Afraid of stopping and down hills

Hello everyone,
I'm a newbie to road riding and this site. I have ridden a few times with my husband and have done a couple of 10 mile rides around the lake, but I have a big problem. I have a fear of taking off, coming to a stop and going downhills. When I first get on the bike and take off, I am all over the place. I can't seem to balance myself right away. When I see that I must come to a stop, I panic. I clip out of one side of my pedal but I lean to the other side to stand (with the foot that is clipped in, I know dumb) and don't know get of my seat. In other words I don't know how to stop without tipping over. Also, I fear downhills, I start going too fast, so I hit the brakes and feel like I will slide out into the pavement, which I believe is not proper due to other cyclist going down hill at high speeds. Does anyone have advice on how to get over these fears? Thank you.

Take off the clipless pedals, put platforms back on the bike.

Take yourself (alone!) and the bike to a big empty grassy field, preferably with hills. Ride fast, slow, in tight curves, in straight lines. Start and stop a million times. Ride up a hill, ride down the hill, stop halfway up the hill and halfway down. Ride slowly down the hill, ride fast down the hill, pedal down the hill like a wild racing star! Scoot around out of the saddle and standing on one pedal. Scoot on the other pedal. Ride for hours in that field, and do every single thing that scares you a zillion times.

When that gets easy, do it all again with the clipless pedals on the bike.

If you feel like you will fall, just fall! Seriously, let yourself fall in the grass if you start to truly fall over!

It is amazing how much you can learn from riding alone in the grass.

Yes, put platforms back on. You don't need to worry about clipless right now.

Do what Knot said. The only way I've found to get over my fear of descents is to find hills and ride down them.

When you brake on the downhill, make sure you feather your brakes instead of grabbing them too tightly. Lightly squeeze both brake levers at once. This will slow you down gradually. Try keeping your feet level (at about 3:00 and 9:00) when you're descending straight. When going around a curve, the foot on the outside leg should be down at 6:00 to help maintain your balance. I've found it also helps to point the knee of the inside leg inward while cornering and going around curves.

Oh, and don't forget to breathe. :)

For when you first start to pedal, start with one foot on a pedal and the other on the ground. For example, let's say you start with your left foot on the pedal. That left foot should be near the top of the pedal stroke, at about 2:00. Your butt should be leaning against your saddle, close to being seated. As you push the pedal with your left foot, immediately slide your butt back so you are sitting on the saddle. You will be more stable because you are seated, and pushing off with the pedal near the top of the circle will start you off with good momentum while you get fully situated (i.e., get the other foot on the pedal so you can speed up).

While you're riding around with platform pedals, pay attention to which foot you tend to put on the ground first when you come to a stop. For me, it's always the right foot. When (if) you decide you want to go back to clipless pedals, get into the habit of unclipping that foot first. Practice on an indoor trainer, and go back to the big empty grassy field to practice there, too.

Good luck!

I'm a road newbie too and have the exact same problem, except my fear is more related to when I'm riding in traffic and stopping at traffic lights & stop signs. I'm afraid to stop and my body shakes, which effects my balance when its time to start again. Watching youtube videos to get the right technique down has helped; but it's a fear that I'm still working on overcoming.

Are you riding at Whiterock? I ride there a couple times a week!

Oh man... I remember my first few rides in traffic. At the time I lived about 3/4 of the way up a pretty steep hill (downtown Seattle - Cherry Street, for those of you who know the area). I had basket-style clips and hadn't ridden regularly for a dozen years. But I had to get off that hill somehow - and before I knew it I could slip into the toe baskets without thinking about it and had lost my fear that using the front brake would send me flying over my handlebars. It just took a little more practice.

I still ride the same bike - and am about to ditch the toe baskets in favor of a campus pedal. Clips on one side of a platform pedal - which will, I hope, let me learn the art of clipless without fear.

HipGnosis! You're still here! I've wondered how you are.

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Originally Posted by salsabike

HipGnosis! You're still here! I've wondered how you are.

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I'm back in Seattle - been home for two years, but only just now renewing my bike love. :D

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Originally Posted by HipGnosis6

I'm back in Seattle - been home for two years, but only just now renewing my bike love. :D

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Nice. Welcome back, however belatedly.

Look where you want to go.

It really really sounds like you're looking at the ground - the bike behavior you're describing is what happens when you look at the ground. Looking at the ground is the best way to wind up on it.

*Glance* at the ground well ahead of you - 30-40 feet ahead - to make sure it's clear of gravel, potholes, oil, etc. - then pick your eyes back up (which won't be picking them up that much higher, since you're looking well ahead of time, so as to be prepared when you get there).

Also, stopping/leaning is a great place to countersteer. Turn the handlebars slightly *away* from the foot you're putting down. That induces the bike to lean toward that foot.

Knot gave some excellent advice (except maybe for the part about racing down a hill like a madwoman lol!).
One other tip- we all know that when we stop, we need to get out of the saddle in order to put our foot down on the ground. (if our saddle is adjusted to the correct height).
My tip here is to get out of the saddle BEFORE you come to a complete stop, move forward up out of the saddle so at the moment you actually do stop, you are already forward off the saddle and putting your foot on the ground. Don't be still sitting in your saddle when you come to a stop. Don't start thinking about getting out of your saddle when you are already stopped- you'll more likely topple over to one side!

Thank you for your advice girls.

Knot, you are right! The only way to get over something is to do over and over again. I will do that this weekend, if the weather is not too hot.

NY Biker, Thanks for the advice on the brakes. Until now I have not touched my front brakes because I'm afraid of going over the handle bars. I will try that next time I go ride.

MyRubyE, I hate stopping too, at anything. I went to go ride yesterday and I started freaking out when I thought I had to come to a stop, when another rider was going through, since he had the right of way. What keywords are you using to search for the youtube videos?

abejita, Yes. I ride at whiterock. I just started riding, so I have been there only 3 times in that past few months, but my goal is to ride about 3 times a week. I would like to explore other areas, do you any suggestions?

higGnosis, I give you props for using the basket-style clips. I started out with those and I hated them. I just couldn't get my foot in, then again I probably should have tried it more than once.

Oakleaf, You are so right too. Looking back at the ride I did yesterday, I did look at the ground A LOT! I'll keep in mind not to next time.

BleeckerSt, lol! I think that is my major problem, I do wait to get out of the seat after I'm stopped, no wonder I topple over.

Thank you all again. I will keep your advice in mind when I go riding again.

Oh yeah, I try to remember to breathe too!!

How to start and stop your bike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Gr0...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5SjHvHDuxg&NR=1

Let me know if it worked.

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

Knot gave some excellent advice (except maybe for the part about racing down a hill like a madwoman lol!).
One other tip- we all know that when we stop, we need to get out of the saddle in order to put our foot down on the ground. (if our saddle is adjusted to the correct height).

My tip here is to get out of the saddle BEFORE you come to a complete stop, move forward up out of the saddle so at the moment you actually do stop, you are already forward off the saddle and putting your foot on the ground. Don't be still sitting in your saddle when you come to a stop. Don't start thinking about getting out of your saddle when you are already stopped- you'll more likely topple over to one side!

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Been here, done this :o I have also made the mistake of paying so much attention at getting out of the saddle/feet on the ground that I didn't apply the brakes quite firmly enough :eek: :o :rolleyes: That has made for some, shall we say, ungraceful dismounts... I am just mentioning it as something to be aware of - I would have never thought this possible, but I was paying so much attention to my feet that I kind of forgot about what my hands were doing - and it took some time to figure out what I was doing wrong.

Thank you everyone for your advice.
I practiced a lot this weekend and I did it. I'm still working on hills, but I got the rest down. I even rode on the road with traffic, a little scary but I had to do it. I did as you all said and I overcame my fears. Thank you all again! :D

That's great! Congrats! Keep on riding! The more you practice the easier it gets. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

I went to our local high school (60 acres) after work today to practice stopping & starting with one foot still clipped in. Plenty of STOP signs available with little to no traffic. Did pretty well, my balance was stable and I didn't topple over once. Must get on the road this weekend and go for a long ride. I've done 25 miles at our local paved rail trail, but time to hit the road for some real road riding. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/images/smilies/smile.gif