Just let the fear feeling be there, don't try and stop it, just accept its there and divert to something present -reading a paper say. The feeling will die down by itself over several exposures, that is unless you consciously try and rid the feeling. Any anxious thoughts that accompany the fear mean nothing, its just your mind trying to explain the feeling.
Are you an analytical type of person? Trust the numbers, you're about 10 times as likely to be killed per mile on a pushbike as you are on a commercial plane.
Either that, or stop cycling 😉
I'm scared of flying but it's more about the claustrophobia and lack of control that does it for me. Maybe this story will help. I swear it's true.
At Malta airport I was waiting on the return flight to gatwick after a particularly drunk couple if days with a mate. In the terminal I spotted an English lad wearing full motorbike leathers including boots and gloves. I thought it was weird but thought no more of it until he sat across the aisle from me on the plane. By this point his jacket was zipped up to the top and his boots were done up as well. As we started taxiing out to the runway he clasped his hands together and started rocking back and forward like a Muslim at prayer. As we got airborne this continued until we eventually leveled off at the cruise. At this point he started relaxing, unzipped the jacket and took his gloves and boots off. Up until this point I assumed it was a weight/luggage issue why he was wearing this but alas, no. The old lady next to him asked him if that was why he was wearing the gear. His reply was, "if the plane crashes on take off or landing my bike leathers will protect me from the fire ball so I can get out the door". It was then that I forgot all about my fears as I was concentrating so hard on not collapsing with laughter and falling out my chair. True to form, when the pilot announced ten minutes, the gloves and boots were back on and the jacket was zipped back up. I don't know if the lad was a genius or nutter.
Anyways, buy yersel some bike leathers. It helped him.
Well statistics tells us that the majority of air crashes happen within a 6 mile radius of either the departing or arrival airport, so there might have been method in his madness.
