I'm a rock weenie!

[sundial]

I rode on the trail yesterday in tons of leaves but when I came to flat rock, I gingerly rode through some of it and finally got off and walked. It was a hilly, wet, rocky area and I just lost my nerve. All I could think of was,"Dang, this is gonna hurt."

[Zen]

I doesn't hurt that much.
look at what you said- you THOUGHT it was gonna hurt.

You gotta exorcise that demon right OUT!

[sundial]

I dunno. I just don't want to knock my knee cap on the rocks. Ack! I am too old to heal fast, LOL!

[Zen]

What if it were dry?
What if it were more visible (without the leaves)?

Would that make any difference?

[DirtDiva]

Momentum is your friend.

[RoadRaven]

Momentum is your friend.

The eternal optimist!
You dare-devil you...

Although I know it shouldn't - too much momentum on uneven ground scares me.

Now... momentum down a tar-sealed hill? Yes, I like that momentum ... speed is gooood...

[SAMbike]

Wet, rocky, hills are extremely challenging - for anyone! I actually ride with elbow pads and knee pads. I bought shin guards at our local atv shop so they weren't expensive at all - kinda like these: http://www.compacc.com/prod.cfm/cid/1007007/pid/18055
They are oh so good to have on just in case you do slip.
Keep at it and you'll get it. Don't be too hard on yourself.

[snowtulip]

Sundial, as Sam mentioned, knee pads might be for you! I used knee pads when I was learning technical riding and knew that I was being held back, the pads gave me some confidence. I don't use them much anymore unless we are doing primarily downhilling. Also, I don't clip in on sections that I'm tentative about, it makes me feel like I'll have a quicker reaction time to catch myself if I fall.

Don't be afraid to wear pads, at first I didn't think I was "allowed" to wear them since I wasn't bad ***. But I got over that quickly after seeing how much they helped me.

I think it's great you're still getting out there after your crash, baby steps.

And yes, momentum is your friend!!!!! Three most important lessons I learned; keep your butt back, keep your eyes ahead of you (not in front of you), and momentum is your friend!

[Zen]

Wet, rocky, hills are extremely challenging - for anyone! I actually ride with elbow pads and knee pads. I bought shin guards at our local atv shop so they weren't expensive at all

The padding crossed my mind but the only image I could conjure was either a suit of armor or one of those big mattress suits that they use to train attack dogs

[DirtDiva]

The "momentum is your friend" thing is a lot easier to manage on the downhills - if you're scared you can can be hanging onto the brakes like nobody's business all the way down and just let go briefly for each of the bits you need to roll over smoothly. The technical climbing is the hardest (I reckon) because you have to convince yourself to pedalpedalPEDAL to get over things, and sometimes your foot just unclips reflexively and you curse yourself because here you are stopped on an obstacle you can now see you could totally have gotten over if you'd only just kept pedalling. (Err, not that I have issues with this or anything... )

[sundial]

The padding crossed my mind but the only image I could conjure was either a suit of armor or one of those big mattress suits that they use to train attack dogs

OK, I have a confession to make. I've gone back to a platform pedal instead of the Frogs. I found that for now platforms are the way to go (I will bum a pair of BMX platforms off the LBS). I want to jump off quicker than being clipped in, and also because I take my big gsds around the block for exercise on my mtb.

I think I remember riding over the rocky downhill terrain when there were dry leaves on it and I fell. Ack! Mountain biking seems to be more mental than physical and I try to rehearse in my mind that I'm gonna make it downhill without problems. But then sometimes I second guess myself and well.......

So if I fly downhill over the rocks I should be fine? I thought momentum is useful for catapulting one even further over the rocks.

[Zen]

So if I fly downhill over the rocks I should be fine? I thought momentum is useful for catapulting one even further over the rocks.

Tuck and roll

[sundial]

Large boobs act as great airbags.