Regaining confidence after a crash

Eddie2593

Hey guys,
I was in a accident just over two weeks ago now. I was cycling on my own on a quiet country road. It was the first time i had cycled this route before. When i was descending i came across this left hand bend which i misjudged and slid a cross the road. Thank god there wasn't a car coming in the opposite direction or that would of been the end of me.
Im still a bit shaken up from the accident and i lost my ability to descend or even tackle corners with as much aggression as i normally would.
Any advice?
Thanks.

TyeBag

Although I haven't been riding long nor fallen off i do have some experience of losing confidence

I broke my leg playing football a few years back and my first game back I was so nervous about someone hitting it and that feeling went on for a few games and after that I just forgot about it

I think you should get back on the bike and take it easy,it will be in the back of your mind at every corner for a little while and once your confidence picks up you will just forget about it,you won't be a broken man forever you will soon be hitting those corners with pace and agression I'm sure of it

Dmak

Eddie2593 wrote:

Hey guys,
I was in a accident just over two weeks ago now. I was cycling on my own on a quiet country road. It was the first time i had cycled this route before. When i was descending i came across this left hand bend which i misjudged and slid a cross the road. Thank god there wasn't a car coming in the opposite direction or that would have been the end of me.
Im still a bit shaken up from the accident and i lost my ability to descend or even tackle corners with as much aggression as i normally would.
Any advice?
Thanks.

Keep riding, take it easy. I like the saying "you live and learn" and you certainly do when there's blood and pain involved.

Given the nature of your crash it would seem that your confidence did need a little curbing. Unfamiliar roads should be treated with extra caution, especially on steep descents. As TyeBag says your confidence will pick up, no doubt about it. A small setback like this will make you a better, wiser, more experienced cyclist.

What tyres were you on at the time?

Anonymous

It takes time, lots of time. I cane off at high speed on a descent and broke my leg rather badly a couple of years ago.
At first I was as slow descending as I was climbing but eventually you get better. I don't know about anyone else but I still get a nagging in the back of my head now when descending at high speed. I actually accept it as a good thing. I'm not a professional and I have a family to look after.
One thing I found did help was going out on club runs where you end up descending at the same speed as everyone else and using the people in front to help judge what speed you can take a corner at etc.

First and foremost, don't stop riding!!

bobtbuilder

NapoleonD wrote:

It takes time, lots of time. I cane off at high speed on a descent and broke my leg rather badly a couple of years ago.
At first I was as slow descending as I was climbing but eventually you get better. I don't know about anyone else but I still get a nagging in the back of my head now when descending at high speed. I actually accept it as a good thing. I'm not a professional and I have a family to look after.
One thing I found did help was going out on club runs where you end up descending at the same speed as everyone else and using the people in front to help judge what speed you can take a corner at etc.

First and foremost, don't stop riding!!

I'm in the same boat as NapD. nearly 3 years ago now I came off around 45mph dislocated my shoulder and *ruptured a testicle*. It was a road I had ridden probably 100 times or more, but this time there was a smattering of gravel and that was all it took.

Afterwards, i did all the standard things, rode my bike as soon as I was able, road the same descent, rode with my club, but I can;t get over it completely. I'm really hesitant on descents now.

I still love cycling as much as I ever have, but I'm just aware of my own mortality now.[/b]

Peddle Up!

I had a bad downhill wobble last year and although I didn't come off it has changed my attitude to descending. Mortality just about sums it up.

colsoop

Get back out on the bike. The confidence will return in time.

It may be that you were on the limit and now you have found it, its good that you are dialling the agression back a bit.

Peddle Up!

colsoop wrote:

It may be that you were on the limit and now you have found it, its good that you are dialling the agression back a bit.

The trouble is, it's a bit like the old engineer's advice for tightening bolts, "do 'em up 'til they shear, then back off half a turn".

carl_p

I came off on black ice at the beginning of the year, dislocating and breaking my shoulder and a bit of facial. When I started cycling again I was extremely nervous tip toeing around bends and holding on the brake vitually all descents. My confidence is returning now and all being well will do a club run very soon.

It actually helped me by doing a short 10 mile loop close to home which had a little bit of everything; sprints, fast bends, climbs and descents. I went out before breakfast at weekends whilst the roads were still quiet and kind of treated it as a TT trying to better my time each time.

It takes time though and I'm certainly more risk averse but that's not a bad thing.

LA

A couple of things..............

Firstly have you worked out how you misjudged the bend ie. too fast, wrong line, so you can learn from it. I must admit I've had a few close calls on getting it wrong going into a bend & then braking at the wrong time.

Secondly, like everyone else has said, start slowly & steadily to build up your confidence.

Similar to Nap & BtB I'm currently recovering from getting a front puncture at 45mph about a month ago & just rolling off the driveway the first time was 'interesting' but I've been lucky that I've manage to build up my confidence fairly quickly, but I had to force myself to get out on the bike to do it.

Remember, this is where the phrase 'back on the bike' comes from!

balthazar

Peddle Up! wrote:

colsoop wrote:

It may be that you were on the limit and now you have found it, its good that you are dialling the agression back a bit.

The trouble is, it's a bit like the old engineer's advice for tightening bolts, "do 'em up 'til they shear, then back off half a turn".

That's exactly it, and it's why exploring the limit of grip is impossible on road bikes. There is practically no slip transition- you either have good grip or you've fallen off.

I've given up querying those who claim this or that grip characteristics for their tyres, which they can't possibly know unless they spent half their time sliding down the road on their backsides. Ignoring that "I drifted my bike" braggardry, the only times we experience the grip limit is when we suffer an unpleasant fall, like that of the OP and other respondents.

In fact, I suspect that we generally keep a lower estimation of the grip limit, and are inclined to assume that all is lost and crash out of a corner that might have been navigable. That suspicion is informed partly by my experience of club riders who made great claims in the clubroom, but who crashed exactly that way ahead of me on later rides; and partly by video of bike races where professional racers choose to crash rather than corner steeply. The costs of too-steep cornering are so high that very few (even top racers) wish to explore it.

al2098

Maybe fate has cast you a warning.
If your not racing, slow down. No loss.
After the scare I got (another rider having a terrible off..) I now only mountain bike. Much safer. No cars..

colsoop

balthazar wrote:

That's exactly it, and it's why exploring the limit of grip is impossible on road bikes. There is practically no slip transition- you either have good grip or you've fallen off.

I've given up querying those who claim this or that grip characteristics for their tyres, which they can't possibly know unless they spent half their time sliding down the road on their backsides. Ignoring that "I drifted my bike" braggardry, the only times we experience the grip limit is when we suffer an unpleasant fall, like that of the OP and other respondents.

In fact, I suspect that we generally keep a lower estimation of the grip limit, and are inclined to assume that all is lost and crash out of a corner that might have been navigable. That suspicion is informed partly by my experience of club riders who made great claims in the clubroom, but who crashed exactly that way ahead of me on later rides; and partly by video of bike races where professional racers choose to crash rather than corner steeply. The costs of too-steep cornering are so high that very few (even top racers) wish to explore it.

I wasn't saying there is some sort of tyre characteristic grip level feeling technique for pushing in to corners for finding the limits.

What i was saying with my post was that the op has had an off, he has gone beyond the limit of grip / skill or whatever you want to call it.
He has lost confidence and has probably learnt from his mistake and now has a better understanding of where the grip / skill level is for him.

Therefore he will have a better understanding of how hard or fast he can corner for a given set of conditions.

Don't we all learn from experience granted occasionally painful ?

balthazar

@colsoop: I didn't intend a criticism of your point; my post was rather, general comments, inspired by the previous post.