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Lost my nerve
I'm a newbie - very green to all this but had been enjoying it immensely. Before Christmas I came off and landed on my head going quite quick(for me) down one of the hills on the Terry Hills trail. I got a bit banged up, broke a finger and had a lump the size of an egg next to my eye. The subsequent black eye at work created quite a few comments as well! (the finger is still very sore).
Last weekend saw me venture out again at Lane Cove - and I have a problem - I'm nervous as hell. I'm going a lot slow down things I would ahve taken quickly before and I'm tentative as hell all over - feel very unsecure in the saddle - but I'm fine on the road.
Anybody faced this before? How did you get over it?
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I think we have all been there mate, to one degree or another.
All I can say is you should ride at the speed you are happy with. If you want to go slow, then that's cool, in fact embrace it. The most important thing about this whole MTB thing is to have fun, and ride safely. It sounds like you had a big scare, you probably need to ride around for a while at slow speed and get some confidence back. Nothing wrong with that.
Have a think about some riding clinics. They are good fun and you do learn stuff, no matter how good you are. They are always popping up in this site and others.
Another thing, find some grass somewhere and practice some stunts. You know, fun stuff like wheelies, braking fast, rear wheel slides, cornering, getting your weight back and forward. Do it all at low speed and be prepared to fall off. A couple of days of this will bring your confidence right up, plus it's good fun.
Reminds me I need to get out and do some of that myself... good idea! Cheers...
I had a plethora of OTB and very scary moments when I first got into this sport, lucky my injuries were minor and some skill seems develop quickly ( or you die.. ) in MTB, now I hardly ever OTB and find myself riding things I would have once never considered.
I think the key for me was to get on some of the group rides and follow the lines ( at a slower speed ) of some of the experience riders on this site, and always be ready to get off and walk when you think you should... skills clinics are another good idea.
or just man up, strap yourself in, tighten up your helmet and GO!!!
I agree with LadyToast above but also some good advice given to me some time back was to try and remember the bike handling basics.
A couple of the key ones for me are; to make sure I am riding the bike and not just sitting/standing frozen above it, it's often good to exaggerate throwing your weight around a bit to remind yourself - also keep my head and eyes up and looking well ahead rather than just in front of me, this always gives me a feeling of having more time to make adjustments to trail obstacles.
Hope it works for you but enjoy the 'comeback'
yep, sure have.
Two, in fact: See here: http://nobmob.com/node/11858 and here: http://nobmob.com/node/9316
I had a particularly nasty stack in March 09 that I've still not fully recovered from (may need another op). The more recent one where I got struck by a car, I had a setback on the weekend where a mate - not knowing - crushed my hand in a handshake and I felt something let go.
The key is to ease your way back into it on trails you know you can handle easily, and to start challenging yourself incrementally without getting yourself in over your head. A key part of mountain biking is being relaxed and confident. If you're tense and apprehensive you're more likely to crash.
This is because your front wheel follows where you look, and if you're apprehensive you start noticing obstacles instead of lines through things, so guess what your front wheel hits? My personal experience is that as soon as I got elbow/forearm guards I stopped falling off, becasue I stopped being worried about it and was free to focus on where my front wheel needed to go. Riding in company with riders a little better than you also helps - you stretch yourself a little and start to absorb things like how they make their shape on the bike as they ride certain kinds of obstacles
For skills practice there's a lot to be said for starting small and building up: eg, getting your technique right jumping off kerbs (ie, both wheels land at same time) and then gradually going bigger. That way you get to sort out any issues before you put yourself in a situation where a mistake will have major consequences.
If you need professional help
AMBC skills clinics such as thoee posted on this site are well regarded. I plan on doing one in a month or two once my hand has settled down.
I plan on posting a Terry Hills social ride, probably for next Saturday arvo. You'd be welcome to join us.
Timely question as I was about to post something similar...... advice for getting back on form. Over many years I've had my fair share of stacks ( both on road and off road ) but I have generally never really hurt myself ( just cuts, bruises and dented pride). My last stack was a bit different though and required surgery, 7 weeks off work and 7 months off the bike. I'm now back riding on the road ( still a few months before I can contemplate off road ) and loving being back on the bike. My confidence is improving but to begin with I was pretty nervous. the more I ride, the more it begins to feel natural again but I still think it will be a while before I'm back to the way I was pre stack.
My big issue will be when I hit the trails again. Part of me is desperate to get out there again but I know that part of me is saying ' do you really want to do that again ???". I know there will be some mental issues but my plan is to do just what the guys are suggesting. Start on easy trails, make sure I'm fit and have better strength - particularly core strength, work a lot on slow speed skills with flat pedals on a soft surface and probably get some skills training. My reasoning is that I will need to feel that I'm better than I was before I stacked; fitter, stronger and more technically adept otherwise I will be unlikely to win the mental battle with my inner chicken !
My plan is to be ready for Dirtworks in May but if I don't feel absolutely ready, I'm not going to push it. There will always be the next race ....which would be Capital Punishment.... back to Sparrow Hill on the exact anniversary of my last off road outing. Not sure if that would be excorsising demons or just tempting fate !
Anyway. I'd be interested to hear how you go and also from anyone else with similar experiences.....
CB
My first rides after my misses had a big stack and broke her shoulder were shocking. I was getting off and walking everything. I think the less I think the better I ride. When I am following someone better then me I ride over/off things with ease but probably would hesitate over the same things if I had too much time to think about it.
Hi Rich,
Just takes a bit of time, riding well within yourself and only starting to push once your confidence starts to return. Road riding and really easy tracks like Narrabeen also helps. Ironically, after a major off at the start of the year I also used Terry Hills to build fitness and confidence and then had a minor off there just before Christmas as well, also injuring a finger.
That being said this can be a rough sport and accidents can happen, especially when pushing hard or trying new stuff.
I hope your recovery continues well and you're soon back to having fun.
More detail on what happened, trail condition etc please? What kind of tires and pressure you run?
I'm guessing you were going fast downhill on Long Track, went over a waterbar, and found yourself landing/riding in "baby-heads" (loose fist sized rocks that are hard to turn in). I'm no expert so I try to learn the theory as much as I can: Off the brakes, chocolate foot forward, look where you want to go, loosen the elbows and knees, point knees out a little, don't death-grip, weight back (move your bum back), and try to keep a straight line through that stuff as you wash speed, you may find yourself heading off the edge of the track into scrub (if your going too fast and took a bad line) but trying to pull a downhill corner on that big loose stuff (especially off-camber) can turn out messy.
I think you should go back to that spot at TH. Look at the spot backwards and walk your line in, then ride it slow, then faster and faster till you work out how to master it. Maybe pad up a bit more, for a few weeks while the demons are still in your head. Listen to your breathing, if it's little short breaths, and you can feel your chest tightening a bit your nervous, combat with some long deep ones.
At that time i just rode on road, a car run over me breaking my neck on the impact against the pavement, I had to stay in hospital for a couple of weeks and use a neck holder for a few months (I think it was 3 months and it was summer!!!)
When i got back to the street after a month or so I and saw bicycles riding by I felt very aprehensive of them having an accident. I was very worried if I ever was going to be able to ride again, however when the doc gave the OK to ride it was not that traumatic. it took me a while to get the full confidence back, but by riding quiet streets it eventually came back.
Take it easy, the worst thing would be to have another fall before you are confident again...
I raced down at SCUM tracks on Sunday got thrown off by a tree which I shouldered big time, my head went into another big log around 2 foot round in diameter at least ,which have left marks on my helmet . I got back on the bike Monday riding single track & fire trails around Sussex Inlet which was not a good idea as the shoulder is still sore & cannot lower the arm down from shoulder height . Just get out there ride to the pace you feel safe at I did
Wrong audience - deleted.
Confidence, once lost, is hard to get back.
I broke my hand and hurt my shoulder doing DH at Oxford Falls 6 months ago and I am having that little bit of an adjustment trusting myself and my ability to ride off drops and jumps again. Having hurt and hospitalised myself before, I know this incremental but slow gaining of confidence is normal, for everyone. Trust yourself, your confidence will come back, slowly.
There is no shame in taking it slowly.
The other thing I could add, like some others here, is to analyse your riding style and come up with some reasons for your hospital adventure. Was it silliness and simple stupidity (like most of my "offs")? Or something more fundamental, like not recognising certain terrain features as dangerous, etc? Some clinics may be a boon for you. I have done one, and they are great. Fantastic for seeing experienced riders "doing it", so you can learn by example.
Safe riding.
good advice guys I'm definitely going to look into doing a bike clinic with ABC. Coming into mountain biking late in life (I'm 40 in a couple months) I think my skills are somewhat limited anyway. I've learnt a lot from this site, one of the things was that I probably shouldn't have been riding the Trail in the conditions anyway, it was quite wet and until reading around on the site I didn't realise that's something you shouldn't do. (I had a mental image that mountain bikes and mud kind of went together - trail erosion didn't even occur to me)
I think the other thing that contributed towards my accident was that my tyres were overinflated, and actually inspecting the bike afterwards I found that one of them wasn't properly seated at one point and there was a bit of a bulge in the tyre wall, the tread wasn't all that great either. I've since replaced both tyres with much better ones and are now placing them to 35 PSI absolute max.
The fall itself happened going downhill, my front wheel was skating around in a loose and wet mixture of sand and mud and rocks. I may have hit the brakes, but I don't think so. The bike kind of slid out under me to my left and behind and I was heading down to the right and forwards leading with my face. I did get my right arm out and I think that is how I broke my finger, I was pretty black all down the right hand side of my body but the most painful damage was my face and hand. It was pretty rocky, but the fall happened whilst still on the hill before I got to the bottom.
Up until the stack I'd pretty much throw myself down hills carefree, having built up confidence over a number of rides and going down some steps etc. Realistically I probably didn't have the skills to be riding like this and it was only a matter of time till I came to grief.
Lots of good advice here, I'm definitely going to do a clinic, and I'm definitely going to spend some time on grass building up the basic skills. Thanks for the help, this seems like a very supportive site, I've already learnt quite a lot reading hear, I probably should have looked at it before starting to ride!
It's something I noticed the first few years of nobmob with regular riders - early days, everyone was coming off and hurting themselves and it dropped off a lot as time went on. Of course that could be perception and I stopped paying so much notice or whatever... So it's experience and keeping at it in my humble opinion - i've never done anything more than get an x-ray check-up which has always been clear thankfully.
I prolly had 3 really decent crashes in the first 1.5 years. In the least year none.
But after each of the big ones..especially the biggest one..It was noticable for about 8-10 rides after .. and even long..that I wasnt ridding to the level I was pre-crash.
On fire trail the no-riding in the wet does not apply. It's just on singletrack. A NPWS 4WD will do more damage to trail in 5 mins than 1000 cyclists.
Try 30 psi. For increased grip try to ride as low as you can without getting too many punctures. I run abut 28. It's worth playing with pressures (particularly the front).
I'll be 40 in a few months too and I use a heart rate monitor (with a high level alarm) to help stop me from overdoing it.
get back up & dust your self off ..... get back on the bike & have some fun
ride with platform pedals with some real grippy MTB specific shoes eg 510 (brand name)
& do some easy tracks to get the feel of bike
Then practice on some beginner/easy technical sections & progress from there
As previously mentioned 30 psi tyres will do the trick & provide better grip...
But build up confidence by getting use to the bike, terrain & having fun while you do it
Hey Rich, how have been getting back on the bike? I'm hopefully heading back out on the weekend (Manly Dam, woo-hoo) after a 6 week layoff due to coming off, breaking my wrist (not scaphoid luckily), mashing up the tendons in both forearms and elbows and causing a fair bit of nerve damage that left me asking my 3 year old to open jars help me light things! I would like to think I am not a little nervous but of course I am. Slowly, slowly, methinks. I have purchased some wrist and decent arm guards (I don't care if I look like a tool!) so feel a bit more confident with them on hand.
After riding for a few months and surprising myself with how easily I got back into it and was capable of handling some decent stuff (albeit, not exactly at high speed!), I thought I was coming along nicely. Now I realise that a skills course may be the way to go.
Ok what you do is get up before dark on a Sunday morning.
Go into the lounge room and put on your Red Bull Rampage DVD, come on! we all have one,
Then go into the kitchen and grab one shot glass and one schooner glass.
Fill the shot glass with four oysters and the schooner with 8 parts beer and 2 parts vodka.
Scull the shot glass then without taking a breath down the schooner.
Now watch the rampage video for 20 mins
Whilst watching the video you will be getting dressed in full body amour.
After the 20 mins is up go and get your bike ready.
Now walk into your bedroom and say to your wife,
get up bitch and take me to my bike ride as I'm to pissed to drive...........
Now after she has belts the shit out of you any trail you ride after that will seem like a walk in the park
Hope this helps
Pikey
(four oysters? I love oysters)
The older and bigger the more it hurts I reckon. I have found from my limited experience that although you can do some serious damage on slow technical sections the faster sections particularly downhill are where it hurts the most. I have gone OTB a lot at Manly dam and Oxford falls but mostly managed to unclip mid OTB and land running which is a miracle given my coordination. However a front wheel washout on a fast corner on a wide trail left me with bruising that stunned my medical colleagues and a very swollen hand. My other near death experience was on Cascades doing an unintentional front wheel stand for 20 meters after a water bar before due to no skill of my own the back wheel came back to earth. I have had some scary experiences in my life but those that know cascades can probably picture how bad this scenario was. A lot of people have been doing damage on fire trail downhill sections lately where there has been a lot of loose rocks due to a lot of rain. I found the best way to learn technical and fire trail riding and to regain confidence after a crash was to follow friends that were willing to take it slowly and you just follow them building more confidence each time. Also go up to a local park and find some rock drop offs to practice on such as Hews Pde Belrose.
Had a friend (jacojoco) show me around Cascades on the weekend. I now know those sections of trail covered in loose babyhead rocks you mention - they were ... interesting. Great fun, but you don't want to be needing to find any cornering grip at those points!
In a few spots it's very easy to get air off the waterbars and find the trail is no longer under you, and land in the creek or impaled on a tree branch! A few times I didn't lift off over the waterbars properly and got kicked in the butt by my seat as the back wheel crested the lip. Fortunately I wasn't going that quick or it could have been ugly.
Not knowing the trail and losing sight of j-j a few times I eased off and squared off the corner entry until I could see what was on the downslope of the waterbar or corner exit. That kept me out of trouble. Along with my new XT brakes.
I think it pays to ride well within your limits on any sections where there may have been change in trail conditions. It's OK to go hard when you know the trail well and have ridden it the same day (eg, laps on a race course) but otherwise it pays to leave some room for error. Mistakes at speed can hurt you.
A big +1 to practice and building up your skills on low risk obstacles away from the trail.