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Slow or fast?
If you like to still be able to cycle after you come back from a long trip, go for slow, or relatively slow. At some points a small misjudgement at high speed may have you reach speeds no cyclist has ever reached before. After which may seem a long time, this speed will be suddenly reduced to zero. And you don't have to worry about buying a new bicycle.
If you decide to fly off the road at some less vertical cliff, you may find out that that is not such a great idea either. You may not be able to get back to the road, either because you never took a course in rock climbing or because some of your limbs have become unusable after the impact. And if no one has seen you fly off, your chances of getting found may be dim. Even if you manage to get back to the road or your co-riders witnessed your take-off, but you need quick medical attention, your best hope is that one of your fellow cyclists happens to be a doctor. Getting an ambulance may take forever, since it could be stationed 80 km away, and the nearest telephone booth may be 75 km away. And even if the phone is picked up for a change, the ambulance may have a flat tyre. A helicopter rescue is a nice idea, but not very practical since there are usually no helicopters in the country. So take it easy on the way down. On the way up go as fast as you please.
Another result of reckless racing may be that you break not your legs but your bike. If it cannot be fixed, the consequences are the same: you cannot go on, unless you have a friend with a spare bike who is prepared to lend it to you, which is unlikely if you are a reckless rider. So take a thick wallet to buy it from him/her.
The slow and fast times indicated in the tables are based on some wild guesses: 8-12 km/hr on steep sections up, 16-24 km/hr on the flat and 24-32 km/hr on the way down. The semi professionals will of course laugh at these ridiculous low speeds, while people with standard Indian bikes or the ones that were not created for cycling in the mountains will find the slow speeds way above their abilities.
If, as a tourist, you come into Bhutan with a respectable and knowledgeable tour operator, they will have two bus-services. The first is similar as the one in the Tour the France and a hired "guide will drive this bus" which will get you to your final destination just before the finish closes, which is at dark. The second bus is what is called the broomcar or sweepbus and is meant for those that cannot keep up with the former "bus".
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