down hill scardy pants

[redrhodie]

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=7729

That was my first thread topic! I almost crashed going down a hill, and was really freaked by it. I just reread the thread, and the advice that really helped, other than using both brakes, was Geones' butt back in the saddle comment. There's lots of great downhill advice in that one!

If you feel like you're going to topple over, I'm wondering if you're weight is correctly distributed? Are you comfortable on your bike other than going downhill? Do you have wrist numbness or neck pain? I'm thinking it may not be a phobia--maybe it's a bike fit issue.

[hipmama]

If you feel like you're going to topple over, I'm wondering if you're weight is correctly distributed? Are you comfortable on your bike other than going downhill? Do you have wrist numbness or neck pain? I'm thinking it may not be a phobia--maybe it's a bike fit issue.

Good questions- I do sometimes go into quick stop position- *** back on the saddle. I am comfortable on my bike size wise- I get hand numbness at times but not until I hit about 40 miles, if I forget to take breaks. Just my left hand, which is odd.
I have personal control issues which is what I think it boils down to-as in I need to be in charge of things and letting gravity take over is scary- there is a "letting go" that needs to happen that I struggle with.

[indigoiis]

I LOVE flying down hills, and I think it's because I had a big hill I used to fly down as a kid on my wee 1 speed.

I get out of the saddle, stretch my legs so that my rear end is out over the back of the saddle, my arms are long, my head is kind of between my shoulders, and I look where I want the bike to go.

It also helps to say, "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"

[Grog]

Climb up a long, medium-steep hill. Turn around.

Hands in the drops, fingers loosely wrapped around the handlebars and just sitting, relaxed, on the levers. (Very important to be in the drops. I get the anxiety you describe if on the hoods.)

Pedals level (gives you much more stability).

Yes, bum back.

Glide down effortlessly, smile like a madwoman.

Say: "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Yes, relaxing is key. But you should only relax if you've got good technique, especially the smiling part.

[hipmama]

indigoiis is a show off

[redrhodie]

indigoiis is a show off

I actually got way better at descending watching indigoiis (IRL). She's fearless going down hill, and always drops me like a hot potato!

[smilingcat]

bike going wobbly? sounds like shimmying (sp). Typically happens at high speed and on corners. To stop the bike from shimmying, stop pedalling and press both legs onto the top tube of the bike. The legs act as a damper and will smooth out the shimmy.

Make sure your head set is on tight, see that the wheels are true..

As someone said, put your weight toward the back when you have to hit the brake. This will keep you from getting the feeling of doing the endo (end over -- flipping over the handle bar).

Practice riding behind an experience rider to develop your confidence.

[indigoiis]

I actually got way better at descending watching indigoiis (IRL). She's fearless going down hill, and always drops me like a hot potato!

The exception being on hills with hairpin turns (like the one over at Shannock Hill Road.) I do take it easy on short steepies. I don't trust the SUV drivers on cell phones who seem to perpetually lurk middle-of-the-curve on those roads. But I still get in the "stance", just hold my body up a little more to catch the wind to keep me slower.

[ny biker]

In my experience, once you've spent a summer getting over your fear of going down hills on inline skates, you lose most of your fear going down them on a bike.

The most important advice I got from skating was: don't forget to breathe.

[tctrek]

I hate going up the hills, but LOVE going down them. I've hit 40 mph on a few. The only hills that really scare me are curvy ones where I don't know what's around the curve -- is there a car backing out of a driveway, a stop sign, a big dog, a pothole? Until I ride it a few times, I use my brakes on the curves. But once I can see ahead of my, I get as aerobic as possible and let it fly -- sometimes that gets me half-way up the next hill and that means less climbing !

[OakLeaf]

This seems like a good time to insert the lecture again.

Being familiar with a hill means you know where the line goes - camber, turn radii, cracks and potholes, etc.

It does NOT tell you whether there is an obstacle or a slippery surface around the next blind curve, or whether a deer or groundhog is about to dart across the road.

If you notice yourself getting a lot faster as you become familiar with a hill, search your soul as to whether you could really stop or swerve in time if there was oil or gravel just around the turn, or whether (in the classic Motorcyclist example) one lane was blocked by a refrigerator, and the other by the pick-up truck that just dropped it.

The limit on your speed should always be your sight distance and your braking and swerving skills. Work on those skills and enjoy those descents! (I love them! but I know I can be a little over-bold and ought to be doing more skills drills. )

[Reesha]

I LOVE flying down hills, and I think it's because I had a big hill I used to fly down as a kid on my wee 1 speed.

I get out of the saddle, stretch my legs so that my rear end is out over the back of the saddle, my arms are long, my head is kind of between my shoulders, and I look where I want the bike to go.

It also helps to say, "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"

I third this!!!!

The first big hills I ever went down brakeless I was instructed to go "waaaahoooooooooo!" and it totally worked as if screaming was the fear being squeezed out of me as I breezed downward.

I'm still afraid though, particularly when it's an unfamiliar hill, oddly textured asphalt, busy with cars or particularly curvy and I can't see the bottom.

[tctrek]

This seems like a good time to insert the lecture again.

Being familiar with a hill means you know where the line goes - camber, turn radii, cracks and potholes, etc.

It does NOT tell you whether there is an obstacle or a slippery surface around the next blind curve, or whether a deer or groundhog is about to dart across the road.

If you notice yourself getting a lot faster as you become familiar with a hill, search your soul as to whether you could really stop or swerve in time if there was oil or gravel just around the turn, or whether (in the classic Motorcyclist example) one lane was blocked by a refrigerator, and the other by the pick-up truck that just dropped it.

The limit on your speed should always be your sight distance and your braking and swerving skills. Work on those skills and enjoy those descents! (I love them! but I know I can be a little over-bold and ought to be doing more skills drills. )

Well said. We always need to have a balance of skill and awareness mixed with the sheer joy of downhill.

[Kelly728]

<~~Joins the scaredy cat hill club

I have always been like this. I remember back when I was 7 or 8, riding out the neighborhood on my bike. There was this "large" hill one street over and I braked the whole way down. It wasn't because of a fall, I'm just extremely timid and have difficulty being fearless.

[Reesha]

I don't know what happened to me-- as a child, I would bomb down hills with no helmet and then skid out as soon as I hit the bottom to see how long of a line I could make. Lived on a dirt road that was a giant hill!

Methinks common sense set in with age