Advice Please - How do I get over fear of....

CrazySmudge
CrazySmudge Posts: 137
edited September 2009 in MTB general
Went to Afan at the weekend for the first time and had a go at the W2 ride - The Wall? had a great time went up the fire road - no worries, single track - awesome - down hill to cafe over the boulders - loads of fun. Had a large bacon and egg sarnie... yum. Back up - how tiring?? past the wind farms - inspring! - then down the Graveyard - yikes!! Problem = just cant over the drop to my left. When their are bushes hiding the drop - plenty of speed but when it opened my eyes boggled and hands got sweaty - anybody else have this problem and how do you get over it?? or I am just a big wuss? Had the same problem at Whinlatter on the North Loop

Other than that amazing day!

Comments

  • grumsta
    grumsta Posts: 994
    Just need to focus hard on the trail in front of you and try and ignore everything else - easier said than done I know.

    I got a bit freaked out by some of the drops when I went biking in the Alps, but you get used to it after a bit.
  • llamafarmer
    llamafarmer Posts: 1,893
    Yep, just keep riding them. I don't like heights anyway and I know the section you mean on the Wall, it scared me a bit too :lol: But the more I ride stuff like that, the less it bothers me.
    Giant Anthem X
    Cube Ltd Race
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    I just get off and hope no one notices - they usually do though... :oops:
  • M1llh0use
    M1llh0use Posts: 863
    to quote loads of peeps on here.....


    MTFU!!! :lol:

    on a more serious note, slowly slowly catchy monkey.


    1st time there couple of months ago and managed to throw myself over the bars and over the edge! slow about 15-20feet down and managed to grab a tree to stop myself going any further. no pain just embaressment.... moral: not sure but just do it again and again till it's not so scary!!
    {insert smartarse comment here}
  • bomberesque
    bomberesque Posts: 1,701
    Mrs B suffers a similar condition, which she puts down to the fact that she always falls to the left so a drop to the left freaks her out. She also has much more problems taking right hand switchbacks than left hand ones, it's almost Zoolanderesque...

    just keep riding is all I can say, if like Mrs B you fall to the left, try forcing yourself to dismount on the right more and see if you can't get our body a bit more ambidextrous.
    Everything in moderation ... except beer
    Beer in moderation ... is a waste of beer

    If riding an XC race bike is like touching the trail,
    then riding a rigid singlespeed is like licking it
    ... or being punched by it, depending on the day
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    Try a mountain bike skills course if you google it there should be one not too far away they generally seem to charge about £80 for a full day course
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    the drop on the graveyard on the wall is the only drop on any trail that wories me, i hate it! its flipin' scary! but if you just focus ahead, and ride the trail, youl be ok!
    I like bikes and stuff
  • CrazySmudge
    CrazySmudge Posts: 137
    thanks for the advice guys - want to be able to keep up mates with out looking silly.

    eyes front not closed... got you
  • Kraftysly
    Kraftysly Posts: 3
    That's right; eyes front. Maybe focus on that small dot in the distance which is me!

    I reckon that you'll never be able to keep up. Once you get over this mental hurdle you'll find it easier to sit back and relax.

    Glad you enjoyed it and hopefully we'll be able to get back there soon!
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    I've perfected a sort of mental paralysis technique, it's stupid but it works- I just have to set up for the feature in advance, then as I approach it I can avoid stopping by avoiding doing anything. If I think at all, I'll bottle it. And once you've done it a couple of times, it'll become second nature.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • wordnumb
    wordnumb Posts: 847
    Wear blinkers.
  • rich_e
    rich_e Posts: 389
    Did you ride on your own?
    Or with other people?

    When I first got into DH/Freeriding, I was often quite worried about hitting some of the rock drop offs when I was living out in Whistler. If I was riding on my own, I would usually give them a miss.

    When I started riding with a mate of mine who was a lot better than me, and following behind him down the line, I did them without even thinking about it. I find it's like anything really, ride with somebody better than you and you will progress a lot faster.
  • dave_hill
    dave_hill Posts: 3,877
    Stop thinking, start doing.

    Sounds stupid I know but the more you think about stuff going wrong, the more it will.

    I used to be heavily involved with rifle shooting and archery, and I used to coach archery. It's very common if you make a bad shot in either sport to start trying to over analyse what went wrong and compensate for it. Did I snatch at the trigger? Was I breathing in instead of out? Did I follow through properly? Did I drop my arm at the critical moment?

    Very often this will make the problem worse. If you fixate on one thing, everything else goes to pot. Okay, so I made a bad shot. Lets take the next one and see what happens.

    It's the same with biking. If you fixate on falling off then most likely you will. Leave it alone for a bit, go and do something else then come back to it and just go for it.
    Give a home to a retired Greyhound. Tia Greyhound Rescue
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    JayPic
  • .blitz
    .blitz Posts: 6,197
    Zombie thread!

    One thing that works for me is to get into a chain gang as I approach the obstacle. Seeing the riders in front clear it one after the other is like time-lapse photography and knowing there are others right behind me if I bottle it forces me to see it through.

    YMMV of course :wink:

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