Confidence, will it come back?

[purplepolly]

The same applies to drunks as well, so maybe one for the road before starting the morning commute? Or meditation en route.

 

[spence]

......just takes practice....but that's painful....

Yep, sure does. Numerous broken and bruised ribs, fractured this and that. Currently recovering from "skiers thumb" where my thumb dug in the ground and stopped and the rest of me didn't resulting in tearing all the tendons.

Found over the years its been the slow speed offs, when you go down like a sack of spuds with a thump that are worse then the high speed ones, were you tend to roll and or skim across the ground. Must say all this has been on the mountain bike not the road.

39, a youngster.........

 

[ufkacbln]

Use it as an excuse to buy a recumbent trike?

Seriously though, all it needs is a few miles.

After a serious accident (skull, pelvis rib and collarbone fractures)I was back on the bike in about 8 weeks, but not as confident for another three or four.

However it took me some time before I could cycle past the accident site and several more weeks before I could ride past without additional caution and trepidation.

Give yourself time, and let your confidence return naturally

 

[Cathryn]

This is really useful, thanks everyone!! I've come off twice this year (ice and then a clipless moment yesterday). I'm also incredibly nervous on the bike at the moment as I'm getting used to being clipped in. Seriously not enjoying it at all. It's so good to know it's not just me who gets nervous, and that the confidence will come back!!! I'm considering putting flat pedals back on the bike. No point doing something I don't enjoy, but I want to give it enough time to have really tried.

Thanks Spence for having the guts to post this thread!!!

 

[MajorMantra]

This is really useful, thanks everyone!! I've come off twice this year (ice and then a clipless moment yesterday). I'm also incredibly nervous on the bike at the moment as I'm getting used to being clipped in. Seriously not enjoying it at all. It's so good to know it's not just me who gets nervous, and that the confidence will come back!!! I'm considering putting flat pedals back on the bike. No point doing something I don't enjoy, but I want to give it enough time to have really tried.

Thanks Spence for having the guts to post this thread!!!

Rather than flats, why not try toe-clips and straps? If you keep them loosish you can easily slide your feet out but you don't lose all the benefits of clipless.

Matthew

 

[Cathryn]

I thought that today as the friend I was cycling with had toe clips and straps. We'll see. I want to give clipless a proper try though.

 

[Joe24]

I powered off from some lights and had a foot unclip from a peddle.
I slid across the road and came to a nice stop. I got up, got out the road and checked my ipod, phone and bike. Then got back on, and got back to riding to my GF's.
Your confidence will come back, clipless moments are fine really, you just have to laugh about them and try not to do it again.

 

[spence]

Cathryn, you're welcome. Some times it's just good to know you're not alone.

Out on the mountain bike today. Had to do a bit of road to get to the first track, still did not feel right on a fast down hill with a couple of painted roundabouts. In the past I'd bunnyhop over them, today slowed right down and went around. Once out on the mud everything was fine.

Don't give up on the clipless. Once you've mastered them they are so much better. I know feel I have to be clipped in before tackling anything tricky, not sure I could ride far without them.

 

[vernon]

This is really useful, thanks everyone!! I've come off twice this year (ice and then a clipless moment yesterday). I'm also incredibly nervous on the bike at the moment as I'm getting used to being clipped in. Seriously not enjoying it at all. It's so good to know it's not just me who gets nervous, and that the confidence will come back!!! I'm considering putting flat pedals back on the bike. No point doing something I don't enjoy, but I want to give it enough time to have really tried.

Thanks Spence for having the guts to post this thread!!!

Stick with it Cathryn. Don't dwell on the fact that you are clipped in otherwise you will perpetually feel anxious. Last year I had my first off while using clipless pedals. I went over the bars of my Dawes Galaxy when the front wheel dropped between the gap between two paving slabs on the tow path of the Leeds Liverpool canal. I took the bike with me and at some stage it became unclipped and was ahead of me when everything came to a halt.

My first clipless moment, in four/five years of use, was also last year. I just wasn't paying attention as I was pootling along a country lane and couldn't decide what a motorist was going to do at a junction ahead of me - I was dithering - he was dithering and when he decided to pull out as I'd pulled alongside the junction I came to a halt, and slowly fell sideways onto an accommodating grass verge.

 

[Randochap]

Regarding clipless; the crash story I recounted above may have been different if I'd been riding clipless ... rather than on my commuter w/ platform pedals.

As it was, when my bike flew out to the right (on the left hand turn) I was left in mid air and then down on my face. Thinking back, it seems to me that had I been on any of my other bikes w/ (Speedplay) clipless systems, it's more likely that I would have followed the bike and landed on my side.

I was riding slowly, because, due to the temperature, I was wary of black ice. It's likely then that the fall would have been insignificant if I'd been clipped to the pedals.

Hindsight is 20/20, but my educated guess is that it's safer all-round to ride clipped in.

 

[HLaB]

Stuff happens. Try to ride safe, but don't dwell on what might happen. Being stiff on the bike will make it more likely you'll react badly.

Spot on, I just have to remember that ; I'm too jittery on some corners but open up on others they seem to go a lot more smoothly.

 

[ufkacbln]

Rather than flats, why not try toe-clips and straps? If you keep them loosish you can easily slide your feet out but you don't lose all the benefits of clipless.

Matthew

My wife uses the Zefal "half toe clips" as she cannot get on with either spds or full toe clips - nott as efficient, but a good "halfway house"

 

[Cathryn]

I'm def going to keep trying with clipping in. I remember that when I switched to drop handlebars 18 months ago I hated it and was all prepared to get the bike set up for flats, but I got used to it. I just need to stick at it in the same way until it becomes second nature.

One of my friends broke his shoulder cycling this weekend as well, so it was clearly a weekend for falls!