Some help needed

Esdras_

Hello,

I used to cycle in a group, and really enjoyed it.

However, my partner had a bad accident (not cycling related but was from sport) and was in hospital for a couple of weeks and now can't drive.

I then witnessed a couple of bad accidents in the club (people ending up in a hospital) and heard of a few more that have taken place over the last few months.

Some more club members have now had accidents.

As a result my nerve for cycling has absolutely gone, and of course since I haven't been out, I've lost all fitness, so when I get back on a bike, I'm now fighting both the voice in my head that said either me or my partner will get hurt and the fact that I now struggle to cycle down hill.

How do I get over this?

rollingscone

Esdras_ wrote: »

Hello,

I used to cycle in a group, and really enjoyed it.

However, my partner had a bad accident (not cycling related but was from sport) and was in hospital for a couple of weeks and now can't drive.

I then witnessed a couple of bad accidents in the club (people ending up in a hospital) and heard of a few more that have taken place over the last few months.

Some more club members have now had accidents.

As a result my nerve for cycling has absolutely gone, and of course since I haven't been out, I've lost all fitness, so when I get back on a bike, I'm now fighting both the voice in my head that said either me or my partner will get hurt and the fact that I now struggle to cycle down hill.

How do I get over this?

Look at it rationally.

I still suffer occasional flashbacks and anxiety from a non cycling accident and for a while I thought I'd have to sell my bike and give it up.

That was five years ago and I've been cycling steadily ever since.

The crux of it was when I spun out on a wet descent and it set off a full blown flashback attack in the middle of a steep descent (Cruagh Road) and ended up having a miserable walk back down the hill berating myself for my weakness.

Coming back from that involved two things, one letting myself be cautious to the point of looking ridiculous to others and investing myself heavily in technique:

Once I had taken the pressure off myself to do things that scared me I was able to gradually improve and focusing on the details of how to do things like cornering properly kept my rational mind on top.

Even now I occassionally have to hope across from lizard brain to rational brain when I feel myself tensing up on a fast descent.

I also continuously think about things in terms of risk and reward e.g. that guy is flying by me on a descent, he mustn't have as great a wife to get home to.

This takes a huge amount of pressure off me to exit my comfort zone.

On a broader scale, in terms of other people being involved in accidents (my recovery involved 18months on crutches and some truly Cronenberigan body horror) try to learn as much as you can about the factors involved.

Often accidents involve controllable factors and while inexperienced cyclists anecdotes tend to focus on the "There was nothing I could do" if you listen to experienced roadies talking about accidents (outside of racing at least) most times they'll be able to tell you what they did wrong.

Also the focus on the potential for catastrophic injury in sports is misleading and ignores the significant risk of injury that we run in almost every non sporting environment.

Finally, take time to get comfortable on the bike, the more comfortable you are starting and stopping in various positions, being able to coast or relax your grip, take a hand off the bars, the more in control you'll feel.

Take time to practice in safe environments with starting, stopping, taking corners, standing on the pedals, stopping before putting your foot down, lifting the front wheel off the ground to avoid an obstacle that might stop you, just build it up softly but persistently.

The more control you feel the easier it is to put the real risk factors in context.

Best of luck.