Unanswered Nerves

[Farmernz]

How do you overcome them?
I see where others have descended but I don’t seem to be able to drop some of the stuff around here, mainly I think I’m 45 and have to go to work tomorrow ?.

 

[steve_sordy]

a better explanation of where I'm coming from might be if I asked you how often do you just get on your bike in normal clothes and ride it with the dropper post fully dropped going nowhere in particular?
also, if you walk to the shop for a paper do you spot every single kerb drop, wall hop, transition to pop off, smooth area to manual/wheelie and wish you had grabbed the bike instead of walked.

tooling about works tho

I still do tool about on mine all the time but Ebikes are shit compared to normal bikes in that respect

I don't do the former, but I always do the latter. It used to irritate the hell out of my wife when we were at some stately home garden (gardening is her passion) and I'd be spotting where it would be great to ride (and not listening to her).
Can't remember just tooling about in the village. Done it at my local trail centre though. That is when I find new trails.

 

[Gary]

Growing up riding BMX I did nothing but piss about on my bike pretty much every day for a few years with nowhere to go. That has stuck with me and I feel sorry for the folk who take biking so seriously they need to drive to dedicated places or dress up like a cyclist to ride theirs. I'd genuinely rather grab absolutely any bike than ever walk even just ten feet.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I'd genuinely rather grab absolutely any bike than ever walk even just ten feet.

And after this many years, you'd be shocked how many solutions he's come up with to that dilemma ..

 

[Nicho]

And after this many years, you'd be shocked how many solutions he's come up with to that dilemma ..

View attachment 49951

That is the sort of bike those French people in the video needed to ride home on.

P.S. Is that what Gary refers to as a 'bog standard bike'?

 

[Coburn]

Same as anything else just put the hours in, your build confidence get faster.

They say it takes 10000hrs to master something, of course there are always people like Danny Hart who obviously just have it but even has put the time in, just he’s measure on a different scale.

Winter here in the UK makes me slower dealing with the slick conditions on my local trails but i still get out and in the summer when it dries up and i get grip i find myself riding quicker i have also find myself ignoring trails I thought were full on a couple years back and tackling trails i previously thought were out of my ability.
So all in all I’d say just keep riding and pushing yourself a little more without going overboard and it will come good.

 

[Zimmerframe]

That is the sort of bike those French people in the video needed to ride home on.

P.S. Is that what Gary refers to as a 'bog standard bike'?

I'm pretty sure most of us would find it a sh1t ride.

 

[Nicho]

I'm pretty sure most of us would find it a sh1t ride.

It looks more comfortable than my saddle, plus, if it had a toilet roll holder attached to it you could be like KeithR and do origami whilst you were waiting at traffic lights. Also, plenty of onboard drinking water if you were riding in a hot country.

 

[Rahr85]

Parts of this thread resonate with me.

Back in my late teens (so 15+ years ago) i dabbled in a bit of DH/freeride in that i had a scott high octane FR but everything we rode was either natural trails or just cocking about in the city centre/uni campus. With hindsight i doubt a lot of what i did was all that big but at the time it felt good.

I had a big gap until recently where people from work invited me out to sherwood pines and i picked up a 2nd hand XC bike and took it from there. Despite hitting jumps in my youth and having the fairly basic principles of bike control and good balance under my belt i still got nervous getting back into red/black graded trails. Some of this is being more aware of my fragility and poor ability to heal and the other part is the boring part of needing to pay the bills and not risking my job by getting badly injured. There is an inherent risk with mountain biking which i accept but doesn't mean i won't try to mitigate risk where possible. I've done more damage to myself playing football where i tore my ankle ligaments.

I love being out on the bike and with reference to gary's post i will often just pop across the road and mess about on the bike trying to get better at manuals/wheelies etc.

If i'm somewhere like sherwood pines or somewhere i am very familiar with i will likely just wear my trail helmet. When i'm somewhere new or places with more technical trails or jumps i will more than likely be wearing a full face helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. I know they won't stop a break but from my own experience i know how just a little spill can take skin off and just be a nuissance for the rest of the day/week. So subconsciously i probably feel a bit more confident all padded up but at the end of the day i'm _not_ out out to impress anyone and will not be pressured into doing something i am not comfortable with. I ride to enjoy myself and i try to push my boundaries where possible.

 

[timmers]

About 3 months ago I asked in one of these forums, what other mtn cyclists were wearing for hand protection. I asked because I had just broken a knuckle in my right (dominant) hand doing some work around the home (nothing at all related to cycling - I was doing something with an electric drill...) and the hospital workers had put my hand, fingers and arm in a cast. That stayed on for about 4 weeks, and when it came off I was immediately aware that things would not be normal right then and there - I couldn't bend my fingers, for example make a fist, nor even straighten them out. The emergency room doctor had told me that I would have a cast on for 4 to 6 weeks; upon removal of it, I would need a few months of rehab/physiotherapy to regain normal use of my fingers/hand - I had put that statement out of my memory at the time, because I knew I was different and would heal much faster than others before me (haven't we all had thoughts like that at one time or another...?).

In any case, while I had my cast on, I had asked that question about hand protection, thinking that the accident I had that had broken my knuckle was a wake-up call for me (I'm 64 yrs old) that I will have to be more careful when I start taking my Levo out onto the trails again. And I am even more clear in my thinking now that I will definitely avoid those bike routes which caused me to hesitate before, even though I'll be wearing MX gloves (the ones with hard knuckle protection on the outside of the glove), knee pads and elbow pads. I won't be getting a full-face helmet as I know I'll never be doing jumps, I'll be avoiding rock gardens (the really challenging ones in any case), and reducing my speed (or walking down when I'm fearful of maintaining adequate rolling speeds).

Thanks for bringing up this topic, it's something that has struck a nerve I suppose, in those of us who were fearless in our youth, and are not that youthful anymore (and possilby more fearful of consequences - haha).

By the way, my cast came off November 12, 2020, and I can now finally make a fist (almost) and lay my hand flat, on a flat surface (almost). Grip strength is about 50% in my right, compared to my left (non-dominant) hand. That's with rehab exercises each and every day. I can grip the handlebar, but not tightly with my right hand. I am still very satisfied with my progress, mostly due to the fact I can head out on my Levo again (when the weather allows it - it is winter after all, here in western Canada), although I restrict myself to public roads and such for now. Discretion is the better part of valor.

 

[steve_sordy]

Hmm. That’s pretty cool. I’d say I’d like a bar with it. Might as well have a drink while you’re there.
Also, unfortunately in Afghanistan and other countries like it they only have toilet paper in the more wealthy homes. Yes seriously. That’s why you never touch someone with your left hand there......

It is also why they never put their left hand on the table when eating.
The whole culture is a real bummer for those who are naturally left handed though.

 

[steve_sordy]

About 3 months ago I asked in one of these forums, what other mtn cyclists were wearing for hand protection. I asked because I had just broken a knuckle in my right (dominant) hand doing some work around the home (nothing at all related to cycling - I was doing something with an electric drill...) and the hospital workers had put my hand, fingers and arm in a cast. That stayed on for about 4 weeks, and when it came off I was immediately aware that things would not be normal right then and there - I couldn't bend my fingers, for example make a fist, nor even straighten them out. The emergency room doctor had told me that I would have a cast on for 4 to 6 weeks; upon removal of it, I would need a few months of rehab/physiotherapy to regain normal use of my fingers/hand - I had put that statement out of my memory at the time, because I knew I was different and would heal much faster than others before me (haven't we all had thoughts like that at one time or another...?).

In any case, while I had my cast on, I had asked that question about hand protection, thinking that the accident I had that had broken my knuckle was a wake-up call for me (I'm 64 yrs old) that I will have to be more careful when I start taking my Levo out onto the trails again. And I am even more clear in my thinking now that I will definitely avoid those bike routes which caused me to hesitate before, even though I'll be wearing MX gloves (the ones with hard knuckle protection on the outside of the glove), knee pads and elbow pads. I won't be getting a full-face helmet as I know I'll never be doing jumps, I'll be avoiding rock gardens (the really challenging ones in any case), and reducing my speed (or walking down when I'm fearful of maintaining adequate rolling speeds).

Thanks for bringing up this topic, it's something that has struck a nerve I suppose, in those of us who were fearless in our youth, and are not that youthful anymore (and possilby more fearful of consequences - haha).

By the way, my cast came off November 12, 2020, and I can now finally make a fist (almost) and lay my hand flat, on a flat surface (almost). Grip strength is about 50% in my right, compared to my left (non-dominant) hand. That's with rehab exercises each and every day. I can grip the handlebar, but not tightly with my right hand. I am still very satisfied with my progress, mostly due to the fact I can head out on my Levo again (when the weather allows it - it is winter after all, here in western Canada), although I restrict myself to public roads and such for now. Discretion is the better part of valor.

It will get better in time, keep up with the physio exercises.
I got a bad cut down the back of my middle finger of my right hand. It had been laid bare to the bone when I caught it on a cutting tool when I was working on a lathe. The cutting fluid got into it and it got infected. The medical centre didn't stitch it, just taped it up and fastened on a splint that looked like a teaspoon. The bowl went into the palm of my hand and the handle went up the length of my finger. By the time the skin had healed enough not to split open again, my middle finger would not bend. Think about that for a moment! No matter how much I clenched my fist the middle finger stayed straight up!
It took more than a few weeks for that finger to become normal.

 

[Akiwi]

Sorry, I don’t get the whole armour up for safety and feel braver approach.....

You won’t suddenly get better at riding a bike with more protection on. It could be a hindrance.

I’ll only ever ride with a helmet. And knee pads. As anything else won’t really stop serious injury imo. (Apart from a back protector) for 90% of the riding 99% of us on here do....

Level up skills and practice. That will increase confidence. And reduce nerves.

Tuition or riding with better riders will always help.

I’m no expert on a mtb. In fact I’m probably just a game newbie. But have ridden race bikes (engine kind) to a decent level, and yes it’s great to feel protected in any dangerous sport, but don’t take it as a false sense of security. Cos it’ll bite eventually when you run out of talent

I disagree with this statement.
I have been riding mountainbikes for well over 30 years, sometimes intensively, some times less so.
I have the technique, just the brain often sais stop when you know you can do it.
Over the last 4 years since my first e-MTBI have done probably more riding than in the 30 years beforehand.
What I find helps when you have full face helmet and good body protection is thatlittle bit of mental confidence that if anything goes wrong, you have less chanve of hurting yourself seriously than without it. Similar to bouldering with a rope or without one.

I find I can easly ride passages now that I used to shit myself doing or where I would always walk.

70% of that is mental confidence, 30% is more capeable bikes now than I had years ago.

I like the safety net to help me mentally get over the difficult stuff.

 

[Mikerb]

I windsurf as well as Emtb. In both sports ( probably more so in Windsurfing) conditions can be daunting and it is perfectly natural for the brain to dwell on "what if"....to the extent that you can talk yourself out of launching/riding a tech section completely. So the question was how do you deal with that?
You have had most of the answers already, but this is my approach.
Firstly I have a realistic view of my own capabilities, and will not be swayed by peer pressure. So there are occasions in both sports where I rate the risk as being too high.
In general however, I deal with "risk"...or "nerves" as you put it, by mitigation. For MTB wearing suitable protection from helmet to soft armour is part of that. Riding with someone rather than alone. Having a mobile phone with me. Knowing my kit is properly maintained and capable of the task. Doing a proper survey ( for windsurfing, that includes weather/wind forecast/swell forecast/tide etc). For MTB that means walking a section first and deciding on a line....and where not to go.
Having mitigated the risk and having decided to go for it, it then needs mind control to put the negatives to one side. The key to that for me is essentially saying to myself that I have mitigated s much risk as I can, I have made a decision to go for it, so now I want to enjoy it and approach it with a positive mental attitude.
In both sports very often the absolute worst thing you can do is to then be hesitant about it. Part of the thrill of both sports for me is taking on the elements and winning ( or at least surviving!).