Getting over a downhill phobia I've been riding seriously/regularly for about a year now, although like the majority of the worlds population I've been on a bike since I was a kid.

When I was first starting out I had no real trouble on the downhill parts of my rides ( I live in the San Francisco Bay area so the majority of my rides are hill rides), I was even getting comfortable going fast even on steeper downhills (25-30MPH according to my tripcomp, which might not be that fast, but it sure seems so now). Unfortunately the honeymoon didn't last as I was in a few near misses and an accident with a car (his fault not mine, I wasn't hurt but pretty shook up) on my downhill. Ever since then I've been very wary of any downhill parts, I'm always on the brakes and I don't feel comfortable at all getting any kind of speed. 

Mainly I'm worried that I don't have enough stopping distance given my speed, and since I already know what happens to my bike when I slam the brakes, I don't want to experience tumbling down the road at 25MPH. I've essentially lost confidence in my ability to right safely on my road bike (even though its mechanically sound), I don't have this problem on my mountain bike (where the fat tires and disk brakes are very comforting).

I've practiced all the downhill techniques, so it isn't a matter of being inexperienced (although I'm certainly not an expert, before the crash I was attacking the downhills pretty aggressively), I'm just physically frightened of letting go and riding down. 

I guess the good news is that my rides have gotten much more uphill-heavy, which has certainly helped my hill endurance. 

Anyway, what can I do to make my downhills fun again?
Easy answer....is to recover gradually. My experience has been in S.F., Seattle, and now Portland. All of which are hilly cities. Plus a lot of riding on mountain roads. So, I totally relate to your situation. ...and it's not always an easy answer.

After spooky near-misses, and a few crashes...here's what I do to get my mojo back.


Find some significant, low-traffic hills where you can just have fun and enjoy the exhilaration on the downhills. You don't want this to be too steep and curvy, but you do want speed. The goal here is to comfortably enjoy the descent and ride it safely.
After that, move up to a more congested and/or curvy hilly area and do the same thing.
Once you're comfortable with fast, downhill riding, you can get into some traffic. But now you have "city riding" in the scenario. You must balance your downhill skills with your city skills.


That being said, I have watched some messengers scarily bomb down Nob Hill. Personally, I don't need to duplicate their endeavors; however, one can do those hills without riding the brakes.