Comeback from Injuries (mental side of problem)

[sooray02]

Hello folks.

Used to race Cat3, and I've gone through some accidents in my life then I chose to give up racing for about three years ago. Haven't ridden past two years, but bought a bike in June and started riding again by myself. Now, I got bored riding by myself, so I started riding with a group, and now, amazingly, I can sort of keep up with the fast guys. Well, I should say I hung on to those guys.

Nonetheless, I am too scared to draft, or make hard turns. I get yoyo-ed. I waste energy because I don't draft properly. I break when I don't have to. I know that these things take times but I think this is more of a head problem. Is there anyway to improve or get rid of my.. problems?

Any advices would be appreciated.

 

[Crazymike]

You think too much. Just ride and let happen what happens. Your experience might help you be aware of what to look for when riding behind somebody.

 

[Felt_Rider]

You think too much. Just ride and let happen what happens. Your experience might help you be aware of what to look for when riding behind somebody.

+1

I agree, but at the same time still struggle with descending. In 2007 I had a 40 mph crash coming off a mountiain descent that did a lot of physical and gear damage, but the greatest damage was mental.

I am still not over it yet and went from the fastest descender of my group to now the slowest, but I have improved a little each year.

As Mike stated my problem is I put too much thought into it even if I tell myself I am going to have a fast day descending that means I am preparing for it mentally and I should not even be thinking about even if I am trying to motivate myself because I am highlighting the issue. When the moment comes for the descent my overthinking and being cautious actually makes me even more unpredictable and shakey. The calmer and less tense I am obviously makes for a much more controlled and smooth descent.

I have noticed at times when I shift my thoughts to climbing to distract from descending that my descending is better. I had a friend tell me that after her bad crash on a descent was that she repeats the same word over and over in her head. I tried it and it worked as a distraction to the brain calculating demise.

I think it was Bob Roll that said during the 2009 TDF when asked what is the best attribute of a professional cyclist and his response was, "A short memory." He then said that in context of enduring the crash, getting over it mentally and going on as if trying to win.

If you raced Cat 3 than you have the experience and the ability to ride in a tight formation at fast speeds. You have done it once before. No reason you cannot do it again if you just distract yourself to other thoughts when your brain wants to predict mayhem.

Best wishes

 

[dsb137]

If the fear is of something unpredictable/unexpected happening to cause a crash i.e. a front tire blowing, then yes, I would agree that there is a 'mental' block...

Most of what people deal with is more of a vision and process issue. If you aren't looking far enough down the road then everything will seem to be happening very fast, and you become overwhelmed and feel that you cannot react quickly enough. In trying to enable yourself to react to the things that are coming up faster than you can process you will tighten up and get stiff, it's just human nature, but that makes the sensation of speed increase and your fear as well.

My experience with motorsports has taught me that if I have proper and sufficient reference points, and am looking far enough down the road, there is very little sensation of speed. I'm just moving from point to point on the track and adjusting my speed to accommodate the various 'features' of the track. When I have done my best laps, they have felt 'slow'...

To take this to the road on a bicycle, you can't always know every corner on a decent so you have to keep a more conservative pace, but the process is still very similar to me, very much like the first time on a new track. I'm looking for reference points, where to start and stop braking, where to initiate my tip in, where to apex, where I want to be on exit etc. None of this is causing any stress, I'm just working thru the problem. I don't allow myself to carry so much speed as to cause any 'panic', that's counterproductive because it gets you thinking about what you don't want at the expense of what you need to be thinking to get what you do want. The only time I consciously think about speeding up is when I've miscalculated and have obviously not carried enough speed, then I try to work out what I should have done and make a mental note for next time, if there is a next time and if the re-calculation doesn't distract me from acquiring my next reference point.

Some of this is the same in the drafting situation, if your starring at the 'draftee's' rear tire, you have to save room so that you can process and react. If you're looking up the road and seeing what he's seeing, you can anticipate and keep the 'panic' at bay.

None of this is natural, or easy, it takes practice...

I've found that Keith Code has some pretty good explanations...

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Twist-Wrist-Motorcycle-Roadracers-Handbook/dp/0965045013/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280572359&sr=1-3"]Amazon.com: Twist of the Wrist: The Motorcycle Roadracers Handbook (Vol 1) (9780965045018):…[/ame]

HTH,
Dave

 

[sooray02]

Thanks guys. Appreciate your input.

DSB137, you were totally right. I tend to look at what is in front of me all the time: every each corner, turn, and even the wheel. The roads over here are not the best quality and unconsciously I would slow down to check before I maneuver. Boy, didn't even know the fear settled in this much.

Every crash I've involved with, they were either weather, roads, mechanical related, and some from just racing. Last crash was 3 years ago and that's when I said "Screw it, I've got too much to lose" then threw a towel. Maybe I shouldn't have done that.

So, this is my plan. I am going to go out to group rides as many times as possible and follow the wheels of good descenders and just get used to it. Probably I'll try to do that at the back of the group, since I am still shaky and jumpy.

Though, sometimes I just don't trust my ability and my bike's ability as well. Wonder why...

Thanks again!

ps. i'll post a picture of what made me quit.

 

[dsb137]

Sooray,
While I can appreciate the enthusiasm, just understand, you _will_ crash it's just part of it... Look at Jen's crash at the tour, he had a tire blow, he's a pro, has the best equipment and professionals to look after it at all times... Stuff just happens...

My suggestion would be to find a section of 3 to 6 corners that you can descend repeatedly, and try to figure them out to the nth degree... Ride up and down them slowly, walk them if you can, pick out every nook and cranny and then work out how you want to ride them... Draw them out by hand, write down your breaking zones, where you're going to tip in, where you're going to apex, where you want to be on the exit so that you can set up for the next corner's reference points... Then ride them as slowly as it takes to hit all of the reference points _exactly_ ... Now you can ride this set of corners without any fear or panic or uncertainty... Ride them a few more times without _trying_ to go faster, and I think you'll surprise yourself with how quickly you can go when you're comfortable... You now own this process and you can adapt it to any other corner you encounter, you'll get a feel for how fast you can go comfortably on an unfamiliar descent... It takes what it takes and you go as quickly as comfort allows and there's no point to pushing it...