Utterly irrational fear of descents

HardyEustace

ok, <deep breath>, have an utterly irrational fear of descents.

Technically, not great on the bike but am working to improve that. But I am hideously (and I suspect dangerously) slow on the bike on descents. Have an utterly irrational fear of descents.

Obviously, toughen up and practice are two fairly obvious steps, both of which are being done at the moment but just wondered if anyone else had this problem before and if so, how did they overcome it.

Even slightly morto writing this mail as I am jsut so slow. A four year old on a tricycle would have a fairly good chance of beating me on the descents <blush>

Amz

I was worried I was the only one! I do know I need to practice more on descents. Personally a significant part of it is my eyesight, it's not the best, so I'm always terrified of an obstacle appearing and me traveling too fast to avoid, or deal with it appropriately, so I do go slower than I could/should.

I've been told it's just a matter of practice and getting confidence and technical proficiency on the bike, so I'm hopeful that that's all it will take.

bonaparte2

HardyEustace wrote: »

ok, <deep breath>, have an utterly irrational fear of descents.

Have an utterly irrational fear of descents.

Its rational. Whats irrational is going downhill at 60kph on tiny road bike tyres with the bare minimum of clothing and a distinctly unreliable bike helmet.

I get weak seeing the boys on the major tours descend. I alway go very cautiously .

RedB

HardyEustace wrote: »

ok, <deep breath>, have an utterly irrational fear of descents.

+1 except I don't think its irrational

I came a cropper last year and still get flashbacks to it except now I add in a big explosion and a huge fireball:rolleyes:

I find I'm very tense and constantly on the brakes on fast descents but I'm getting better with practice as I look as far ahead as possible and see my line through bends, lean gently into them and brake as smoothly as possible. I came down the Conor Pass on Sat in the wet with a top speed of 54kph :rolleyes: on a good straight section and I was happy with that. No doubt it can be done much faster but as long as you realise you are in control then you should feel ok with the speed and try and enjoy it a bit more.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Anything over 75kmph and i am close to sh1tting myself!! Practice, Practice and then some more is the only way. Start off on a descent that you know very well so you can drill it down knowing each corner/bend and take it from there.

HardyEustace

Lana Gorgeous Teacher wrote: »

Anything over 75kmph and i am close to sh1tting myself!!

This made me smile - I could say that we're not quite on the same page but really its more truthful to say we're not in the same library... and my book would be in swahili!

My other half had no concept of just how bad I was either... till we went out on the bike. I felt ENORMOUS pity for him as he searched for something constructive and helpful to say and turned blue trying not to laugh... well, ENORMOUS pity and the desire to kick him. I'm a terrible person as well as a terrible descender!

sconhome

Could look at it another way, your fear is totally rational and it the irrational lack of fear in others that is wrong

Personally despite getting broken up on a mountain bike years ago I absolutely love descents and being 'bigger framed' I get a good bit of speed up. In the group spins its usually the only time I go up the front, to get a clear run at the corners.

dited

Some great advice here.

Personally speaking, the key is to relax; just take a couple of deep breaths and try to let the tension go. Easier said than done but you'll quickly feel more connected with the road (in an abstract sense) and secure on the bike.

GoHardOrGoHome

Lana Gorgeous Teacher wrote: »

Start off on a descent that you know very well so you can drill it down knowing each corner/bend and take it from there.

dited wrote: »

Personally speaking, the key is to relax;

I'm a scaredy-cat descender also. I'm getting slightly better though.
Good advice above. The descent from the Shay Elliot to Glenmalure is good because you can see very far ahead of you and you can practice building up a bit of speed before slowing down.

I was tensing my forearms, shoulders, neck and hands way too much which meant that any imperfections in the road were hazards. The more you relax the better.

Oryx

I'm the same and those that are handy on a bike just don't comprehend. Racing helps because you get your race head on and don't care so much.

Esroh

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

I was tensing my forearms, shoulders, neck and hands way too much which meant that any imperfections in the road were hazard.

I was given a great tip about this by a ex-pro cyclist a few years back when he came upon me crawling down a local hill thats actually quite gentle.

Put the tip of your tongue between your teeth as you start down. If you grip to tight with your hands the tension goes up your arms to your shoulders and into your neck which will cause you to bite your tongue. You will know to relax.

BennyMul

as you get older you start to see the dangers in descending, I do recall going down mount lenister as a junior with no helmet and hitting over 55mph and having to bunny hop the cattle grids, but I was young and looking back stupid but it was fun:D

not ground breaking but, Only look at where you want to go so often your eyes get pulled to where you dont want the bike to end up.

become comfortable on the bike, may sound corny or stupid but the more time you spend on it the more it the easier it becomes,

Break before the corner and never accelerate before you can see the exit

if you have a mountain bike use it, the off road is great for bike handling skills and confidence.

shotgunmcos

BennyMul wrote: »

if you have a mountain bike use it, the off road is great for bike handling skills and confidence.

+1 I'm generally a risk averse descender, to my detriment in March when I hit a wall in a ditch at 50+kmh I've been a little more cautious since as that one rattled me. I also find the more relaxed you are the better you descend. I took my mtb out for its maiden trail experience this evening and attempted a pretty technical section that I saw while hiking last weekend. It was a slow but very tricky descent on singletrack. If you took youe eye off it for a second you were off the bike. It was slow going but I had to employ 10 times the handling skills and concentration that I'd have to if I were just wheeling down a main road on my roadie. I was stiff with the nerves and had some scary moments.

I got to the bottom safely and tackled it again twice. On the 3rd attempt I was a lot more relaxed and found myself anticipating the terrain sooner and taking a better approach. The moral of the story... practice helps

HardyEustace

Esroh wrote: »

Put the tip of your tongue between your teeth as you start down. If you grip to tight with your hands the tension goes up your arms to your shoulders and into your neck which will cause you to bite your tongue. You will know to relax.

See I read this and thought "NO WAY", What if I fall off and bite the tip of my tongue off!

MrCreosote

Lana Gorgeous Teacher wrote: »

Anything over 75kmph and i am close to sh1tting myself!!

I laughed at this. The only time I'd get close to 75kph would be in freefall. And even then I'd struggle.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

MrCreosote wrote: »

I laughed at this. The only time I'd get close to 75kph would be in freefall. And even then I'd struggle.

I have only hit it once/twice and as you edge from 65 to 75kmph you literally (well i was) are holding on for dear life and praying. How the pros can hold close to 90-100 on some descents i will never know.

I believe MLOC is a fantastic descender so he should be on soon enough with some tips to share.

BennyMul

Cancellara’s Descent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxXqQqAc2pA

the way the pro's do it.