Originally Posted by
randallr
1) ...for me - ride descents which you have already ascended to allow for pre-descent inspection of road surfaces.
I've toured across the USA five times including up the spine of the Rockies and Appalachians from start to finish. I most certainly came to the conclusion that downhill is far more anxiety provoking than struggling up the mountains. On the way up, If the road is too steep, you just STOP. If something goes wrong on a downhill...you're in God's hands.
Obviously on a cross country trip there is no opportunity to inspect the next descent. And I'm an idiot without any regard for heights and just tend to "let 'er rip" on big descents. I did have a couple of notable near misses but never a crash. The most memorable was on PCH where a chunk of tarmac was missing at the fog line, traffic overtaking me, so I managed to "bunny-hop" the crevasse on a loaded touring bike, front and rear panniers, weighing over 70 lbs and traveling at least 40 mph. Yeah, that memory is etched into my brain with a blow torch. Thankfully I wasn't pulling a trailer that trip.