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Scouting - You can't really stress this enough. Check out the road before you run it. Even if you are very familiar with it. Many times people just don't do it and it can get you in trouble. Rock slides, construction work, and debris on the roads are common. Scout out the road at a safe pace and check the grip of the road. The road grips differently during different times of the year. Pollen, tree leaves, rocks, and dust can make a adhesive surface slippery. Check out the severity of bumps and try to use different lines to get a feel of the rest of the road.
Blinding High Beams - Sometimes when running one two way roads, there will be some cars coming the other. It is usually very easy to see them coming, but the surprise is when they don't turn off their high beams and blind you very a short moment. When I see that a car is approaching, I usually slow it down a bit and when his beam is about to blind me, I close my left eye. When the car has passed, my vision is not as limited and I can continue without much drama.
How to look for bumps - Many times during practice, we often try to experiment with our running lines. There are many times unexpected bumps or road transitions that can really make a mess of things quickly. You should really check out the road before hand, as discussed in scouting. Watch out for dark spots in the road, these are usually deeps dips or parts of broken pavement. Look for a part of the pavement that is a different color, these are usually surface transitions. Do not make direction changes over surface transitions. Road surface transitions are usually a repaired part of the road and is usually a different surface than the road itself. It is also higher than the road itself, making it a very dangerous when corning at the limit.
