I'm really sorry that happened to you.

I'm new to bicycling, but not new to traumatic experiences. I know how it is to set out to do something with the extreme fear that the bad thing is going to happen again.

One thing I've learned is that if you have a severe fear of something happening again, and you're visualizing it in your mind, there's a really good chance you're going to make it happen again. It's not until you can relax and visualize a positive experience that it's safe to try it again.

You have to learn to be as completely in the moment as you can be when you go to do it - paying attention only to what is going on right now. You have to discipline your mind and pay attention to all the signals your body's sending you and talk to yourself. Ask yourself "Am I in danger right now?" If not, just relax and enjoy the moment. Whenever you start to feel your body tensing up and that burning in your stomach, your heart pounding, or whatever things your body feels when you're anxious and afraid, don't ignore it - calmly look around again and see if there are any immediate dangers. You have to pay constant attention to the messages you're body's sending you and don't ignore them - each time, check it out and then you can say "Hey, body, it's OK."

Coping with an unreasonable fear is kind of like reassuring a child who's afraid there are monsters in her bedroom - it's much more reassuring for her if you look in the closets and under the bed before you give her a hug and tell her it's alright.