Rather than "brave" I think I should call it foolish.
The whole ride lifts my mood in a number of ways. First, the descent is a serious adrenaline rush. Then the workout of the climb generates serotonin so it's good for me, too. There's another endorphin released, but I can't recall it now.


To give you a sense of how steep and curvy the descent is, I have in the past overtaken cars because the car has to slow down for the curves but a bike can lean into them and keep a higher speed. I have done this more than once. Not smart. Today it was a conscious choice to stay behind the truck despite the fact that he was slowing me down.