gang…i’m still nervous going down hills at fast speeds. I would like to improve this and not be so afraid. i brake about the whole way down hills, which is ridiculous, I know. in college i wasn’t afraid–don’t know what happened, but i sure get nervous now.
have any of you gone through this? how can I overcome the fear?
thanks in advance,
kittycat
Descend more… for me riding a motorcycle in the canyons helped! lol
You can ride your bicycle in the canyons more! Just keep practicing. You’ll get the feel for 2-wheel descending back
I think everyone goes through this at some point. Definitely noticed it when I moved from flat-as-a-pancake Houston to Northern Cali. Other than descending more, the following things have seemed to help:
Know the route. Once you know where the turns are, you’ll have a lot more confidence in going faster.
Gradually allow your speed to build. Ride the same routes and do them a little bit faster each time.
Follow someone who is a good descender. I’ve learned a lot following others who know how to pick good lines especially around tight corners.
Trust physics. I know that sounds kind of funny but trust your tires to really grip the road. Your body position also makes a huge difference in the stability of your bike. On really steep descents, you might slide back slightly in your seat. In turns, is your outside pedal down? If you get speed wobbles, grip the top tube with your thighs.
Hope that helps. Best of luck.
Kendall
KC,
You are not alone. As a cycling coach, I regularly encounter athletes who are apprehensive about descending. Don’t beat yourself up.
First…Disclaimers…Don’t take risks in traffic or on roads with lots of blind curves. Learn to descend in areas with good views for your safety.
With that said, there are generally two hurdles for most cyclists WRT descending:
First, there are those who simply fear the speed itself. The rush of accelerating in itself causes the rider to “pucker up.” For these athletes, we generally recommend finding a long straight descent with a good runout (or even a climb after it). Rather than start at the top, try “working your way up” the hill. Go no higher than you are confident descending WITHOUT TOUCHING YOUR BRAKES. Keep your weight back, your body aero, and your arms relaxed. By staying tucked in, you’ll be less affected by any wind. Gradually work your way up the hill until you can descend the entire hill without brakes.
Second, there are those who tighten up with corners. Cornering is a skill and it needs to be practiced. Further, as you move faster, the weigthing and steering skills change (from steering to cornering). In these situations, I generally start an athlete working on “steering” drills at slow speed on the grass, evolve to cornering on the flats, and then move to cornering on the hills. It takes time, but once you’ve developed the skills, you’ll find your confidence soars.
Finally, it may be worth your time to hire a coach to help you improve these skills. Not an online coach, but an actual “meet me at the park” coach to work through some drills.
Good luck,
Jonathan C. Puskas
I had something similar taking tight turns in a group. Tape over the speedo so you don’t know how fast you are going and then make a deal with someone you ride with. The first one to touch the breaks has to buy a round or even better do something embarassing. One 40 mile ride with a pair of pink shorts that say “Ass Monkey” on the back worked for me. I can get a hold of the shorts again if you need them.
Do you pedal all the way through the turn when making hard/sharp corners? Descending is sort of the same thing in that to do it effectively, you have to get in touch with your inner ‘Kamikaze’. One way to motivate faster speeds is to effect an aero position that requires placing hands in a position in which it is not easy to reach the brake levers but bear in mind this exposes the rider to more danger if obstacles appear. Another option is to open the brake release lever as if removing the tire (Shimano) so that more lever movement required to effect the same braking action is significantly increased! Probably the best advice is to recon a hill that has a long, straight descent available with an unobstructed field of view and do hill climb/descent repeats. Recon for obstacles on the climb and then turn around and go for it but for each descent iteration, pedal the bike to higher and higher speeds and don’t use the brakes.
Ass Monkey…Hey!! no name calling here!!! hehehe 
Along those lines, do most people descend larger hills in the aerobars or basebars? One of the above posts touches on this but not enough. Didn’t want to hijack your thread KC, just broaden it a bit.
J
One cardinal rule that I say in my head while decending with corners…
Look where you want to go…and conversely, don’t look where you don’t want to go (ie: side of the road, guardrail, etc). Your body will follow your head.
On a long decent, I tuck with my hands on the tops, chin the the stem and elbows in towards my body. I also have both feet level.
On a twisty descent, I go down in the drops, weight the outside pedal, bring up the inside pedal, and shift my weight back and into the turn (leading with my shoulders and head) just a bit. I think it helps keep the bike a little more upright. Just don’t stick your knees out. I also keep a finger or two on the brakes. I tend to trail the rear brake a little as I pass through the apex.
I definitely have to be on the basebars griping pretty tight as the roads here are so bumpy that you can never relax.
Gas, into or out of the apex ( you say through)? Are you using a late apex?
Following an accident in a race in France where I sustained some nasty injuries (broken arm in 7 places, broken tailbone, concussion, road rash) I developed a disdain for descending as well.
Realistically, apprehension about descending is good. It’s dangerous. You could fall off your bike and get hurt. That is a reasonable concern. At the speeds you are travelling at a minor mistake becomes a major crash in a split second.
That said, I think your best strategy is similar to how you’d face any reasonable apprehension: Start slow under very controlled circumstances. Walk before you run, crawl before you walk. Practice the rudiments of cornering and countersteering on flat ground in a large parking lot without traffic. Learn weight placement, body posture and the racing line to apex a corner. Do it slow at first and work up to speed, then take those techniques to a very small descent with no traffic under controlled circumstances and practice in slow motion. Check your equipment over to be certain you have confidence in it and that your are safe. Practice, practice, practice on flat ground so the techniques become reflexive.
If you slowly develop these skills you experience a reasonable increase in competence and confidence. That makes the experience less frightening.
Finally, it pays to have a healthy respect for descending. At our level, in our sport, races are never, ever won on a descent but you can ruin your race, your race clothes, your bike and your skin by making a minor mistake on a descent- so the smart money is a cautious approach.
Descending off the Col de Vence in the Nice Triathlon I passed at least five bad crashes. Not good.
I late Apex when I am familiar with the course. Hence the trail braking. It’s something I transfered over from the motorcycle.
Roads around here are horrible. Bumps just about through me out of the aerobars last year.
J
oh my god. i wish i hadn’t read the first part of your post…how horrible!
in reality i’ll probably never be a true gutsy descender, but i’d like to not come to a near panic (which in and of itself is dangerous). I’m mostly afraid of holes in the road that i can’t see. maybe if i get to know some hills better i’ll feel much better…eventually 
thanks for your tips everyone!!!
I thought you lived in Cincinnati? Do you really have hills there? Some good advice there. May also want to try gripping the top tube with your legs while coasting and feet in 3 and 9 oclock position. It may give you more sense of stability.
You really don’t want to grip very tightly to the bars. The bike is going to be doing things underneath you and you don’t want to inhibit the frame dynamics. You kind of have to just trust the bike, and relax. When you tense up things go wrong. Also, stay within your limits. If you don’t want to go fast, don’t go fast!
The trail braking makes for a little crisper turn in but a little looser in the middle of the corner with the car.
do we have hills?
hahahahaha! YES! and marisol will see to it that she’s drug me up each one of them