Only ever managed to break through the 50mph once, that was on The Way of the Roses route somewhere slightly off the official route heading for a BnB in Grassington. Carrying 2 panniers on a Specialized Tricross on a long downhill.
Though I am guilty of rather recklessly rapid*** descending at times, here is a sobering reminder that we do need to take care. On the WOTR descent from Greenhow Hill into Pateley Bridge... *** Alluring alliteration!
I reconcile fast descending like this.... The real risk unless you do something stupid is a mechanical or another road user. Whether I do 40 or 50 isn't going to make much difference here. Also, I suspect the physical effects of an off at 40 or 50 are pretty much the same (ie bad) So I might as well do 50 as 40. At least I get down the hill in a shorter time and thus spend less time at risk, right?
I passed a Ferrari once - of course it was parked at the time.... I have exceeded 50mph twice, once in the Vosges in France and another time coming down a mountain pass in Greece. Both of those eye watering moments were twenty years ago and there is precisely no chance I would ever be foolish enough to tempt fate like that again.
"Bad" sums it up quite well. The 25% increase in speed from 40mph to 50mph equates to a 56% increase in kinetic energy. (if I've remembered the equations of motions correctly... it's been a few years. Er, decades).
This, as well as having no side roads feeding into the road you are, is the key to going mega fast. Oh, and the nerves.
32.6 mph according to the display on the bike. Downhill of course. About 45 years ago I did 50 mph on the flat. I was holding onto a friend's car at the time. I seemed like fun to begin with, but the problem if letting go and then slowing down safetly, did trouble me for a short while, although it seemed much longer at tbe time. I was urging him quite loudly not to go any faster. Luckily, it ended OK no damage apart from some lightly soiled underwear. Never tried it again tnough.
20 years ago I managed 51mph on two occasions in the Chilterns, firstly Chinnor Hill and secondly Howes Hill towards Watlington. Quite scary, wouldn’t be brave enough now. Daughter managed 59.6 mph somewhere near the Italian/Swiss/Austrian border. Rode up Stelvio and down into Austria. Bit of a nutter, no idea where she gets it from
This was coming off of Box hill in last year’s PRLS 100. The scary thing was I really didn’t want to be going that quick, as it was raining heavily, but my brakes were not working, because of the rain. I was absolutely bricking it, but weirdly I went into ‘fight or flight’, and everything seemed to slow down, so it didn’t feel as bad as it was.
