Fear reaction when cornering

[p.dath]

This is more a rant about a disappointment I'm experiencing with my riding at the moment, but perhaps you might be able to identify with it, and chime in.

Recently something has gone backwards with my riding. I've started experiencing a fear reaction on corners, particularly blind corners that I can't see through, that didn't used to exist. I feel ok when I'm following someone, it's just when I'm on my own.

And it's causing me to do the wrong things. For example, I come out of a corner and discover my arms have tensed up, or I have trouble making myself keep a positive throttle in the corner, and I'm having to give extra concentration to make sure I'm looking where I want to go. These things didn't used to demand so much effort previously.

But once I'm most of the way through the corner I find myself annoyed because the corner ended up feeling easy, and I know I wasn't pushing my abilities, and the fear reaction was unwarranted.

And I guess that's the bit really annoying me - the fear reaction is un-warranted and is affecting my riding.


I did have a low-side on a corner maybe 5 months ago. I don't think it is bothering me, but perhaps something is playing games sub-consciously in the back of my head. I don't know.

I have a similar problem on AMCC ART days going down the front straight into Castrol corner. I'm confident I have the right lines, but because I can't see through the corner before I enter it I experience a fear reaction that is holding me back. I slow down without a good reason. Once I'm actually in the corner I feel fine again.

I remember the words "if your not having fun slow down until you are" ringing in my ears from AMCC ART days, and put it to the practice. I took on some deliberately twisty challenging roads recently and adopted a considerably slower pace. And the fear disappeared. And I decided to concentrate on the basics, looking through the corners, maintaining a positive throttle and keeping my arms relaxed. Maybe I need to put in some riding time like this until I build more confidence again.


I've reached the conclusion I need to take a step back to move ahead. I need to reinforce the basics again until my brain is ready to let me progress again.

Either that or back myself ...

[R6_kid:Me]

Slow down Rossi.

In all seriousness it just sounds like your brain telling you that you aren't capable of going around the corner safely at that speed. That isn't a bad thing at all, especially if you like being alive. It's something that you need to listen to because whenever I haven't I've ended up in the bushes upside down with my bike in more pieces than when I entered the corner.

Slow it down. I try to ride on the open road without brakes, that is, setup early for the corner by going down through the gearbox (smoothly) and deciding on my speed before the corner. I take each corner at a speed that I know I will make it around that given corner (for a road I know) and leave a little in reserve.

If you are second guessing yourself then you shouldn't be trying to go faster anyway.

[Kendog]

I remember the words "if your not having fun slow down until you are" ringing in my ears from AMCC ART days, and put it to the practice. I took on some deliberately twisty challenging roads recently and adopted a considerably slower pace. And the fear disappeared. And I decided to concentrate on the basics, looking through the corners, maintaining a positive throttle and keeping my arms relaxed. Maybe I need to put in some riding time like this until I build more confidence again.

Without seeing you ride it's difficult to know exactly what the issue might be. But as soon as I read your second paragraph I immediately thought you need to slow down.

Then just like that you described the answer.

[R6_kid:Me]

Then just like that you described the answer.

Rhetorical first post FTL.

[rapid van cleef]

i think keeping a very real sense of, what could be coming round the corner in the wrong lane is a good thing. somthing you will not come accross on the race track. i think all riders will admit to that feeling of 'oh shit....approaching a corner.then......'why was i worried..i coulda gone much faster' on exit from the corner. your natural instinct of fear of serious injury because of the unknown elements of road riding should help to keep you alive. you aint gonna win a championsip going flat out through a blind twistie to find a sheep in the road or another biker / car / whatever in the wrong lane coming towards you. so. i would find a quiet stretch of road and a few corners and learn them slowly, keeping you eye on the vanishing point and your peripheral vision on at all times. if im out on a road a find a nice corner , i ll go back and do it a few times til i get sick or risk the penalty of 'cruising' .

im not a wsbk contender or anything close, and never will be. however, i like to think that i am usually very aware of my surroundings and have good hazard perception. i am sometimes finding myself feeling uninterested in road riding due to the slow speeds needed to stay within the law and also the negative aspects of other poorly trained / disstracted road users and general road shite that spoils a good ride. i dont wanna blast round a corner to see somthing nasty in front of me, like an object or a policecar, so i slow down and it spoils the fun. but, above all else, i wanna ride home and see my family with me intact. so im now going to go and do as many track days as i can afford. way safer than the road. and i take to the twisties when i can and actually have a specific goal..

and now that i feel ihave waffled enough as i am bored.good bye

[Jonno.]

I used to get this on the open road.
Take it a bit slower and focus on your lines and build up your speed over time (to what you were riding at).

[CookMySock]

Either slow down and tour for a while, or get on the track and bust through it.

Steve

[Bikemad]

Either slow down and tour for a while, or get on the track and bust through it.

Steve

and remember to not change into first gear at 9000 rpm...........unless you are on the track...............heheh

[davebullet]

Is your bike handling differently? Is it becoming unsettled over what once was a settled bike over familiar roads? Maybe you've clocked up enough Kays and that factory shock / forks are starting to lose their composure. Are your tyres getting down? I've read many reports of some tyres getting really loose, with their demise rapidly accelerating in the last third of their life.

[p.dath]

Is your bike handling differently? Is it becoming unsettled over what once was a settled bike over familiar roads? Maybe you've clocked up enough Kays and those factory shocks are starting to lose their composure.

Bike feels perfect.

[Urano]

Recently something has gone backwards with my riding. I've started experiencing a fear reaction on corners, particularly blind corners that I can't see through, that didn't used to exist. I feel ok when I'm following someone, it's just when I'm on my own.

you're growin up, sonny...

it's normal. when i was 16 with my 125 i've done things that scares me even remembering, and i perfectly know that i have to thank a lot of dead people fi i'm here right now, cause as anybody riding a bike i'm a survivor, may be i'm a bit more survivor than others, as i've done really stupid things...

if we'll go to a ride together (and i hope to) you'll se that now i go only if i see. in italian is "se non vedo non vado" (if i don't see i don't go). so i'll take always slower the right turns (left for you) 'cause they're often blind, near a mountain, or a house... on the left (right for you) there's always a bit more visibility, so i'm a bit more relaxed.
one of the last tour i've taken before selling my bike, i've been on tomarlo (here:
View Larger Map ) with a friend. look at that road!! is an open track! awsome!!! well, we were driving a bit... ehm... enthusiastically... he was in front of me of about 20 meters, entered a right turn and BUM, right after it a &%%$$***£&%/£$ had parked a land rover in the middle of the lane to take a walk and see the valley!!! WTF!!!
i've seen him brakin and getting right the bike: he managed to avoid the collision because he's been very skilled and lucky, i've had maybe a second and a half more seeing him and i avoided the car without problems, but i don't know if i could manage the situation if i'd been in front...

that's why you're scared: because people are stupid and you're not on a track.
it's wisdom, not fear.
relax, slow down and go to a track sometime

[jonbuoy]

Are you really asking why your head is telling you to slow down on an approach to a blind corner on the road?

[slofox]

Some degree of caution entering blind corners when you are on the highway is a bloody good thing in my book. Many years ago I had a very lucky escape on such a corner when a kid ran out of a driveway...never forgotten that lesson. Can't be having with reckless riding causing death...

I agree with the comments recommending just taking it easy and letting confidence rebuild in its own good time. Coz it will.

[crazyhorse]

You should always enter the corner at a slower speed than pullling out of it (depending on the tightness of the corner), and I feel you may have once entered it too quick a while ago, panicked and probably locked up, therefore you've given yourself a fright. Take it slower and work back up to a even pace.

[PrincessBandit]

When you are following someone else you have the tacit assumption that "they made it through the corner therefore I will", regardless of whether you actually see them doing it or not.

Slow down and enjoy it - I don't understand why so many here feel the need to only experience enjoyment when they're screaming through twisties or unfamiliar bends. Me, I'd rather survive and gradually pick up some speed as I become more familiar with the road as I travel it more often. When riding on your own, ask yourself whether pushing the envelope is more important than staying alive. If you feel you can't do what you once used to do then go with the flow for a while and I'm sure the analysis of it will become clear to you.