Worried about being laughed at

tonyrees68

Got my new bike yesterday ,ive said hello on the forums iam an outgoing guy but iam flapping like hell about riding with other people iam a beginner and i dont want to look silly with my riding skils . I havnt riden in 15 years and seen some vids of other riders really going for it in Swinley Forest ,id love to ride there with others but very nervous of looking daft
hope you know what i mean
any help welcome
regards Tony

ratty2k

Everybody has to start somewhere! Always remember that, and the fact that if/ when you crash all the more experienced guys will have done it, are still doing it, but harder and with more pain.
Relax, my first ever ride out, I got talking to a couple of guys I've never met before (or since) and everyone's cool! Get out ther ride the bike and enjoy. People have different levels of skill and bravery- but everyone enjoys it, and thats all that counts.

mookboy

I'm the same. I've been out three times on my bike since getting it on Monday, and every time I've felt really self concious. Especially the first two as I was wobbling all over the place after ten years of never using a bike (last used a BMX), and the chain coming off because I couldn't use the gears properly.

I've found a nice quiet bridleway/path that loops round my village that no-one seems to use - perfect for getting to grips with the bike and re-learning old skills. I have to say I feel loads more confident now though, but riding through the village I feel convinced everyone is staring and thinking I look a tit! :P

Having said all that, I don't have the courage (yet) to go places I know other people will be riding... yet.

ratty2k

I was the same a few(4/5) years ago, but believe me- no one is looking or laughing. Bikes are transport to the vast majority of riders out there and while there are a good amount of people on the trails- but we are all friendly And dont bite! A good starter would be a trail center (midweek's nice and quiet) and go on the family/ beginners trails- absolutely nothing you cant do on them, and will give you a buzz like nothing else- except maybe your first shag......
I can still remember the feeling of my first ever trip to Llandegla on the beginners trail, such a buzz- was still high off it 2/3 days later. And that certainly lasted longer than my first shag!

sparrowlegs78

I'm still a newbie to mountain biking and i'm still at the getting off and pushing halfway up hills stage :oops: ...i know one day i'll be able to get uphill and maybe one day pass people..but i know where you are coming from..you don't half feel a pratt till you get into the swing of it all.
Caz x

pemsey

Get a bit of fitness and a few miles in your legs then find yourself a club nearby who do "social" rides - these are generally slower paced (don't worry - they go at the pace of the slowest rider - which is usually me :oops: - and are designed to get people into biking. The experienced guys are always willing to help and offer advice, and if you want to try more adventerous stuff it's better to have some buddies there to pick up the pieces - I speak as someone who spends more time picking myself out of the dirt than flying across it like a well oiled machine.
I got into MTBing this May as a way to get fit - did a couple of months of easy tracks etc to get the fitness started and then got in with a local MTB club on their Sunday social rides. It's given me the confidence to tackle tricky terrain, obstacles and even small (very) jumps - and no-one laughs if you do chicken out.
I've now done a 35 mile off road challenge round the local area for charity, a circular ride of Nidderdale in Yorkshire to prove I could get up and down those hills and am looking for more stuff to sign up to next year!
Good luck and keep smiling. And I wouldn't worry too much about Swinley Forest - I'm hoping to get down there over Xmas so if you see a fat bloke sweating round and falling off regularly it'll probably be me

tonyrees68

thanx all feeling better about it allready
tony

pittpony

Lol I know what you mean - I used to hate riding through the city with all my gear on coming home from work but I'm not too bothered now. I actually prefer coming back from a trail as I'm covered in mud and people can see I've been out there riding hard! The more you do it the more you get used to it though. If I see I cyclist I have to admit I'm normally checking out the bike rather than seeing if they look silly

Still makes me laugh at work though - if I'm scratched or bruised people say "Fallen off again? Aren't you very good?". Well no I'm not particulary skilled but if I've fallen off at least it means i'm pushing myself hard and trying new things

clas

Tony where are you based?
If its near Dorset then you can come on out with me and me mates. Im an instructor (HA!) and we are all used to beginners as my whole family have taken it up!
you need to ride with people that are better than you as it will show you what can be ridden. Its also best if you go out with old farts (like me) as we are not too competetive

impished

From my experience there is alot less eliteism nowadays. There are so many more riders now than there were 10 years ago, that you are rarely the newbiest neewbie out there.

Remember people probably won't recognise you with your helmet and glasses on anyway

Keep in mind the most apt saying on these (and all) forums: Just get out and ride!!!
It's the only way to stop being a newbie and realise that MTB'ers are probably the friendliest sport group out there 8)
Oh, and have fun

stumpyjon

Don't just assume that everyone around you is good because they have all the gear. I've got a nice bike, some good gear and have been riding off road for over ten years and still feel like a newbie sometimes (had to ask how to take a SRAM powerlink apart a couple weeks ago :oops: ).

As Impished says the only way to stop being a newbie is to practice, it soon feels quite natural to be out on your bike .

dirtbiker100

I ride a bmx and it can be like this at skateparks if you're not too good. i always used to sit on the side and watch others ride and maybe sneak a go when no-one was looking. i've got over it now, i'm still rubbish but i take the view of; I want to have fun, why should I care what these people think. As soon as I get to a park now I don't care who's watching I just ride straight away and have fun.

cee

just get some of the brightest pink lycra you can find

Then if people laugh, at least itll be the lycra!

No seriously, when up in the hils etc, or at some of the trail centres, i have a visit:falling off ration of about 3:1.

That is I fall off all the time. Everybody laughs (sometimes after a tentative minute or two to make sure no serious damage is done) but as everyone says here before, I don't think any of the other guys I've met have ever made me feel unwelcome, on the contrary in fact. Everyone I have met (total strangers) have all siad hi and offered help advise whenever Ive looked like i needed it and sometimes even when just fixin up a puncture.

Its a two wheeled love thing ya see!

william_93

I got my bike in the summer but am no good either i find it best just to go out in some fields or down some tracks on your own and then build up your confidence also go out with a mate that is the same ability and RIDE FOR FUN!!

also falling of does put your confidence down but no need to worry just go for it!!

cjw

I don't care if anyone laughs....

I'm dressed like, well sonething very strange.... tights, helmets, glasses, lycra etc...

No one has laughed so far. The best bit is when covered in mud, then people know you've had fun (or in my case fallen off lots!).

Don't worry... just ride!

Was riding at Epping this weekend had a great time and got absolutely plastered in mud... fell off twice due to slippery conditions (and lack of ability). It was great!!!!

tonyrees68

all sounds good advice guys thaks again
i allready have pink lycra :oops:

cjw

tonyrees68 wrote:

all sounds good advice guys thaks again
i allready have pink lycra :oops:

Well now.... PINK LYCRA... I'd have to have a tiny chuckle (OK piSS myself laughing!!!).

cjw

I didnt say wee-wee (said pi$$)

tonyrees68

but its shows my green socks off a treat
hehe
take care

cjw

OK... that's cool then!

dave_hill

tonyrees68 wrote:

Got my new bike yesterday ,ive said hello on the forums iam an outgoing guy but iam flapping like hell about riding with other people iam a beginner and i dont want to look silly with my riding skils . I havnt riden in 15 years and seen some vids of other riders really going for it in Swinley Forest ,id love to ride there with others but very nervous of looking daft
hope you know what i mean
any help welcome
regards Tony

Baby steps, mate, it's all about baby steps.

It's already been said that we all had to start somewhere. MTB is different things to different people, and I think that you have to find your own boundaries without worrying about what anybody else thinks.

Most people know this, but not many of them realise it. Anybody who laughs at you because you're a noob is probably a bit of a doofus anyhow - basically they're hiding their own weaknesses and aren't big enough to come out and say that they have any.

And if you can't own up to your own weaknesses it's time to pack up and do something else.

I've been riding MTBs for over 20 years. I can't climb hills for s**t and I have a mental block about big drops. But do you know what? I don't care, and I also don't care what anybody else thinks. I'm gradually working on the drops thing and I'm getting better at it, but I'll probably never get the climbing thing nailed. I'm not in a race so it doesn't matter. And it tends to be the racing snakes that get all snotty and superior anyway.

By the way, there is no excuse for lycra (except as a base layer or under-shorts) away from the race track. Period. Baggy is the way forward.

griffsters

This thread makes me feel a bit better! I'm about to get a bike and am no spring chicken any more and well, have some excess baggage as well

I've not ridden for a long time will feel very self conscious as i go out for the first few times, getting used to the bike and huffing and puffing after the first mild hill!!

Ah well, it looks like fun so if I look silly so what!

clas

Im no spring chiken either
approaching fifty but doesnt appear to be speeding

pemsey

[quote="dave_hill
And it tends to be the racing snakes that get all snotty and superior anyway.

By the way, there is no excuse for lycra (except as a base layer or under-shorts) away from the race track. Period. Baggy is the way forward.[/quote]

Reminds me of a racing snake out on one of the challenges I was doing - had all the gear, skin tight sponsered lycra etc. Came bombing past me at about the 25 mile mark just as I was thinking not far now to a cuppa. 5 minutes later he's stopped at a junction looking confused - can't work out why he's got there so quickly. Turns out he's managed to miss one of the turnings on the course and has only covered about 18 miles! Might have had all the bike skills going but couldn't read a map to save his life.
Well it made me feel a lot better - i had a right to be knackered