Riding stuff that scares you – confidence vs risk

Northwind – Member
I don’t ride it if I don’t think it’s going to work, basically. That sounds restrictive but if you’ve got a good knowledge of your riding and a database in your head of “stuff that’s a bit like this” you know pretty well what you’ve done, what you probably can do, and what’s a stretch, and what’s a risk.

I would say that’s pretty much spot on, as far as I’m concerned.

And, as it’s my birthday today, the trail gods must have been smiling on me – I cleaned stuff today that I haven’t managed all summer.
Scrimping and saving to start tomorrow……

Age.
I’m 48 and a lot more cautious now despite spending a lot of my younger years doing a brains out how big are your b***s sport (motorcycle road racing) and being quite good, ahem.
So its not like I’ve never known the risks.But its just the way it is. I’m not as brave. nutty or whatever as I was.
I still like to tackle big drops and rooty stuff but I always stop and have a look and a good think about it and have no problem walking away. Quite nice to have grown up a bit!

Why would I want to ride anything that scares me? This is my hobby, not some dick measuring contest. Why would I want to spend my leisure time being scared ?

Don’t you enjoy the adrenaline rush of doing something that scares you a bit? That’s one of the many things I love about mtb!

Don’t you enjoy the adrenaline rush of doing something that scares you a bit? That’s one of the many things I love about mtb!

No, I don’t think I do, although I accept that some people must do.

Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy doing things that I know are dangerous, but that’s not the same as enjoying being scared. So, I can get a great rush from flying down some rough section of trail at warp speed. I know there is a danger in doing that and the danger probably adds to the fun. But the point is, I’m not scared. I’m feeling invincible. Laughing in the face of danger. As soon as I start to get scared I stop having fun. I also tense up and ride like a sack of spuds.

I stacked big style on the second drop in this clip

Isla Short makes it look easy[/url]

unconscious, ambulance, broken jaw, broken nose (3 places), degloved chin, plastic surgery.

I haven’t ridden it since and don’t have any desire to !

I went on a skills session to get rid of the demons, which helped a lot !

Potential for injury vs confidence in nailing it.

Air and bad landing = walk.

Kerbs.