Whoever branded the motto "No
Fear" never did an endo.
My fear took root a couple
months ago when my formerly sinless 29-inch front tire rolled down a steep
limestone rock only to stick on a sawed-off tree trunk, sending me on a
slow-motion, forward somersault. My feet
remained clipped in until my stiffened arms and the right side of my face dove
into the ground below. With adrenaline
surging and my head throbbing, I slowly sat up and untangled myself from my
bike to assess the damage. My face was scratched but fine, no bones or
blood was showing, so I slowly rode the rest of the trail back to my car, a bit
dazed and with a stiffening right shoulder.
What I didn't realize at the time was that my psyche had incurred the
most damage.
As a mountain biker, I've had my
fair share of scrapes and bruises. I've
gone over my handlebars more times than I can count, left skin out on the trail,
and hit the ground hard enough to leave me a bit nauseous. Each time my body recovered and my mind
obediently followed suit.
For some reason, however, this
most recent crash left me in uncharted territory. My confidence on the bike was shattered. Technical sections that once wrought nothing
more than a few tame butterflies left me paralyzed. I got
nervous and scared heading out to trails I had ridden dozens of times.
After a couple of months
fighting the fear, I eventually recovered.
In case anyone else is experiencing a muddled mojo, or maybe trying to
come back after an injury, perhaps one of the ten thoughts below will help.
1) Be patient.
Your body and mind need time to heal.
My confidence returned about the time my shoulder fully healed.
2) Keep riding.
The old saying, "Get back in the saddle again" rings true. If the only thing holding you back is your
mind, get on your bike and go. At some
point, your instincts will kick in.
3) Go back to the basics. Start with reminding yourself to look down
the trail instead of at the obstacles around and in front of you.
4) Take time to double check your bike
set-up. I had recently sent my bike back
to the factory to get the front shock serviced.
I forgot to check the setting when I got it back, only to later discover
(after the wreck) it had been in lock-out mode.
I had also recently bought new pedals and had the tension too tight. By simply setting the tension on the loosest
setting, I felt better.
5) Fight the mental demons as long as you must
with positive thinking. Every time a
negative thought surfaces like "I'm never going to be able to ride like I
used to," smother it.
6) Swallow your pride. If you must walk a section several times
before you feel comfortable riding it, so be it. (I was determined to fight my fear head on
and rode a tough section of trail before my mind was ready. I endoed twice.)
Ruined my new kit on the first of these over the top experiences. Yea, I got to ride the rest of the trail with a nice breeze.
7) Take a beginner riding. You will end up rebuilding your confidence on
easy trails, as well as hear your own good advice.
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| Northshore trail in Grapevine |
9) Embrace wrecking. This sounds strange and can be tricky if it
comes at the wrong time, but at some point, it will do you good to be reminded that
most bike crashes are harmless. The day
I endoed twice, the best thing that came from it was I realized crashes happen
and I was fine.
10) Follow the wheel of a trusted friend. Seeing is believing, and the more you believe
a trail is not one fat danger zone, the sooner you'll be riding freely. You'll also be less likely to panic over
picking the right line. This helped me
more than anything.
Hang in there, my friend. Be encouraged that some of your best riding
may be right around the corner!
