Thanks to everyone for replying. 8) Op is tomorrow and haven’t managed to get out on the road bike but riding regularly on the mtb. Nothing at all to do with bluebells. 😉

Funny how everyone has different ways of dealing with it, from facing it head-on to gently easing back.

I think it would be worth fitting some wider tyres to see if that helps my mental block. Now feel OK riding the mtb on the road – hell I even had a roadie whizz past me and for some silly reason I put the power down and stayed on his back wheel for 1.5 miles until I turned off. 😳

There’s so much good road riding around here and I genuinely enjoy it, although very much a fair weather rider. Now where have I left my self-belief?

I will not be beaten I will not be beaten I will not be beaten I will not be beaten

🙂

I think it would be worth fitting some wider tyres to see if that helps my mental block

wider tyres do offer more grip, however the problem is not with the bike. get some coaching and you’ll be reet.

as said above don’t force it. can you try and use the bike for nipping to the shops etc – rather than getting kitted up and going for ‘a ride’. this might help you to get back into it.

for some silly reason I put the power down and stayed on his back wheel for 1.5 miles until I turned off

Nothing silly about that, that should be standard operating procedure. Hope you let him know that it was a girl that was keeping up with him on an MTB, too 🙂

Years ago I fractured my pelvis MTBing and it took a year or so to get my full fitness back. Strangely, it didn’t affect my confidence, mostly cos I had no idea how the accident happened and it was on a dead easy bit of trail, something the average 5 yr old could have rolled down without a problem. I was just unlucky (landed on a tree stump).

For a while afterwards though I restricted myself to riding my full sus on and off road as it just gave that little extra cushioning. Back on the road bike, I eased myself back into it and accepted that I’d be riding like a sack of spanners for a while until my fitness returned. I think a lot of it is mentally accepting that you have to go slow, ease yourself back into things and telling yourself that being this rubbish compared to how you used to be is normal at first.

Good luck and hope you’re fully recovered very soon!

cinnamon_girl – Member

Op is tomorrow

Good luck. Have some virtual hugs from me

Good luck for tomorrow CG.

I’ve been lucky on the bike and haven’t suffered a bad crash, but I understand the psychological tricks that can be played on the mind.

This sounds pathetic whenever I think about it now and I know this has no relevance with cycling. Around 10 years ago, my partner and I tried oysters for the first time at a restaurant. They were cooked in a garlic butter and looked delicious. I could only manage two and started gagging – I don’t know if it was the process of swallowing the first one or the fact I chewed the second one, but I stopped there and ordered a bowl of chips.

For around 3 years, my mind associated the smell of garlic with those oysters and I couldn’t add garlic to any cooking. I used to love garlic bread & just couldn’t face it, I was also disgusted with all fish. Only time and slowly introducing myself to garlic baguettes and white fish has allowed me to get back to normal (I’m laughing at how daft this sounds as I type this, but it’s honestly true).

I threw myself into the deep end last year & tried an oyster for the first time since then – I made sure garlic wasn’t present. I know now for sure that I don’t like them. For some reason it finalised all my previous fears and everything is back to normal…. in fact, I eat a more varied range of fish now than I ever did before. But no oysters 😉

Get back on your bike as soon as you can, and just take it one step at a time…before you know it, you’ll be mentally stronger than before. 😀

good luck with the op.

I will not be beaten I will not be beaten I will not be beaten I will not be beaten

if you’re not biking, don’t rule it out until you’ve tried it, at least….. 😆