Getting comfortable going downhill in the rain...

Sorry about your DNF, I heard the conditions were brutual.   

I love going down hills.  And at a little over 200#s, I can get going fast, quick. 

First you HAVE to get over the fear of falling.  If you have that fear, you will tense up and the chance of falling is more likely.  How you get over that fear I don't know.  I guess just keep riding down hills, going faster and faster each time.  Sounds like a great work-out!

When I'm flying down a hill, I like to think that my wheels are gyroscopes and the faster gyroscopes turn, the more stable they are. 

If you don't know how to ride down a hill, here is how i do it:

I ride with my weight a little off my saddle and back.  Weight of the front end of bike.  Feet level with the ground(if I'm not pedaling), and pull my knees against my top tube.  I don't ride "aero" over 35ish(depending on road; condition, stoping needed, turns, etc)  If I don't know the hill I'll ride with my hands on my brakes ready to apply. 

Also, you need to get your confidence back. If it were me I would do 3 things. I would read everything I can online about riding in the rain. How to brake, how to steer, how to accelerate, how to coast, uphill, downhill, everything. Find stuff about riding motorcycles in the rain too since the physics are exactly the same with the exception of motorcycles being able to accelerate much faster obviously. Get as much knowledge as you can. Read about other people's accidents and what they did wrong or try to figure out what they did wrong.

The next thing I would do is do buy myself a good pair of tires that are specifically made for rain. Research those as much as you can so you feel 110% confident in them when you buy them. There's obviously no guarantee that you won't lose traction, but having tires that are designed for the rain will lessen the likelyhood.

Finally, go out and ride in the rain. Ride flats at first, even if it's back and forth. Ride on wet grass. Then start riding slight uphills and downhills that you know you only have to go straight on - no high speed turns. Remember, you're more likely to lose the rear wheel in a turn. A little at a time and you'll be more comfortable in the rain than ever before.

Also, remember than you can crash any time. My girlfriend, her uncle and I took a leisurely ride this past friday, 12 mph, on a bike path with almost no one else there. She turned her head to look at her uncle behind her, turned forward and was started by a branch that she probably could have just let hit her, swerved hard left then right and then up and over. 4 hours, 6 stitches and 1 ambulance ride (yes an ambulance ride from a 12mph crash!) we left the hospital. 

BTW, she walked out of the ER and got on her bike and rode back to the ferry about 2 miles so we could go home. It's all mental.

I don't expect that you'll ever be completely comfortable going downhill in the rain, given your history. Hell, the TDF riders today admitted to being scared on the way down today, and if they're scared, I am too.  And it's completely an anomoly that you had a blowout downhill in the rain, I'm not sure I'd store that in my brain as bad stuff - it's a one-off.

That being said, the things I'd encourage include: 1) train with confident people, where you can follow their line and speed, and bring you through it,  2) make sure your equipment is rock-solid (good tires, skewers well tightened, good brakes, etc),  3) avoid and manage the major pitfalls in the rain (riding on the paint / road stripes, or oily corners), 4) and this one is mental, but know it's OK to go fast - lots of folks do, and 5) come to grips that not everything is in your control.  Even if you're perfect, you may have an accident....that's gotta be OK, or you will be in fear of the whole ride.   

No one can make you go downhill faster than you want to. It's just a question of you wanting to. And being prepared to do so.  

I'm sorry about how your race ended Sunday.  

Best thing to do is practice. I'd start with hills without the rain. That is adding two factors together when really you need to feel confident and comfortable descending long hills in good weather first. Find some metric or regular century rides that are hilly and do them for practice and gaining confidence.

We all have a I'm afraid speed on down hills on the bike. It is different for everyone. It can change with confidence.  To some degree how we feel about descending is something we just have.

You will think I'm insane but I hit almost 39 on that descent in the pouring rain..only reason I braked is my eyes were blinking so much I couldn't see much and figured I needed to slow down so I could see and manage the best I could. I love descending which is why I picked doing a hard hilly course for my first IM. I think it is how I'm wired.

The pro man that finished 10th told me a guy on our tri team tops out at 55 mph on that hill and the pro thought that was insane and he is a good cyclists. Clearly that is above his I'm comfortable descending speed.

I rode with my daughter Emily one day and she can climb faster than I do so she went up this hill and straight down a hill (I would have gone down a different street but she proceeded without me) with a sharp 90 degree turn on a narrow road at the bottom..she couldn't brake in time, missed a basketball net pole, electric pole and a mailbox and fell in a driveway. She is still fearful and rides her brakes down hills. We ride together and I pick hilly routes, encourage her and let her work it out.  If she isn't comfortable I don't want to push her.

You may want to find a good cyclist from your tri team to ride with and have them give you some pointers on descending. You may gain confidence with some skill changes. I ride hills with my seat slightly off my saddle, squeezing my saddle slightly with my thighs, feet at 3 and 9 o'clock with stronger leg in back, when turning change feet position so outer foot is down and inner foot is up, in aero or out depending on speed and road ahead. I find that having my feet and arms/hands have all my weight I feel more in control of my bike as I can lean to turn or make slight adjustments easier than sitting on my saddle.

I should tell you all winter I wondered and worried a little what doing that Keene hill would be like the rain. I was not looking forward to it when I was doing a training ride up there and it rained. But it was a huge confidence builder and come race day I knew I could handle it and how I would do it. So rain and long steep downhills for all of us are challenging.

Other thing is you know you..if desending isn't your cup of tea pick a flatter IM might be an option as you work on the descending issue.