Fear of falling off.

JayKay3000

This is stupid.

I'm fine on fast flowing trails and don't even mind the odd jump and small drop off, but I've noticed that trying to do the mbr at coed y brenin in north wales there is one section, an open, exposed section with one medium sized drop that goes into a bigger one that I'm terrified of now.

Last time I imagined myself ending up a heap crashing into where the trees used to be or having the rear end catching the step down. I've ridden this trail a bunch of times fine on my 80mm hard tail and never thought about not being able to not do a trail obstacle. I just got in position and let the bike do the work, but now...

I can do the rest of the mbr route fine and Dragons back. No problem. Taruw. Technical, but not exactly 'hard'. I've met a few people out riding and managed to keep pace.

Lets see what ideas the internet comes up with

TheNorthernTrain

"Pain is painful, of course, but fearing it is like deciding to be in pain when you don’t have any pain."

welshkev

limits, like fear are often just an illusion

but in real terms, stop thinking, start doing

cooldad

TheNorthernTrain wrote:

"Pain is painful, of course, but fearing it is like deciding to be in pain when you don’t have any pain."

welshkev wrote:

limits, like fear are often just an illusion

I think a strongly worded letter to Cosmopolitan is in order.

Dear Abby

My children are all turning gay. Is it genetic or something in the water?

Please help

Love

Cool(worried)dad

welshkev

cooldad wrote:

TheNorthernTrain wrote:

"Pain is painful, of course, but fearing it is like deciding to be in pain when you don’t have any pain."

welshkev wrote:

limits, like fear are often just an illusion

I think a strongly worded letter to Cosmopolitan is in order.

Dear Abby

My children are all turning gay. Is it genetic or something in the water?

Please help

Love

Cool(worried)dad

I translated mine into man speak at least

rockmonkeysc

Man up. Pain never lasts long.

croptonboy

Oh, I don't know. The rather large off I had in 1993 still causes me back problems, and I'm more prone to kidney infections still...

Hey ho!

97th choice

If I'm riding something that gives me the wobbles I focus on staying loose on the bike, because when you're nervous you are more likely to be stiff and unmoving, which can increase your chance sof actually crashing.

cooldad

I get off and walk. I'm too old and have no shame.

slickmouse

i think its called getting OLD (older) its part of the evolutionary development, that young men have no concept of their own mortality, that why they fight wars with 17/22 year olds, whilst 30 year olds are trying to get back to their wife and kids

Id did stunts on Mbike as a 22 yo that id never dream of doing as a 32 yo, let alone now

its not FEAR, its programmed self preservation your experiencing and it only gets worse or better if you dont want a long time recuperating from a broken bone

welshkev

slickmouse wrote:

i think its called getting OLD (older) its part of the evolutionary development, that young men have no concept of their own mortality, that why they fight wars with 17/22 year olds, whilst 30 year olds are trying to get back to their wife and kids

Id did stunts on Mbike as a 22 yo that id never dream of doing as a 32 yo, let alone now

its not FEAR, its programmed self preservation your experiencing and it only gets worse or better if you dont want a long time recuperating from a broken bone

I don't know about that. i'm 36 and i'm doing stuff now that I wouldn't have done 5 years ago. maybe it's more confidence in my ability, maybe it's that I want to try and do it before I get too old I can't try

rockmonkeysc

Im 34 and ride stuff I didn't think possible ten years ago and getting faster and hitting bigger stuff all the time.
Just ride in to things fast and ignore that voice in your head telling you to grab the brakes.

zulu12

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Im 34 and ride stuff I didn't think possible ten years ago and getting faster and hitting bigger stuff all the time.
Just ride in to things fast and ignore that voice in your head telling you to grab the brakes.

I agree with Rockmonkey, ignore the voice, its liberating when you nail it. I ignore the voices in my head especially when they argue!!!

Its not if you fall, its when you fall, get up and try it again, its the only way to learn. You don't want to spend the rest of your life saying soddit I should have gone for it. Pain is temporary, one smashed up knee, two broken wrists, numerous broken ribs and fingers later he says. I know I'm going to pay for it when I get older but I would far rather tell my grandkids that's how I got those injuries than teling them I tripped on a door mat.

Besides if its down in the book that you are going to cash your chips on a 5ft drop off, its down in the book. Just enjoy it.

Good luck

grenw

If it's too scary don't do it and find something you enjoy riding. Life's too short not to enjoy the ride

coulddobetter

Have spent nearly 3 months looking at a steep rutted section . Finally did it the other day . The idea of staying loose really helped ( as did you tube footage of a rider descending the same course loose and then deliberately tight )
I am 52 .

Doing this has boosted my confidence to tackle things more .

JayKay3000

Thanks guys! Your comments have given me inspiration. You guys made me smile in a good way.

I've got a set of knee pads on order. My friends all wear them and some wear elbow pads and back protectors, but I think i'll start with my knees first.

When I was lying in bed unable to move the doc said 'Mtb is not compatible with life', but I read about Dan Atherton and part of me thought I'd just be able to get back on the bike like before, but a big part of riding well is being fit.

I used to ride with spds, so I'm learning flats, a new bike, getting over the injury, regaining my fitness. Trusting the unknown tires and tweaking the new bike on every other run. As much as I beat myself up over this rock step issue perhaps I'm doing OK really.

Love it when a trail comes together and you know You've nailed it the way you want though and what's the point of riding a trail if you're not going to ride it all. The obstacles are half the fun. I will achieve this obstacle and it's not going to kill me, but I don't think I'm ready for it just yet.

zulu12

Attaboy, thats the spirit! Good luck. You're always evolving in this sport which is the beauty of it.

kajjal

slickmouse wrote:

i think its called getting OLD (older) its part of the evolutionary development, that young men have no concept of their own mortality, that why they fight wars with 17/22 year olds, whilst 30 year olds are trying to get back to their wife and kids

Id did stunts on Mbike as a 22 yo that id never dream of doing as a 32 yo, let alone now

its not FEAR, its programmed self preservation your experiencing and it only gets worse or better if you dont want a long time recuperating from a broken bone

Just reaching 40 this is what I find. My riding is not as fast as it used to be as I don't want to really injure myself. Still enjoy riding at speed and over technical stuff just in a more controlled way. The only way to overcome a tricky section is to practice it a lot to work out the best approach or to walk over it

slickmouse

Kajjal wrote:

slickmouse wrote:

i think its called getting OLD (older) its part of the evolutionary development, that young men have no concept of their own mortality, that why they fight wars with 17/22 year olds, whilst 30 year olds are trying to get back to their wife and kids

Id did stunts on Mbike as a 22 yo that id never dream of doing as a 32 yo, let alone now

its not FEAR, its programmed self preservation your experiencing and it only gets worse or better if you dont want a long time recuperating from a broken bone

Just reaching 40 this is what I find. My riding is not as fast as it used to be as I don't want to really injure myself. Still enjoy riding at speed and over technical stuff just in a more controlled way. The only way to overcome a tricky section is to practice it a lot to work out the best approach or to walk over it

thats exactly right, you replace ''enthusiasm'' with considered experience, when i was 22 i had the reactions of a fighter pilot, now im more commensurate with a stunned slug with a hang over, so have to tried accordingly

its the old, there are old pilots and bold pilots but not many old, bold pilots

Briggo

I'd strongly suggest a good skills course to take you through the basics and learn to control your bike properly to get yourself over/through obstacles the best you can.

BigAl

Yep, I've plenty of fear!

I'm the wrong side of 40 and started riding again this year after a break of 4 years. And, yes, my confidence is low and fear high. I was never a particularly brave rider to start with.

Part of it is down to physical ageing - I'm not as fit as I was and reactions have slowed too. But mostly it's the lack of confidence.

So I'm trying to build slowly, just tackling stuff a little harder each ride. No use (to me) ploughing into it like a madman - repeated falls will just knock confidence further. And it's true, I realise I am no longer invulnerable. Not to mention a (semi) serious injury, say a broken ankle, could have serious consequences for work and general family life.

And, just like cooldad, I'll happily get off and walk (and hope nobody is watching)

I ride because I enjoy it. If I don't want to ride a particular section - then I don't

Kowalski675

Briggo wrote:

I'd strongly suggest a good skills course to take you through the basics and learn to control your bike properly to get yourself over/through obstacles the best you can.

+1 on that.

JayKay3000

Update.

Last week I finally cleared the bits I was getting stuck on.

I found some videos of the sections I was getting stuck on and watched several versions and even the crash ones.

I put my spd pedals on with shoes and set them up while at the trail centre.

Put some knee pads on.

I put set my mind to do the trails and decided I was not going to leave till I'd completed them.

Set the rebound to be a bit quicker

Changed the front tire to a thinner mtn king to give the bike a snappier turn in

I ended up walking one section that I crashed on so I could actually take a good look at the line and then rode nearly to that.

Finally once I'd decided on the line I made sure I had enough speed and let the bike do its thing. I found my body went into the right position without thinking about it and even though it had been 11 months off spds I found myself automatically clicking in and out.

The second trail that was scaring me was easier even though it had bigger drops. I made myself go faster because I knew at the back of my mind that a bit more speed was safer and as it happened I was riding the drop before I had time to back out of it.

I noticed later that riding part of the next where I was wondering why my bike was staying upright over wet rock and going off just as big rock drops what the problem had been.

When I got to the last easier track I felt slightly deflated, but doing this trail faster is a mission for another time. My aim was to stay upright and I did. Great day!

Now the mbr is fun rather than terrifying.

paulc

On my first outing to llandegla... On the way back down I was quite scared of falling off but on after talking with others riding somewhere like that and thinking what if I fall off what if i hit that stump or hit that tree is the total wrong thing to be thinking...

You should be looking and thinking ahead about what lines you should or could take.

If your going to fall you won't know about it till its too late and even then it's all over in seconds.

JayKay3000

I've rode this whole route before without even thinking about it and never watched any videos of it. Just rode it and enjoyed it. I think once you ride somewhere when you come back there is a slight element of 'was that just luck'.

Getting through that fear barrier is tough.

But I agree. I put my mind set that I was going to do it. I knew I had the skill set deep down and I knew the bike could do it and I decided I was not going to fall off.

Rock drops complete and rock steps. I just need to remember what it's like to jump off rock steps.

I hope to haul ass up Cadair Idris next saturday. That actually is easier than the mbr @ coed y brenin!

Know about that my neck broke in less than a second. The incident was over before I knew what had happened and I was getting up in pain. I could easily have not gotten up so I guess the mind remembers that.

kajjal

JayKay3000 wrote:

I've rode this whole route before without even thinking about it and never watched any videos of it. Just rode it and enjoyed it. I think once you ride somewhere when you come back there is a slight element of 'was that just luck'.

Getting through that fear barrier is tough.

But I agree. I put my mind set that I was going to do it. I knew I had the skill set deep down and I knew the bike could do it and I decided I was not going to fall off.

Rock drops complete and rock steps. I just need to remember what it's like to jump off rock steps.

I hope to haul ass up Cadair Idris next saturday. That actually is easier than the mbr @ coed y brenin!

Know about that my neck broke in less than a second. The incident was over before I knew what had happened and I was getting up in pain. I could easily have not gotten up so I guess the mind remembers that.

We went up Cadair Idris one summer it is a great ride up and down again. Just get ready for how wet and cold it can be at the top , even in the middle of summer !

How did you get on ?

poah

cooldad wrote:

TheNorthernTrain wrote:

"Pain is painful, of course, but fearing it is like deciding to be in pain when you don’t have any pain."

welshkev wrote:

limits, like fear are often just an illusion

I think a strongly worded letter to Cosmopolitan is in order.

Dear Abby

My children are all turning gay. Is it genetic or something in the water?

Please help

Love

Cool(worried)dad

Dear Cool(worried)dad

Im sorry but its genetic :P

Love

Abby

photonic69

Went to the Quantocks for the first time on Sunday. Great fun. Fab trails. Great downhill sections. Yes. I fell off. OTB on a stupid relatively flat bit where the front wheel washed out on a thin grass strip. Meh! Yeah, it hurt. Still hurts now. but got back on and carried on downhill. Icepacks on the knee for the last few days and I'm itching to go again. Live life. Have fun.

JayKay3000

Kajjal wrote:

JayKay3000 wrote:

I've rode this whole route before without even thinking about it and never watched any videos of it. Just rode it and enjoyed it. I think once you ride somewhere when you come back there is a slight element of 'was that just luck'.

Getting through that fear barrier is tough.

But I agree. I put my mind set that I was going to do it. I knew I had the skill set deep down and I knew the bike could do it and I decided I was not going to fall off.

Rock drops complete and rock steps. I just need to remember what it's like to jump off rock steps.

I hope to haul ass up Cadair Idris next saturday. That actually is easier than the mbr @ coed y brenin!

Know about that my neck broke in less than a second. The incident was over before I knew what had happened and I was getting up in pain. I could easily have not gotten up so I guess the mind remembers that.

We went up Cadair Idris one summer it is a great ride up and down again. Just get ready for how wet and cold it can be at the top , even in the middle of summer !

How did you get on ?

Not managed to do cadair again yet. I've been riding different places with friends and tuning my bike setup. I am getting better, but it's like my m8s tell me "It's better to get down slowly than not at all. Of course if you can get down fast then that'll be a whole lot better for us"

I think I've pinpointed that there is more 'dive' on this bike so it's taking a while to get used to that.

More rides planned and then bike park wales next sunday!