Viewing 37 posts - 1 through 37 (of 37 total)
  • Getting over anxiety following a crash.
  • dvowles82
    Free Member

    Let me preface this, by saying I’m naturally a bit anxious/a worrier. I started mountain biking 3 years ago and have progressed loads, being able to take on BPW red runs at a fair speed, but my airtime is fairly limited and small! I also want to work on general bike handling skills, although consciously work on/pay attention to the theory of it all. Regardless, I would say I usually feel a bit of anxiety at the top of descents. Whether I enjoy the nervous anticipation and ‘danger’ of it all I really can’t decode.

    I had a crash a while ago, on the ‘powder house’ section of the Twrch trail at Cymcarn. It was a fairly tight left hand turn in the woods, banked at the outside, with a slight inverse camber on the inside, and towards the apex of the corner the front wheel washed out, causing me to getting propelled sideways through the air, and coming crashing down on my left side/shoulder. I’m not even sure what went wrong, but in hindsight I reckon I cut the corner a bit, causing the front wheel to slide away from me down the inverse camber. Only bruises caused thankfully, and the knee/elbow pads and Bell Super2R helped too!

    Anyway, that was about 3 months back. I have only been for maybe 4 or 5 rides since, but I’m a nervous wreck! I just don’t feel like I can commit to corners (not that I was particularly committed pre-crash). On every corner I take, or every near miss, it’s like my mind is visualising how horrendous it would be IF I crashed, that horrible sensation of hitting the deck hard. Luckily my last crash was on flat ground. i.e. there was no tree or rock that I fell on. But I keep thinking ‘’what if I wash out on this corner, or I clip a pedal on that tree stump and I get flung into that sharp rock, or tree?’’ The consequences could be far worse.’’

    Went to BPW yesterday with my new Bird Aeris (only it’s 3rd ride out). Fully expected to love it, and don’t get me wrong, it’s an awesome bike. But I was miiiles slower than my 3 mates, and I even thought I was going a fair pace! Because the trails were so dusty and loose, I was tensing up on every corner, just waiting for the front wheel to go and just couldn’t relax and enjoy it.

    So… 1. Will this feeling go away with more time on the bike/ getting fully acquainted with my new bike? At the moment I’m genuinely feeling like I’m not ‘’mentally suited’’ to the hobby and am on the verge of giving up. 2. If the front wheel DOES give way suddenly, what is the best way to fall? Obviously instincts kick in and it’s hard not to put a foot or hand down, and somehow miraculously do some ninja roll in the blink of an eye onto forgiving ground. Is there anything one can tell themselves to mtfu?

    BigJohn
    Full Member

    A skills course will help enormously. Lets you know what you’re doing and why.

    xcracer1
    Free Member

    You cant consciously reason with fear – im afraid youll have to do it, feel the fear, do it again, feel slightly less fear, and again……. After repeating and doing it a few times youll notice that you havent felt nervous, and the fear will be gone. Dont get into a mind battle with it, leave it be there, accept youll feel nervous and just keep repeating it. Go slowly to start with.

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    paddy0091
    Free Member

    ^ as above. You really need to accept the anxiety, and do it anyway [ a quote I was once told was “feel the fear and do it anyway”].

    Find a little run you can keep doing, repeat until you feel a little more at ease and relaxed.

    Hope you feel better on the trails soon!

    Nipper99
    Free Member

    yup, otb and broken back in 2012 and just getting confidence back now.

    deviant
    Free Member

    I was tensing up on every corner, just waiting for the front wheel to go and just couldn’t relax and enjoy it.

    That’ll be part of the problem…and it won’t just be a ‘death grip’ with your hands either, your whole body will be tense, the bike won’t be able to move around under you, your body positioning will be non existent and everything will feel awful waiting for the inevitable crash.

    Start by consciously loosening your grip on the bars, this is psychological as much as anything but get used to the feeling of the bars (and by extension the forks, the wheel and the tyre) doing their own thing underneath you, bikes are stable above a certain speed (I think I read 9-10mph somewhere?)..they want to stay upright, it’s the human on them that causes the crashes!

    Once you’re used to this make a conscious decision to relax your knees and ankles….relaxing your ankles will naturally drop your heels putting you in the correct position (particularly for descending) and relaxing your knees more will help soak up some of the trail buzz without relying entirely on the bike.

    Also bring your head up, I’m guessing you’re now either looking at the front tyre or only a short distance ahead of it due to fear of it washing out, look further ahead and read the trail well in advance, you’ll see tricky cambers coming and can react properly instead of hitting them with little warning and tensing up.

    Remember the old ‘Softmints’ advert on TV?…the one with Mr Soft walking along with an exaggerated amount of flex/bounce/softness in his stride?…that’s how I try to tell myself to be on the bike, not always easy and I often fall into bad habits, you almost have to give yourself a running commentary in your head of what you should be doing in order for these things to take hold….it will also stop you thinking so much about crashing!

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    I’m not even sure what went wrong

    I think this is the crux. Spend some time with someone (maybe a good coach) who can help you realise what went wrong. Once you know what caused it, there’s no need to be anxious. It’s the not understanding that’s driving this.

    Where in the country are you?

    chrisridesbikes
    Free Member

    Think your best bet is just to get out on the bike regularly.. start off slow and build up.. avoid thinking about crashing etc. Accept you will come off time to time.. Most of the time you will hobble away chuckling.. Last time I had to come back from a slightly more serious off (There have been a few!) I tried to find new spots to explore.. They keep you on your toes as you don’t know them so you feel faster than you would on local trails you know inside out. I found riding loads of new trails to be great fun and with the bonus that I now know loads more local trails.. Being aware is good too.. how the conditions / season might affect how hard you can push on a given trail.. Good luck and keep going it is worth it!

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Fall off again and realise you don’t really need to worry that much

    kayla1
    Free Member

    I used to think “pfffft!” to skills courses but then I did an ‘airtime’ course this year to help get over my fear of casing doubles (after a bad off 20 years ago!) and it’s helped loads. Just being amongst others with similar hang-ups and an instructor who knew his onions was brilliant.

    I’m still no better at jumping, but I’m less terrified of doubles than I was (especially on a forgiving FS) and maybe a little more likely to have a go with confidence.

    enfht
    Free Member

    Ride stoned, it slows down time so you can react faster. Ire Ites.

    dvowles82
    Free Member

    Thanks guys that’s really helpful.

    I’m based in Bristol. I know there’s that skills course at Ashton Court but can imagine it’s a bit tame. Is it worth going further afield?

    thepurist
    Full Member

    Focus on riding slow but well, doing all the right things with head, feet and hands. Confidence will come and speed will just happen. If you don’t know all the right things to do then go see Jedi.

    adjustablewench
    Free Member

    I was thinking the same this weekend, I had a bad off in June and despite trying and occasionally overcoming it the fear of gravel corners can make me completely lock up. Which obviously stops me getting round the corner at all. Really frustrating, I did the Wessex ridgeway double a while back and felt I’d conquered it by the end, but no I was as jittery as ever this weekend in Scotland. I need either a skills course or hypnotherapy 😯

    anniison
    Free Member

    Along with skills practice de-conditioning might help. I used it to help get over a serious fear of falling after trashing my spine. Read about it in a climbing mag, was brilliant while I was in hospital 😉

    You basically sit quietly and replay the memory of the incident that scared you silly in a safe environment, then change it – imagining it in black and white, sing the alphabet or nelly the elephant over the top of it, make everything red, or green, or orange, slow it down, speed it up, work it into a Benny Hill type scenario! Theory is the more you do it, the less scared you get of the memory/situation, and hopefully itll then translate to how you feel when actually cornering.

    As for the best way to fall, learning to relax can help. Might sound odd, but the more relaxed you are when you fall off something the less you break. Its helped with years of falling off bikes and bits of rock. Unfortunately its now a natural reaction, and you need to do the opposite and tense up when you jump into water. See trashed spine above for results when you relax and dont tense when jumping into water lol! 😯

    alexh
    Free Member

    I feel your pain. 8/9 weeks ago I fell onto an exposed timber on the techie devil after going otb.

    I got out on my roadie asap, but I’ve noticed on a mtb the first few rides felt like near death experiences at any turn or feature.

    Firstly make sure from your time off and fall you don’t have any body deficiency. I found I was, and are still weak on my left side. Get your core strength up so it’s easier to move on the bike.

    I’m always bricking it at the start of a run, as a kid when I raced bmx this ruined my racing usually. I found Tony Doyle, aka Jedi really helped my mental skills at (not overcoming) but putting my mind in a focussed, commited place which lets me ride better.

    Relaxing and freeing up the body is key, but also just going back to basics for cornering technique is a good place to start. If your mind in wondering about falling it’s not doing the right things to prep you for the next bend/jump. You will go from one near miss to another at bpw, with your confidence falling through the floor at the same time.

    Check your technique, have a word with yourself about focus and commit to your technique, start slow, repeat and add speed back in.

    Easier said than done, I’ve not been majorly airborne since my off but I’m sure it will come back with commitment and practice. Good luck

    cbmotorsport
    Free Member

    Make a conscious decision to stay off the brakes, you tend to worry after a crash and instinct begs you to scrub off speed the minute you’re nervous, this can often lead to wash outs and OTB’s in my experience.

    Start back slow, build up slowly, ride with similarly skilled people so you don’t feel obliged to take risks too early. It’ll come back.

    doubledunter
    Free Member

    I can relate to this, I had a bad off in the EWS Tweedlove on a small steep chute onto a fireroad near the end and smashed my sternum, really struggled to breath and was in panic mode, cut a long story short I went and had a look it few weeks later and although it was “nothing” I couldnt bring myself to go down it, just kept having flashbacks.After riding the Tweedlove King & Queen recently with a couple of fireroad chutes at Golfie it kind of gave me a bit more confidence again,Ive recently tried to go back to basics and slow things down a bit and feel its helped,I would just build up confidence again and do it when you feel confident.

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    I guess it also depends a lot on why you ride a bike in the first place.
    Have you thought about say just skipping trail centres for a year and just doing general natural riding and bimbling, and enjoying the fresh air. Taking the pressure off yourself so you’re not in an environment where you feel pressured to always be taking the optimum line though a corner, might help with relaxation and confidence.

    surroundedbyhills
    Free Member

    I know there’s that skills course at Ashton Court but can imagine it’s a bit tame. Is it worth going further afield?

    You’d be surprised at what you can learn on a flat/tame piece of ground with the right coach.

    Getting mobile on your bike is not about “Gnar” or “Airtime” it’s about weightshift, points of contact and building confidence by getting a feel for it. I coach adults and Juniors and they get as much with a park based cone session as they do thrashing laps in the local woods. Good luck and btw we all suffer from this from some degree after a proper “off”.

    philjunior
    Free Member

    Regardless of how much of a worrier each of us is, we’ve all had crashes that have knocked our confidence. Just go at a speed that’s fun, take some coaching if you think it will help you have more fun (it might as you will have a bit more to consciously think of to avoid the same thing happening again.)

    The fear will go eventually. I find that I get a lot more nervous before riding where I may crash than I do actually doing it. Too much to think about at the time.

    Oh and make sure you’re thinking how to ride things, not how you might fall off. You’ll fall off less and ride faster and have more fun this way!

    I’ve contemplated the possibilities and for me it’s worth it, I know I’m unlikely to come to serious harm, but I’m comfortable with the small risk that’s there in return for the massive joy biking gives me.

    kayla1
    Free Member

    +1 for the healing power of a bimble!

    BigDummy
    Free Member

    I’m genuinely feeling like I’m not ‘’mentally suited’’ to the hobby

    OK, I really don’t know, and I really don’t want to agree with you. But I think of myself as a worrier and not an especially strong rider, and I’ve had some unpleasant crashes in my time. I’ve certainly not had long periods of the feeling of being a “nervous wreck” or of obsessing about possible crashes for multiple rides, over months. To be blunt, it sounds horrible, and if it was spoiling days of riding for me I’m honestly not sure how long I’d bother to force myself to keep doing it.

    Have you thought about say just skipping trail centres for a year

    I guess for me, this was the thing. For (quite literally) 8 years, my riding was an extension of hiking – it was nice to just be out and about, getting some exercise and stretching the legs. By the time I even started to worry about smashing through corners in a full-face and pads, I’d been riding so long that it wasn’t going to be something that I was going to stop doing, even though technical progress wasn’t especially quick.

    Sorry, gone on a bit. I think biking’s great, but forcing yourself to do something “for fun” that is giving you serious anxiety over quite a long period doesn’t sound like the best of plans.

    🙂

    oldejeans
    Free Member

    I’d stick aggressive tyres with large side knobs on front and back, with pressures as low as you dare.

    Brake on the approach to the corner whilst the bike is upright.

    Whilst keeping your torso flat and low as possible, chin up, elbows out, outside leg forward, look as far ahead out of the corner as possible, and really lean the bike as much as the camber and tightness of the corner dictates

    Practice smashing that type of corner until you feel progress, increase your pressures afterwards to protect your rims.

    leftyboy
    Free Member

    Do you ride with anyone who you feels rides really well? Sometimes following someone ‘good’ shows what the bike can do which I find helps with my confidence. HTH

    dvowles82
    Free Member

    Thanks all, this is all really helpful.

    Re: giving up. I wasn’t this anxious about riding before the crash, although always had a little bit of nervousness. But that is pretty natural (and healthy). I think it is mainly down to 1. Me leaving it maybe 6 weeks after the crash, before getting back on the bike. 2. When I did get back on it, my mates (who had been going all that time) were suddenly much faster, seemingly more confident than ever. 3. Me simply not putting the time in on the bike since – four sporadic rides in recent weeks has been all. And lastly, having to adjust to a completely new bike, with a different geometry and feel. Overall, it feels that there is enough good about the hobby, joy if you will, to make it worth persevering. There’s the exercise, exhilaration, escapism, time in nature, time away with mates, sense of wellbeing afterwards. I’m also pleased to report that on the fourth and last run down BPW, which included Vicious Valley into A470, I enjoyed it a fair bit more than the earlier runs, despite still being far slower than my mates, as crucially, I was more relaxed.

    Re: cornering. I am already very conscious of good technique; leaning the bike not the body, outside pedal down, outside elbow up, looking through corner with head, low centre of gravity, inside knee pointing into turn.

    I totally agree with the loosening up thing. When one is worried, they are going to be stiff, not thinking about technique enough and therefore ride far worse. It’s silly, as I will happily hoon it around on my commuting bike in traffic, at greater speeds, with (generally) far harsher consequences. It barely crosses my mind though.

    Definitely reckon a skills course is worth it though. Only thing though…is it really that beneficial over say studying technique videos on the internet (which I have already done to some extent)?

    cbmotorsport
    Free Member

    Go and see Tony (Jedi on here) at UKBikeskills. By the end of the day, you’ll be doing things that you never thought you could and it’ll do wonders for your confidence.

    jimdubleyou
    Full Member

    You’ve said this already, but I concur – get back on the horse quicker next time.

    I’m a bit of a wuss on a bike and have never had a major off, but have my fair share of tumbles snowboarding (concussions/sprains etc) that have ruined the rest of the day (sometimes week).

    Main thing is to get back to it asap – even at a reduced intensity you are still breaking the mental block that is stopping you from committing to the turn (which will make you crash more).

    ads678
    Full Member

    Buy a new bike! I had quite a big crash recently and my mate said it must have been because I need a new bike, I was riding a 140mm HT, My missus though didn’t agree!

    But then one of my other mates bought a new bike (Canyon Strive) and offered me the one he was replacing (commencal Meta AM) for a stupid cheap price and I bought it.

    I took it to greno at the weekend and ended up riding the black run most of the time and bloody loved it. All my fears disappeared into a haze of new (to me) bike goodness!!

    teamhurtmore
    Free Member

    I had a nasty face plant on a hidden cheeky trail late at night quite recently, Quite scary. My solution was to go back and spend time simply sessions get the run, building up very slowly and taking bits in stages. Never really done this before but it really helped. Joined the sections together by the end and not only completed the run but was actually able to enjoy it instead of dragging the brakes, mincing and feeling scared!

    shedbrewed
    Free Member

    Another clinical anxiety sufferer here.
    I had a bad road crash after hitting some black ice in Dec 13 which (and it took over 6 months and going private to find out, along with CT scans, MRIs and x-rays) left me with a 3/4 torn shoulder/SLAP, broken collarbone, damage SI joint and nerve damage. In the opposite of you I went back out on the MTB just to ride my local trails and bridleways for fun. I don’t ride trail centres generally as the local stuff is just as fun and challenging.
    I had a lot of anxiety problems; horrendous tension headaches, lack of concentration, palpitations, night terrors, dizziness… and it took probably the best part of 6 months before I was comfy riding quickly on the road. Even now I am not the most confident descender on the road and find many things to worry about when descending. The section of road I crashed on I ride through quite often and still have moments. It’s just part of the ride now and I try and relax a little more each time I pass that part.
    For me though, I got back in to cycling to deal with my anxiety as a sedentary office life is the very worse thing for it, so letting off steam on a pedal is good.
    You’ll get through it, but it will take time.

    TiRed
    Full Member

    Buy a new bike

    This!

    After my very serious road crash in April, I bought a recumbent trike to get me out on the roads and build my confidence. The first day out on my road bike was however a bit nervous. I’m still a little edgy on side junctions. When off road, I accepted that crashing (falling off) is a part of riding, and after I broke my collar bone, accepted that I needed to crash again to prove that it was fixed. My poor skills obliged pretty quickly!

    Curiously, I’m still worried about crashing onto my wrist, but in the midst of bunch racing on the road, I have other things to think about, which is just as well, because there was a huge pile up in my first race back. I still don’t know how I stayed up.

    A skills course will help, but I’m sure another off will help as well. Crashes aren’t all really bad!

    alexh
    Free Member

    Good skills courses are far cheaper than new bikes. In the 2 I did last year my riding came on leaps and bounds…until my off.

    Invest.

    jedi
    Full Member

    Thanks for the recommendation dudes

    paulmgreen
    Free Member

    OP ,,,… Get yourself a copy of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne …. There’s some interesting stuff in there about how you Think…… Too long to go into here but you’re focusing thoughts onto exactly what you DONT want to happen, as opposed to what you DO want to happen….. So guess w hat……. The only thing that happens is what you don’t want !

    paulmgreen
    Free Member

    OP ,,,… Get yourself a copy of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne …. There’s some interesting stuff in there about how you Think…… Too long to go into here but you’re focusing thoughts onto exactly what you DONT want to happen, as opposed to what you DO want to happen….. So guess w hat……. The only thing that happens is what you don’t want !

    So changing what / how you think is crucial……. The book may initially appear a bit hippy mumbo jumbo …. But believe me the principles work and really help.

    I read similar about motorbike racing in the rain…… Rider fixates on avoiding the white line or standing water as he fears losing grip….. So consequently coming in fast he’s looking so hard for what he wants to avoid he fixates on it and naturally gets drawn right to it !

    Kinda makes sense …..?

    MrAgreeable
    Full Member

    I know there’s that skills course at Ashton Court but can imagine it’s a bit tame. Is it worth going further afield?

    The skills course I did with Sam at Pedal Progression was probably the most sedate day on a mountain bike I’ve ever had. However the point of skills coaching isn’t solely to make you ride faster, it’s all about identifying little issues with technique and body positioning and giving you strategies to address these. A good grounding in stuff like cornering technique will help you avoid repeats of your crash as you get your confidence back.

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