Descending is a lot of fun. Doing it at speed, through curves is even better but as the OP points out, it can be dangerous in a variety of ways. High speed flutter is a serious problem if it occurs. In the cycle touring world, it is sometimes caused by sub-optimal weight distribution or too much weight for the frame. I know it happens for other reasons as well. Whatever the cause, the best response I've read about is to physically squeeze the bike's frame between your legs. This dampens the vibration, which can actually be made worse by brake use. I hope no one ever needs that particular trick, because it seems sketchy AF, but a high speed flutter leaves few options. Anyone else heard of or used a trick to safely resolve such a situation?
It's important at any time, but all the more so during a high speed descent to remember that maneuvering to avoid danger can be safer and more effective than use of the brakes. This of course depends on the specific situation, but there are times when brakes simply can't help: descending a winding, wooded residential access road once, I came over a low rise to find myself nearly face to face with a kid of maybe 10. He was riding his bike too, salmon style. The rise which hid him from me until the last moment could not have hidden a car or even an adult cyclist, but that
[email protected] kid appeared in front of me as if by magic. I was moving right at the 35mph speed limit and had taken the lane. He was meandering his way up the hill more or less dead center, or perfectly positioned for a head-on collision.
My speed and the distance between the two of us eliminated the use of brakes as a possibility. It flashed through my mind that I could easily swerve to avoid him, but I had time and maneuvering space for one maneuver, no more. If we both dodged in the same direction, we'd collide. So I spent what felt like eternity but couldn't have been even a whole second watching the kid's expression bloom through surprise to fear, and then he started to swerve. The moment I saw his weight shift, I broke in the opposite direction and easily cleared him, if only by inches.
That's the closest I've come to injuring someone else on my bike. I was doing everything right: riding at the speed limit, had taken the lane, was lit up like a Christmas tree fore and aft. Enter little kid on a little bike riding against traffic. I'm so happy and grateful that turned out as it did.
On an unrelated note, the OP raises an interesting issue with gravel on pavement. While I agree it can be very dangerous, I ride in semi-rural areas a lot and it's normal to run across sprays of gravel over pavement here and there. At first I avoided them the way the roadies I saw did. Over time, I realized that low densities of gravel over pavement could be safely crossed, first in a straight line but eventually on turns as well. The latter being trickier, of course. I've eaten sh!t because there was too much gravel for my attempted turning speed, but a little bit of judgement - and wider tires - can help a lot.
In any event, a recent road event saw me ride through a slow right turn on pavement covered by a light spray of fine gravel. This as the crowd of mostly roadies swerved from the shoulder to the traffic lane in order to avoid it. One of them yelled to look out for that gravel and pointed as though I couldn't see what I was riding on. I saw it well in advance, I just didn't care because I had the experience to judge its density on the pavement and what that meant for my ability to turn, lean, or brake. At barely more than walking speed after a big ascent, the gravel posed little to no threat to me. I don't know if it's because I ride very wide tires for pavement or if skinny roadie tires can do the same things my 700x45c tires do.
Gaining the experience to 'read' gravel covered pavement is tricky and can lead to disaster if one miscalculates. Lots of cycling skills-building is like that. Start slow and progress incrementally. Avoid sharp or fast maneuvers until you understand how the gravel affects your traction. Remember that every spray of little rocks over pavement is different and requires its own evaluation. Each is a chance to go down, but perhaps less of a chance than many realize if approached systematically and with care.
