Originally Posted by
big john
I'm such a descent wuss, I will let anyone pass me so I can descend alone. I'm done testing the limits on turns. So many things have happened over the years.
One time 12 of us were descending a twisty, steep thing and I had just passed one and getting ready to pass another on an off-camber right when he clipped a reflector(I think) and went shooting across the road and part way up the embankment, landing unconscious face down in some water in a ditch. I was the first one to get to him and I pulled him out of the water. He came to after a few minutes and wasn't badly hurt. He told people I saved his life by pulling his head out of the water.
I think a lot of recreational riders descend twisty roads faster than they should. You can still have fun without pushing it.
Those off-camber turns will get you. There's one that I have experienced a couple times, once riding a Century and another time on a group ride. Not only off camber, but decreasing radius. So bad, they put special signage on it for the Century. I remember hitting that corner in the Century and thinking, "WHOA! Holy ****! No wonder they put up those signs!"
On the group ride, our group had splintered on a climb and the subsequent descent, so I was one of the first to get to the next rally point. Another couple riders came in after me in the next minute or so. Then nobody. For like, 5 minutes. Finally, we started to head back the way we'd come, wondering what was up. One of the group had come around the corner to find another of us lying on the road unconscious with his bike up against the guardrail. He was okay, passed out only for a bit, but he got a ride home anyway, for obvious reasons.