I have never had any problem bombing down hills - to the point where my husband, a seasoned rider from way back, considered me reckless. Since I am such a scaredy cat about other things, his comment made me back off a little on hills. But my feeling is, no matter if you are going fast or slow, when you fall, it's going to hurt.

On the other hand, I am a complete wimp on my mountain bike. Last year because of a fear I made a stupid mistake and ended up getting hurt because of it. So fear can sometimes cause you to over-react which can be problematic.

I think you have to take it in small doses and embrace it. Shove that scaredy cat girl out in front of you and promise that you have her back. Take little bites. When in traffic, take a lane and make bold hand signals. Nothing gives you more confidence than communicating via hand signals to a driver you can see and who sees you. Then ride home, and try a little more tomorrow.

On hills, start with small ones and practice getting out of your seat, crouching like a cat, using your knees to stablize the top tube, kinda like a Pilates crouch where your body is weighted evenly over the bike, tuck the head a bit, look straight ahead, and go for it, feathering your brakes evenly.

If you do that, I promise not to screech so much crossing sand on my mountain bike.