Fear when mountain biking is good. You may have never thought of it that way but often fear can save you from injury and it can create a great feeling of accomplishment when you overcome it (through practice and baby steps). Fear can also make you step up your game.
Fear can hold us back or it can be a big motivator to learn, improve and evolve.
Facing/overcoming fear, when done smartly, is extremely rewarding and empowering. Think back to the many fears you have had in life and how good you felt when you conquered each fear.
Fear often means it is time to step up your game and grow, become stronger, smarter, and more confident. Fear can be like a teammate that brings out your best performance because anything less than your best could end up hurting you.
Always listen to your fear and decide WHERE it is coming from. Some fears are good at saving you from harm; when a trail feature is above your pay grade, fear saves you from trying it.
Other fears keep you from reaching your potential when the fear is UNFOUNDED or the fear is OUT OF PROPORTION to the risk involved.
Mountain biking can be anything from a really fun experience to outright terrifying depending on your skills, experiences, and perspective.
Of course, SKILL is the number one factor in overcoming fear! The National and World Champions I have coached don’t have LESS fear than you, they have MORE SKILL than you.
They have worked hard on ingraining the correct riding techniques so they are consistently riding in balance and in control. So while they may have less “nerve” than you they have great skill.
Fear has me gripped when riding trails like King Kong! So much that I get a little out of position (too far back) but I quickly get centered thanks to years of deliberate practice. Fear forces me to focus and bring my “A game”
Here are 8 ways to overcome fear with the
skill you currently possess.
1. Go at your own pace and take “baby steps” when progressing.
Taking a big leap over your comfort zone is not an effective way to improve. This is a case of fear being GOOD. A big leap over your comfort zone likely means you don’t possess the skills to do it.
Have you ever been goaded into doing something that you felt was way above your skill level? Even if you make it, you often don’t feel like you have gotten better, you feel like you got lucky. Feeling, “Holy cow, I nearly died, that was sketchy!” does not improve your confidence! If you don’t make it, the crash will often set you back, decreasing your confidence and raising your level of fear. So be gentle with yourself and progress at a pace that is comfortable to you.
2. Focus on what you WANT to do, not what you DON’T want to do.
This sounds simple but pays off big. Our brains don’t understand “not” and “don’t” very well. Ever enter a corner and think: “I hope I make it? Or, just don’t crash!”
If you are focusing on not crashing your brain must focus on the concept of falling and then quickly try to refocus on “not” doing what you are thinking about.
It is much easier to focus on “get to that tree smoothly” or “ride this section with grace” than telling yourself “Don’t fall”
3. Live to ride another day!
If you are more focused on “not falling” then you are not getting to where you want to go. Get off your bike and walk that section. Who knows, you might go right through it the next time when you are more warmed up and/or focused.
After/while walking that section, figure out what about that section is scaring you then “baby step” your way up to doing it.
Example: If a four-foot drop on an exposed trail is scaring you find a one-foot drop with no exposure, get really good a hitting that, work your way up to a four-foot drop with no exposure, then an exposed trail with a one-foot drop working all the way to a four-foot drop on an exposed trail. This builds on a series of successes, increasing your confidence.
4. Breathe, relax, breathe, and smile.
It is just a bike ride. Breathing and smiling releases tension which improves our balance, coordination, and confidence. I mean deep, belly breathes from your diaphragm which is very calming.
Smiling releases endorphins which relax you. The simple act of lifting the corners of your mouth, even if it is a grimace, will release those endorphins and relax you.
5. As you improve make sure you update your self-concept to match.
Remember that the past doesn’t equal the future.
You may have wrecked or not made a section last week/month, but if your skills have improved since then the section may be easier for you now. (More on this in the next article on fear as this is very important)
6. Wear knee pads, elbow pads, and a full-face helmet when practicing a tough section on-trail or learning a new skill.
I have found that having padding on, really increases your confidence when learning or trying to push your limits. As a matter of fact, I never ride without knee pads anymore. Knees are too valuable and easily damaged.
7. Debunk your fear/s. Is your fear realistic?
Often fear is not based in reality and when we realize this the fear goes away.
8. Learn from your mistakes.
If you mess up or wreck, do your best to figure out WHY it happened and correct that mistake or improve your technique so it will not happen again. All too often I blamed my crashes on my equipment when the culprit was me!
Stay tuned for part two which will cover why/how/when we feel fear and how this affects us and a few of the techniques above in more detail.
Please share this article with anyone you think may benefit and feel free to call or e-mail with any questions.
Cheers
Gene
I relaxed, saw the line I wanted to take, found my balance and went through the section very controlled – it was great!
Hi Gene, Glad to hear about having time with your family. Probably the most rewarding thing about life, enjoy.
My fear came from my mind, it wasn’t coming from my riding or my equipment. I started to minimize my thought process to just a few words. (It also worked on my golf swing).
Ready, position, line & relax.
Ready at the top of the run & relax at the bottom. Alertness is the key to staying on course, doing my best to control what I can.
One thing I invested in some comfy knee pads and I agree it’s made me feel more confident. I think elbow pads will too.
Thanks Gene