This is so so helpful thank you!
I always wondered how people did ‘all their braking’ beforehand and judged perfectly the speed they have to be in the turn because I found that I was always speeding up inside the turn especially if it was a descent but you have cleared this up perfectly and given me vindication that me hovering my brake inside the turn is mostly for control of speed.
Invaluable! Wow thank you I have learnt so much in the last two posts and finally it all makes sense why me pointing my hips didn’t turn my bike as well as I wanted to. I mean surely I did turn but I could of done it better if I better understood the causation and the resulting sensations.
Now it makes sense why I always hear ‘keep your grip and arms loose’.
On a side note - ‘counter’ steering almost doesn’t make sense in context of push bicycles because the ‘counter’ happens as a result of a trying to steer in the direction you want to go. I can understand it for motorcycles where you actively ‘counter’ to try and toss the bikes weight over but for push bicycles it’s different because of the bikes weight.
Plus, even if you lose traction with your rear wheel it is very often still quite easy to catch the rear by releasing the brake and applying the some corrective steering input if necessary. But if your front wheel loses traction, it is generally game over, you have become a passenger on the journey.
I think an important aspect to this question is “All the guys are so much faster than me” What does that really mean? Are you riding with very experience downhill riders on any hill; maybe riders who very experienced with the specific hills you ride with them, they know every pothole, change of surface, impact of winds at specific spots, likely traffic interference, etc, etc. Then ask your self how realistic are your expectations?
I would then ask the rider you trust most in this group to help you out. Instead of the whole group he just rides next to you and talks you through it, gradually increasing your speed to the point of your fear, and tell him. During this you can go through the process, where is he looking, where and when does he brake, (front or rear - feather or hard) how does he lean the bike on the curves, is in the drops, on the hoods, etc. Chances are next time out he will automatically ride with you and give you some tips, he’s been there, done it, nothing he has to prove.
At what kph/mph does the fear kick in, is this in traffic, or on a basically clear road.
To give you an example, I used to ride with a group where the descent was 10 minutes no intersections or other roads or driveways and at the fastest point I reached 79kph (why not 80 
49mph). But that was after many years of regular riding, when 50kph seemed ridiculously fast, and have gradually built my confidence and skill on much shorter, less steep ie, a minute or so. On another occasion same hill, the bike in front of me suddenly start the classic bike wobble, he was careering all over the road in front of me, that was more terrifying than the actual speed, another when I overtook a 40tonne truck, I thought should I really be doing this; when a westward cross wind rebounded of the eastern hillside, ie, instantly hitting me from the east, that was terrifying. My bike will go faster, but those scary moments have reduced my desire to go any (as) fast on that hill.
There is hill near me 15% and less that 1km length, I brake all the way down that hill, speed isn’t the goal, being able to stop if I need too is much more important. Others aren’t so cautious. But when we turn to go back up, I’m calm.
I think the main thrust of the thread is cornering. In a straight line it is usually easy to break, see ahead and anticipate traffic, judge road conditions and other circumstances — and to break whenever you would like. That is not true with cornering.
The other thing is skills: when you are working on skills, it isn’t just about “overcoming fear” or such, having skills is making you safer. With practice you will tend to instinctively do the right thing and freak out less, not least because you are farther away from your limit. E. g. when you realize mid-corner that you are going to fast, and you freak out and pull a handful of brakes, you could have caused a crash rather than prevent one.
Personally, I don’t like taking risks — I have a family and don’t want to end up as an organ donor this early in my life. I think my max speed ever was 89 km/h, but that’s a figure I have only reached once. Keep in mind that by that speed you are way faster than cars and cars cannot judge your speed as well.
Braking: the rule is brake hard only when you are upright and in a straight line. On twisty sections that is the short period you get between switching from one corner to the other, and you brake really hard, head down butt slid back. Most of your hard braking is the front brake, just like in a truck, car, where the hydraulic control system directs 70% to the front, the same is true of a bike, but never forget that rule only when upright and in a straight line. BTW different rules apply in MTB riding due to much softer tyre pressure, front suspension, and totally different tyre size and design.
Many recommend ‘feathering’, ie, very light braking. The main advantage of feathering, is feathering the rear helps your lean into the corner. Many are fearful of losing the bike by leaning too far, but most don’t lean enough. A good way to inform yourself about leaning is create like a tent shaped inverted ‘V’ of your bike and your body - stand on level ground, tilt (lean) your bike towards you, while you are leaning into it by holding the bars and frame, the tyres will hold your weight, even at 40 degrees.
Stay in the back. If you are nervous and keep using your brakes, you’ll get someone hurt. Watch the person in front. It’s polite to keep your legs rotating, even if you’re not adding power. This way the people behind you can get a better sense of how the pace line is moving. Nothing more irritating than being yoyo around by someone who can’t hold a steady pace. This goes for up hill,down hill or flats. Personally I talk to you about proper pace line educate. Happen again I would burn you up by yoyoing you off tba
Back
It is called counter, as it is counter intuitive. It works because the forks are ‘raked’, ie, angled. so as they are rotated, the centre of gravity moves slightly from the centre line of the bike, and your bike tries to get back to the point of equilibrium, it circles the new centre of gravity.
At walking pace the bike turns in the direction you point, but in-deceptively switches as speed increases.
Motor cyclist have to use this technique. Grand Prix m/cyclist are like jockeys, eg, 50kgs, and their bikes weigh 200+ kgs, yet they slalom at 300kph - only possible with counter steering. Note also they keep their eye line parallel to the horizon, cock their head, this maintains their 3D perspective.
As others have pointed out, counter-steering is part of the turning process. @freoishome explains how it works. It is used for both push and motor bikes. In fact, if you don’t counter-steer, you will fall off – if a bike is fitted with a device to prevent any turn of the handlebars to the left and you try to turn to the right, you will fall off. GCN [I think it was them] had a video demonstrating this.
But – one you’ve learned to ride and steer you will be automatically doing this – so you don’t have to worry about it.
Maybe not the one you’re thinking of, but educational nonetheless.
-Tim
The only reason I climb, on a bike, is for the descent.
As long as you think about what you are doing, you should be okay.
When I am descending, I am probably more observant, because a quick flick of a wrist could cause pain. I try to look as far around corners as I can, and also stay clear from other riders too, while watching the road conditions (Descending fast in the rain or on broken/rough pavement is just stupid IMO). That said, I have gone over 60 MPH on a bike. It’s damned fun, frightening, exhilarating, but I didn’t do it for very long. I was also riding essentially alone. Oh, and don’t do the ‘super tuck’, as it’s a real possibility to get your pad stuck under the nose of the saddle on the way back up. Treat descending with respect, but if are observant, and stay away from other riders, etc, you should be fine. Enjoy the speed, the thrill. (Heck, on a grueling fund raiser type ride with a steep climb, I turned around and bombed it! People thought I was insane, but it was the last hill on the route, and it was a newly paved surface, and low traveled at that time, so why not. It was a blast!)