Afraid of Speed

[pooks]

The fastest I've ridden is 7 or 8 mph.

When my husband and I were riding yesterday I was ahead of him coasting down a small hill, and suddenly he was whizzing by me. I realized I was feathering my brakes to slow my descent while he was just enjoying the coasting.

And remember, I was going 9mph max -- probably not that, so he wasn't going all that fast to pass me!

This was in our neighborhood on city streets. This was originally farm land and is pretty flat, but that street is going downhill toward a creek, so has a bit more "hilliness" than is typical around here. Even at that, it's really not bad. I know that. There are much steeper hills and grades that most of you probably ride all the time!

Will I get over this? I know I'm afraid of crashing, or more specifically, not being able to stop/react if I need to.

(I also know that part of my fear was because at the bottom of that hill was a stop sign and we'd have to turn left or right, and I was afraid of not being able to stop at the bottom.)

[jobob]

Will I get over this?

Short answer: yes

I know I'm afraid of crashing, or more specifically, not being able to stop/react if I need to.

What you need to do is ride down hills more, and you'll become more comfortable, you'll feel less fearful, you'll relax, and you'll go faster.

Try to find a shallow hill that feels safe to you, with no stop signs or cross traffic at the very bottom. Then ride it, lots. I can pretty much guarantee that eventually you'll get used to going down the hill, and once you get more comfortable with it, you'll find yourself using the brakes less, and little by little you'll go faster.

I have a hill near where I live that I call my nemesis hill. I used to white-knuckle the brakes going down it, but after riding it a lot I relaxed more & got more confident and now I whizz down it. wheeeee.

[mimitabby]

Hey Pooks, we are definitely soul sisters or something.
I am afraid of speed too. (but I've been riding longer than you...)
On the back of the tandem i am a real pain whenever we are going down a hill
you can hear me yelling
"SLOW DOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNN"

The fact is, the faster you go, the more it's going to hurt when you fall off!
having said that, if you have a computer on your bike, i recommend you take it off for a few weeks, because if you can get up to 11 or 12 mph you're going to enjoy it.
(and if you can't see it on the speedometer, you won't slow yourself down)
for me, now the "Too fast" speed has gone to above 25mph.
so see, there's hope!

[Eden]

The fact is, the faster you go, the more it's going to hurt when you fall off!

mmmm -not to be scary - many falls don't result in anything worse than scratches and bruises , but slow crashes can result in injuries that are just as bad, if not worse than fast crashes. When you crash going slow all of your weight hits one spot - if you stick your hand out you can break a wrist or a collar bone, if you come down on your hip..... In a fast crash your body has more of a tendancy to slide across the pavement and you get road rash - yes this is painful, but less long term than broken bones. Not that you can't break bones going fast, but slow speed doesn't really protect you from then either.

[Cassandra_Cain]

Pooks - you will definitely get over it, do not doubt that. Naturally though, getting from the point where we experience fear from an experience to the point where we are comfortable (maybe even enjoy it) takes time - and some difficulty too.

I think if you ride those hills more and more - going up in little increments (say, today you ride them at 10mph - then next week maybe 12mph) - you'll get used to it.

Going downhill fast is practically an art in of itself. On the one hand, the feeling of speed and ease of pedaling is nice, but then it can also make you feel out of control. I know there is some intangible speed or number in my head for any given descent where I cross the line from fun to OMG! The more you do it, the higher than number goes.

[Hammer]

for me, curves are the deciding fear factor. There is a hill that I go down many times, but it still makes me nervous because there is a curve at the bottom. And, I can't see around it much. But, it's not SO bad.

STRAIGHT hills are much better. I've gone about 30mph or so, but tend to freak if I see debris that I hadn't planned.

If there's another hill right after the first hill, I pedal like a crazy person trying to go as fast as possible so that I don't have to work as hard going up the next hill.

There is a hill nearby that's about a mile long and curves around. Cyclists around here tend to ride to it in order to do hill repeats. We have a bunch of rollers in the area but nothing that would really prepare us in the event of actual hill country. Anyway, going up this hill is tough (I haven't tried it yet.)... but then coming back down, there are a couple curves so you can't see traffic and there's a stop sign right at the base of the hill. The intersecting road is a paved road and while there isn't a high concentration of traffic, there's enough that I would be nervous.

I want to try going up it, and it would be fun going down it... though a bit challenging to navigate.

We'll see.

[Geonz]

I had to consciously get out of my "comfort zone" and tell myself "it is *not* significantly more risky." In fact, consider that the more *time* you are on the bike, the more chances there are for something to happen, so by reducing the time, you are reducing the risk.
Your reactions are much better than you think they are... mine are actually pretty sucky - but they're good enough for 15-20 mph on ar egular basis.
You also might *have* to go that fast some times... so you want to be able to do it.
If the sight of the number is slowing you donw, take the 'puter off. If it *feels* too fast, keep it on and make yourself take it up to ... whatever you can stand. It's doubly hard because being nervous affects those reactions too... so school yourself to relax and, yes, LEAN INTO things.
Think about how fast people on motorcycles go for millions of miles without crashing.
And look for that part of you that *enjoys* the breeze and feeling **strong.**
Also, here's teh GUILT TRIP MOTIVATION if that's what will work: you're not doing any of us a favor going 9 mph. Drivers tend to *think* we all move slower than we do... and you're perpetuating that... so the driver that judges whether or not s/he can make that turn in front of you might misjudge the next person... so inch it up to 11, okay?? (or, if they don't 'cause they're better educated, then you're not doing what's expected and that's more likely to cause an accident, too.) [Okay, the reality is there are lots of otehr riders out there going slower *and* faster than that... but it helps motivate me...]

[SadieKate]

Yes, higher speed falls can hurt more, but higher speeds can also make your bike a heck of a lot more stable. Speed can carry you over small obstacles that might make your front wheel wobble at low speeds.

Go back to your own thread. Have you practiced the emergency stop? Have you learned how your front and rear brakes control your bike in different ways (rear slows only/front stops). Good braking skills will let you ride faster and you will need less distance to slow for that stop sign.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...emergency+stop

How far ahead of your front wheel are you looking? I'm just guessing, but it's probably not very far in front. Lift your eyes from your front wheel (or the ground right in front of it), and look farther ahead (this will also make you a better driver).

I agree, if you need to, take off the computer or turn it upside down on the bars so you can get a measurement AFTER the ride. Another thing, where is your weight on the bike? Is your butt plopped on the saddle or are you putting weight on your feet? If you platform your feet (3 and 9 o'clock) and put just enough weight on them to get a bit off your saddle, your center of gravity will be lower to the ground. Your steering will stay straighter. Keep your elbows bent and relaxed, chin up looking ahead (the faster the farther ahead).

Now go for it!!

[SadieKate]

BTW, Pooks, riders who slow on gentle downhills can be a safety issue on group rides. If someone is sucking your wheel as you come over a crest, they will expect you to speed up. You don't have to be a speed demon, but they will expect you to increase to coasting speed. This sudden slowing is almost as dangerous as riders who fly down a hill and then slam it into their smallest twiddle gear for the uphills, losing all momentum when it isn't expected, and these folks have a tendency to swerve as they shift also. At least in your case, it will be a slow speed accordion.

Good for you for working on your speed. I only mention this because I see you have a Livestrong ride in October.

[li10up]

Oh, Pooks I hope you will work on getting over your fear. One of the greatest joys you can experience on a bike is tucking into an aero position and letting gravity do all the work. IT IS SO MUCH FUN!!30+ mph on a downhill will make you smile from ear to ear. You almost feel like you can fly. You'll love it.

[pooks]

Thanks for all the advice -- encouragement and tough love. I need every bit of it!

I'm doing much better on stops, etc., but of course I haven't been practicing them going fast. Duh. Back to the practice routine!

[rivergrl]

I can understand the fear. It's all about what you are comfortable with.
I'm comfortable at 16-18. At 23 and over I start to feel a bit out of control, but sometimes it's about going faster in the right gears as well. The tighter it feel, the faster I go, the more secure I feel.

[pooks]

My computer would serve to make me go faster (now that I've had that advice) -- except that for some reason today it wasn't telling me the speed. Oh well!

I'm going to return it and get one with GPS but haven't gotten around to it.

Today's ride was great, though -- and since I don't know how slow I was going, it was fun. Heh. I've figured out which hill I can go down safely without having to stop at the bottom, though, so that's good. I'll work on that speed thing!

[Bikingmomof3]

You have received wonderful advice and some I plan to ue as well. I am only offering encouragement. I personally love going fast. I will practice the same route over and over again, just to build up my speed. Once you start working on it, you will get hooked.

[Kano]

Jennifer mentions going the same route again and again to build speed. I gotta agree with that! I find that the more familiar I am with a road, the easier it is to go faster. It also helps when I can see for a long distance ahead of me -- someone mentioned keeping your eyes looking on down the road rather than fairly close to you, and she's right. It really does help! Like was also mentioned -- riding on a curve-y down hill stretch is harder too, since you can't see what is around the bend, but oh, on straight shots, where you can see for like a half mile, wow it's like flying!

The exception I've found to looking far far ahead of me while riding: going up hill. If I can't see how much hill is left, it doesn't seem so hard to climb.

Something totally different that I'm wondering about -- I have found that 7 miles an hour or so is really HARD to do! It makes me very wobbly when I'm riding at slower speeds, and it's challenging to keep my speed down that low, unless I'm using my really hard gears or climbing a hill, or there's one heckuva wind pushing at me! May I suggest finding a nice flat open area where you can see everything and trying a bit faster ride to see if you feel more stable, like I do? Gear down to some of the easier ones, not the grannies that are too easy and your legs get out of control, but something pretty easy to spin them fast like the ladies here talk about. You might find that you're much happier when you're going faster!

(I sure understand about a spooky feeling stopping when you're going down hill -- I'm trying, but that front brake scares me a lot!)

Karen in Boise