Everyone is afraid of something, and that includes expert mountain bikers. Confidence in one area of our riding doesn’t always translate to the others, and conquering our fears is an important part of progression.
What Are You Afraid of? [Survey]
Everyone is afraid of something, and that includes expert mountain bikers. Confidence in one area of our riding doesn’t always translate to the others, and conquering our fears is an important part of progression.
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I don’t know if it should fall under “Crashing/Falling” but my biggest fear is injury. As both the wrong side of 40 and the parent of a 4 year old who doesn’t give a damn if Daddy’s hurt when he hwants to play; there’s an extra, persistent source of pain to injuries…
Bridges! I have a mental block when I see them and it takes all I have to let my front tire roll onto one – even when they are wider than the trail I’m riding. It’s a mental hang-up and I’m working on it.
At 44 years old, I fear injury the most. My own vision of what I look like on my bike and my perception of my ability is not the same as the reality of me on my bike and my current skills. I do realize that most of my worst wrecks in the past have been in normal riding situations versus pushing the envelope, but you never know when you will go down and how bad you will hurt yourself. I wrote a blog about a year ago about this topic, check it out: New2MtBiking- Mountain Biking Fears
Hospital Bills.
lol, I understand. my mom will pay for the new helmets and pads, but not the bills.
My fears have changed over the years. At first when I started riding in the mid 80’s it was always fear of missing out, later it was fear that injury would leave me without income to support my young family. Now as I’m closing in on 70 with arthritic knees and other failing body parts it has become the fear of not being able to continue riding. Some of the most memorable rides have come during these later years and the thought of having to stop is unimaginable.
sigh, the young want to be old, the old want to be young. what a world…
I wouldn’t say I’m scared of crashing/ falling or the pain that comes along with it. However, I am scared of getting injured and being out of work. I can’t take uncalculated risks being the primary source of income for my family. Especially with healthcare costs in the good ol’ USA.
Cougars/mountain lions hands down the scariest thing I think about while riding. They attack from behind and hold your neck till you bleed out or choke. Evil!
perhaps the biggest fear of all.
Big googly eyes on the back of your helmet….
yes, googly eyes
Mountain lions, especially after a couple of them were seen at dusk over the past few weeks.
MEOWOUCH
WILDLIFE Mountain Lions, Bears or pack of Wild Dogs.
I know my limits so break downs, injury from falling I am not a hot dog, weather etc… are all manageable when one is prepared. The way I bring some relief for my fear is a container or 2 of bear spray. Yes a mountain lion is stealth however one has a chance to survive. On trails that are frequently ridden by others not an issue it’s when one goes beyond.
dogs, yes
Exposure – falling a long way into a ravine, off a mountain or into the abyss. I know it’s a mental thing, but it always gets in my head.
I went riding with my dad, and when he saw me peering over a hill, he said, “keep your hand on the brake son, or you’ll fall down the mountain and break your neck.” I think he is more afraid of losing the bike, which was darn expensive $$. he’s very old, in his 50s, so I don’t blame him.
Man, I wish I could be one of the 80 who is scared of missing out! Mine though would be crashing. I often get frustrated when my friends just send something while I’m left there trying for the next hour to get into a mental state where I can hit whatever feature I’m scared of. No kidding I have literally sat for a whole hour at the drop in.
Haha!! Had my share of yard sales over 50 years of dirtin. Now, post heart surgery and long term kidney disease, my bike doesn’t have the mech to worry about, little bastard’s young and healthy! I will have the mechanical…
Trouble is, riding can be very strenuous, with a one speed automatic, even more so. I really don’t dwell on the strenuous part, I ride and play. Strava cannot count the times I hit a feature or get trialsy however, those two elements are required on each and every ride! Yus, even with the midfAt and fatbike although, mostly rowdy involves one of three plussers.
Wildcat, a full squish 150f, 140r suspension with i45’s wrapped with 3.ohhellyeah.
Sergeant V1, a hardtail backcountry explorer with i45’s and 3.hellyeah.
Middlechild, a pithy little slacker, one speed automatic transmission and towing package brakes 3.obviously! Slack geo with 65° HTA, 70°STA, both of which are comfort zone for this rider. Long TT and room for a lanky, beanpole ass rider! 😀
Love the hell outta my bikes! They are helping me kick cancer too!
Its gotta be drops. Never had any type of training other than good ole youtube so the figuring out how to approach and land drops has led to many a fall lol.
Been riding at a high level for 28 years and to say I have a banged-up body is a significant understatement. It really isn’t the falling I fear, as I have crashed plenty of times and had plenty of minor injuries but got right back on the bike, no worse the wear. It is the crashes, and subsequent injuries that put me out of action for an extended period of time. And as I get older time to recovery is longer and then to get back in shape also takes longer. As a result I need to be safer, which is not easy for a mountain biker, where the whole point, and most fun, is to face your fear and hit hard stuff….at speed
Cramps!! I started mountain biking and at 6-8 miles I was done. What would be a 1 – 2 hour ride turns into a 6 – 7 hour adventure. Miserable holding people up or just plain not finishing. Over the years I stretched it to 13 miles, but I always had to plan rides around the fact my legs would cramp, and I needed to be done by then. Finally, I discovered that my loss of minerals and not replenishing them at fast-enough rate was my problem. Now I take a supplement daily and take mineral pills while riding. I do 16 + miles with no cramps and work until my legs just give out from overuse. Unfortunately, I still deal with cramps after a ride and wake up at night sometimes in pain but at least I can do the rides now with my friends.
believe it or not, (you can call me a wimp, I don’t care) I have 2 biggest fears, speed wobbles, and a hill my tiny gears can’t handle. (happened a lot)
Fear of losing? Haha I’ve only won 2 races in my entire life!
For me, it’s tall skinnies, say anything over 6 feet. Totally irrational – 2″ skinnies and 20′ skinnies ride the exact same, same balance and skills, but now I walk those sections. Every time. I think I’m just getting old and valuing staying out of hospital more.