Help! I am scared of my bicycle!

[latelatebloomer]

i second Dr Liz and our other wise friends. You could check out some of the advice given me when I dealt with so much fear after a scary but fairly injury-free fall. The thread was called "Help, my ride's gone ka-blooey."
I rode as often as I could - tiny rides, sometimes. But heaped praise on myself each time - each corner, each descent, no matter how slow or shaky. Still do. There's one kind of courage, when a person is fearless, and God/Goddess bless them whoever they are - and another kind, demonstrated when you face your fear however you can, in small bites, until you are finally bigger than the fear.

It took me over a month to feel happy on a bike again - but I did - on my hybrid. Then one day, my intuition told me I was ready for the road bike - with platform pedals. A couple of rides later, I eagerly put on the bike shoes. My heart rate went to 180 standing still. I valiantly tried my easy route, but my heart was surely visible through my shirt. I put the shoes away. I'll ride on the platform pedals until the intuition says "now."

This is not a race, and you don't have to compare yourself to any other rider. This is your journey. Every day that you can ride is another small present of health and courage that you give yourself. These are the things I tell myself every day. PM me ANY time you need support. I know what it's like to ride with tears in your eyes, saying "I'm so scared." The only thing that was scarier than riding was not riding.

I still have that voice that tells me not to go out, that I'm no good, I can never do that many miles, etc. Sometimes it's really ridiculous - the imp will tell me I can't ride 20 miles when I just rode 35 pretty darn well. I tell the imp to get lost, that it's full of lies. (an idea I sort of stole from a wonderful old fantasy novel called Damiano.) Can you make that voice into a character you can deal with? Moany Myrtle from Harry Potter? Either borrowed or something you come up with yourself, personalize it into something over which you can gain some power? I don't know you and I may be wrong - but for me, fear is the dark side of a powerful imagination. How can you use that imagination for good? A riding angel? A crew of TE riders leading you on the road? There is nothing too silly if it works.

(with a big hug from Lynda Gene)

[Dogmama]

I don't like traffic either, so I do the majority of my rides first thing in the morning.

When I started cycling (in the stone ages, we had fixed gears and coaster brakes - OK - I'm kidding) I took an Effective Cycling class through my local community college. They taught me all kinds of tips & tricks to get through traffic. For example:

When approaching a busy intersection, shift to an easier gear so that your feet are moving faster and slowly apply your brakes. Cars won't see that you are slowing down because your feet are moving fast and they're less likely to cut you off.

Ride like you are invisible. When you approach an intersection where cars are stopped - assume that the car in the right lane will turn right and keep one car length behind him. Don't assume that because their turn signal is not on that they will not be turning.

Listen to the traffic. If you hear a car slowing down next to you, know that it is going to turn right. Be prepared for the car to turn in front of you. Again, shift to an easier gear (your feet are moving quickly), gently apply your brakes. Drivers think bikes = slow. Not always the case!

This is important. When you are riding down a road where visibility of cars approaching the road is poor, due to vegetation, street signs, etc., DO NOT ride in the far right side of the bike lane. Cars will not see you and will turn in front of you. Ride more to the left - I often will ride right on the bike lane stripe or even in the traffic lane (if it is safe) so that I am visible.

Signal your intentions. Even if it should be obvious that you are turning right or left - signal anyway. It makes you more visible and removes all doubt.

Wear BRIGHT CLOTHING. Black or gray jerseys are generally not a good idea.

Those are the tips that come to mind but there are lots more. So, if you can get into a class, I highly recommend it.

[spatlese]

I really appreciate all the good advice and suggestions.

Switching to plain pedals is a good idea, but DH thinks I am confident enough to stick with these and he thinks I just need to get used to them. I am able to unclip at stop signs etc., but I am still worried about emergencies when I forget that I am clipped in and try to avoid traffic or something. This has not happened yet, but it might!....

Another problem I have is my shorts occassionally get 'hooked' on the nose of the saddle when I am starting off. This has happened to me several times and I try to keep my body really close to the handlebars before I start pedalling. (Does this make sense??!! ) Once this happened when I was trying to cross a busy street and that really freaked me out because I was sorta on my seat, but not quite and almost fell (again!) OOh... and I am also afraid of starting on hills coz I have (another) fear of rolling backwards.. LOL

Yes, I do ride with a good helmet. Another reason why DH thinks my fear of having my head smashed like a pumpkin is unreasonable. Practicing falling sounds like a good idea... but also the scariest thing to try

DH and I do ride the same route repeatedly (whenever he can convince me to get out there!), and I am starting to remember the 'dangerous' spots and turns. Hopefully this will help me be prepared to unclip and be a little more comfortable on my bicycle. However, DH wants to do an organized ride at the end of September, and I don't think I am ready yet to ride with a whole bunch of people or in unfamiliar territories (plus there is a BIG hill to climb on that ride!). I hope I don't sound too whine-y but I am just SCARED!! How long did everyone ride before they went on their first organized ride?

latelatebloomer, you really hit the nail on the head when you said "I know what it's like to ride with tears in your eyes, saying "I'm so scared." This actually happened to me on one ride when I was lagging behind DH and some friends and a creepy guy in a pick up truck slowed down (he was coming in the opposite direction, so he'd passed DH and everyone else) and he gave me the creepiest look. I was afraid he was going to pick me up and throw me in the bed of his truck! I tried calling out to the group but I was breathless and they were too far away to hear me anyway. I was tempted to pull over and cry and hope DH noticed but I sucked it up and kept pedalling anyway. Finally DH noticed that I wasn't keeping up and came to my rescue. So now, he cycles behind me all the time.

Oh well.. there are most of my other fears laid out for now... Thanks again for the wonderful advice everyone.. DH and I will go out for a ride this evening and I will keep you updated on my (hopefully less and less fearful) progress.

[SadieKate]

Read up here on chamois suck - could be your shorts or it could be that you aren't hoisting the patootie far enough.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ht=saddle+suck

Somewhere else we discussed the emergency stop. If I can find a link I'll post. Mimi might know. We were discussing good tips for beginners.

[mimitabby]

nope, sorry, not sure about the emergency stop. But thanks for that thread; it was Hilarious!
saddle suck happens to the hubby sometimes and me once too.

[SadieKate]

Oops, it was pooks. Sorry, mimi.

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

[Geonz]

I bought gear - elbow and knee pads - to practice falling... but haven't got the nerve to do it. The good news is that now three times I've crossed what would have been my "panic threshold" (like, when you're learning to play softball and you just cower down and throw your glove in front of your face and they say "don't be afraid of the ball!" - but it's afraid of the pavement coming at you) and found myself with all parts in appropriate places, wheels and feet nicely planted. Whether it's bike experience or taknig yoga and getting "awareness of the body" (which I wasn't aware was happening, so how can it be awarness ?) it's something that never happened before... there's hope!

JUST DO IT ... in small doses...

[HillSlugger]

I hope I don't sound too whine-y but I am just SCARED!!

Before I got into biking three years ago I was an avid rock climber (these days the climbing takes a back seat to the riding). I learned that it was OK to get scared. The thing is to *NOT* let the fear keep you from doing what you want to do.

There's absolutely no reason why you need to use clipless pedals, but before you ditch them (temporarily) try loosening up the setting on them so that they are easier to get out of. I have my Shimano m520's set 3 or 4 clicks looser than their default setting. They are still tight enough to keep me in while climbing, etc. but loose enough that I know that I can get out of them when I need to.

If you decide to take a break from the clipless, try cages and straps. I used them until a month or two ago. I kept them, too, loose enough that I could get out of them easily. Even set loosely, they are an improvement over platform pedals. My caged pedal are sitting collecting dust. If you'd like to give them a try I'd be happy to lend them out.

[spatlese]

I appreciate your offer to lend out your caged paddles. I am trying to stick with the clipless pedals and learning to unclip at the right time and leaning to the unclipped side when stopping. I have had several near misses the last few times I've been on the road, but managed to regain my balance at the last minute. I can't wait till the day when unclipping and stoping become second nature!