Quote Originally Posted by Irulan
. . . it's more terrifying because you fall less on the road, but when you do, it' usually at high speed and involves major road rash and sliding across asphalt, possibly vehicles.. As a mountain biker, you get used to a)laughing at yourself and b) dusting yourself back off and getting on the bike.
Totally agree, if you can't learn to do (a) and (b) you're going to have a tough time out there. My worst injury came from a road crash. I'll take a multitude of dirt crashes anytime to a fall on the road.

Besides you'll find that your bike handling skills on the road will shoot way up for learning to ride the dirt. Go find yourself a coach for a few hours. There is nothing like having an expert give you pointers on the basics. Seems rudimentary, but braking, cornering, everything is very different.