Fear?

[Bicycle]

I love cycling.

In middle age I still ride with vim and hope to do so for years to come.

But sometimes - and for no reason I can fathom - I just feel very scared as I set off.

It happened this morning when I went for my usual 10-mile constitutional on my fixie.

The roads were damp in places, but not 'wet'. There were leaves, but not so many. There was a strong sun peeping out between clouds. Traffic was light-to-absent. Altogether rather nice.

I was fine; no aches or pains. But I just felt very, very nervous.

I was convinced I'd be hitting the tarmac. My shoulders and elbows felt as fragile as glass.

As it turned out the ride was uneventful. Just some wet tractor mud on a sharp curve I know well and where it's not unusual to see evidence of farming.

I feel refreshed and revivified by my ride. Halfway through it the nervousness went.

Do other people get this from time to time?

It's very rare with me, but it happens enough to be a 'pattern'. Maybe twice a year.

Nine times out of ten I ignore it. Once or twice I've decided not to ride because of it.

 

[Globalti]

It's more adrenaline than fear. On mountain bike events in the past I've always felt nervous on the start line, even to the point of needing to dash to the Portakabin. I believe it's not uncommon.

 

[Baggy]

It happens to me sometimes, but never enough to stop me riding. Am never quite sure if it's a fear of coming off, or if it's just how I happen to be feeling and that the bike ride helps me feel less anxious.

When I lived in That London I'd sometimes feel nervous until about 5 minutes into my ride, though this was markedly worse when I was first getting used to clipless pedals!

 

[Fnaar]

I'm a bit more nesh going downhill than I used to be... still top 40mph on occasion though, so not THAT nesh

 

[Night Train]

Have you had this in other areas of life?

I ask because I sometimes get this. My hands tingle as if on the edge of a precipice, I get butterflies in the tummy and get very nervous and unsure of myself.
Sometimes it is on the bike about to set off, other times it is going to certain places or doing certain tasks. I have even had this in the car while driving.

I usually take a moment to stop and reconsider why and what is causing it. I am not superstitious, nor do I believe in ghosts, fairies or angels but I do wonder if something is telling me to be just a little more cautious.

The time spent pondering may have been enough to prevent a potential chain of events from occuring so the following activity appears uneventful.

 

[Crackle]

Sounds like extreme apprehension rather than fear, which is normal. I feel it before I embark on an activity. Normally it's just about wondering how well I'll go, whether I'll meet a muppet etc.. However when I was a regular rock climber I felt it very strongly, more as you describe. Rock climbing was a lot more mental sometimes than physical. I learned to channel it into a mental reheasal of my actions until it became a calm focus. Maybe that's what you need to do, rather than let it run riot, channel it into a rehearsal from basic getting ready to where you will be on the road at that awkward junction etc...

 

[Dan_h]

I do get something like this sometimes. Before getting on the bike I just feel nervous, usually about traffic! As soon as I am on the road it goes and my mind goes into "riding mode". I wonder if it is some collective thinking thing... I hear so often from people how dangerous cycling is that I wonder if subconsiously I start to believe them?

It has never stopped me riding though, normally because I need to get to work or back to home somehow

 

[ianrauk]

Can't say that I have ever felt fear before getting on the bike... no.
The complete opposite in fact. Think nothing better then getting on the bike for commute or leisure or what have you.

 

[siadwell]

I do get something like this sometimes. Before getting on the bike I just feel nervous, usually about traffic! As soon as I am on the road it goes and my mind goes into "riding mode". I wonder if it is some collective thinking thing... I hear so often from people how dangerous cycling is that I wonder if subconsiously I start to believe them?

+1

 

[Glover Fan]

I got it bad for about 10 minutes on Sunday. I was climbing a 25% hill on Dartmoor when I felt a wasp find it's way inside my helmet and onto my head. I couldn't stop obviously so carried on up aware that I hadn't been stung by a wasp for nearly 20 years and had since developed a couple of allergies.

I took the helmet off and tried to shoo the wasp, but it stung me. It didn't hurt much, but I did start to panic inside thinking, if I get a reaction there is little chance i'd survive.

Obviously nothing happened. But it did make me think that it is not always the obvious hazards of cycling that could kill you.

Which is why there is no point worrying at all.

 

[Moodyman]

I don't think it's uncommon to feel anxious.

I always worry about long rides (60+ miles). Do I have the fitness, will I have enough fuel, will I get a mechanical in the middle of nowhere, will I make it home before sunset?

All these worries are removed when I start pedalling.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Have you had this in other areas of life?

I get a similar thing on planes once in a while. I fly so often that it's like getting on and off a bus, but every once in a while i get the willies!

 

[User16625]

I love cycling.

In middle age I still ride with vim and hope to do so for years to come.

But sometimes - and for no reason I can fathom - I just feel very scared as I set off.

It happened this morning when I went for my usual 10-mile constitutional on my fixie.

The roads were damp in places, but not 'wet'. There were leaves, but not so many. There was a strong sun peeping out between clouds. Traffic was light-to-absent. Altogether rather nice.

I was fine; no aches or pains. But I just felt very, very nervous.

I was convinced I'd be hitting the tarmac. My shoulders and elbows felt as fragile as glass.

As it turned out the ride was uneventful. Just some wet tractor mud on a sharp curve I know well and where it's not unusual to see evidence of farming.

I feel refreshed and revivified by my ride. Halfway through it the nervousness went.

Do other people get this from time to time?

It's very rare with me, but it happens enough to be a 'pattern'. Maybe twice a year.

Nine times out of ten I ignore it. Once or twice I've decided not to ride because of it.

Your fear is not rational, being middle aged is not that far off being old/dead anyway therefore fear of it is unjustified.

 

[danger mouse]

Its called common sense, experience, a realistic understanding of risk and minimisation of such

Its life telling you it will hurt more, embarrass you more and take longer to get over so dont risk it.

 

[al-fresco]

Your fear is not rational, being middle aged is not that far off being old/dead anyway therefore fear of it is unjustified.

I think we're all pretty much a heartbeat away from death. There was a judge once who said "I have never sentenced a man to death - I merely confirmed the date."