
Guess I'll try and relax and not beat myself up for dragging the brakes so much... although judging from my motorbike years, there's a fair chance once I relax a bit, I'll end up going faster anyway
I learned not to extract the urine, on open backroads, the hard way, many years ago. Coming round a sharp bend, after a steep hill, having been descending at close to 80 Km/h, is not a good idea, if there are cows in the road, around the bend. They are remarkably solid creatures, who don’t much appreciate being ridden into. But seriously, I don’t think it’s worth the risk anymore. I’m far happier giving it max berries going up the hills, then taking it easy on the descents, of late. If it’s a closed road event, then I won’t be so cautious.
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