The fear!

[B17DUF]

I Don't post too much on here, do a bit of lurking every now and then but have a bit of a question and could do with a bit of advice.
(Bit of history) Been on two wheels for about 9yrs and had a good history until recently when I had my first accident!
Story goes......I was minding my own business doing about 80kph on SH1 in Auckland when somebody decided they wanted to have a closer look at my bike with me still on it. Got sideswiped by an idiot who didn't check his mirrors, the front folded and sent me down the road, lucky for me I avoided being collected by anything else, Had a few bumps and bruises and a broken wrist but other than that unscathed. Got to say the my riding gear really did its job. This was all about 6weeks ago now and after waiting for parts to arrive from Japan (bike was repairable) I finally collected my bike from the shop today.
My issue lies now that on the short 10km ride back home I was on edge the whole time, every car I thought was going to pull across the front of me and really didn't like this feeling at all.
So........Is this a normal reaction, anybody been through this?? Any tips or advice will be greatly appreciated.
Of course I'm gonna get the "harden up" comments, this is KB after all.

Thanks in advance

Duff

[nzspokes]

Ive been nailed twice recently by cars. And yes you get the confidence back. Takes time but you do.

Glad you injuries were not to bad relatively speaking.

[MIXONE]

Totally understandable.

[unstuck]

Take your time, talk about your fears. It will get easier, but riding without total confidence is a bit dicey, maybe get your head straight first. Good luck and safe riding.


P.S. If everything else fails, have a spoonful of cement and harden up.

[The Baron]

Sounds normal to me.

Try again tomorrow and the day after that...

[Mom]

Not at all surprising you have lost your mojo. It is just hiding, ride more and more and re-gain your confidence. You might consider what you could have done to anticipate Mr blind car driver taking you out. Be vigilant, look at others around you. Don't assume you have been seen, make sure you HAVE been seen.

Glad you were not too badly injured, maybe consider getting a bit more training to help you recognise the hazards and what to do about them.

[mashman]

I've never been nailed by a car but still have that fear when amongst the traffic. Essentially you won't get wiped out again, unless of course you do... but until that happens you may as well feel as comfortable as you can on the road.

The fuckers are out to get ya. With any luck you'll see them before they see you next time.

[Akzle]

I was minding my own business doing about 80kph on SH1 in Auckland when somebody decided they wanted to have a closer look at my bike...

you friggen pussy, you need bigger, hairier nuts, a real KBer would have kicked in his door and run him off the road, then wheelied away while humming "another one bites the dust" with a prayer to exact vengeance on his family...



((yeah, nah, aucklanders will do that to you. similar experience on sou-western. christmas on crutches is always good fun. innit.
best solution is to move the fuck out of auckland, everywhere else in the country we seem to manage without driving into each other daily...)

[Ocean1]

Not sure I'd do the morning motorway commute on a bike if I had to, when I start running out of escape options I really don't enjoy it.

I think it's pretty normal for the confidence to take a bit of a beating for a while. Unfortunately that in itself can reduce your performance, just be a bit more deliberate in your positioning for a while.

Anyway, was this a case where you had nowhere to go, or just no time to go there?

[Road kill]

I was on edge the whole time, every car I thought was going to pull across the front of me and really didn't like this feeling at all.

That's how I feel every time I ride.

The bad feeling goes,,,,but trust no cunt,,,not ever.

[Oakie]

Of course it's natural. Something hurts you, you are much more conscious of the possibility of it happening again. You are just super-sensitive to the possibility, that's all. To a very large extent, that super-senstivity will go a long way to prevent it happening again in the near future.

[Katman]

I was minding my own business doing about 80kph on SH1 in Auckland when somebody decided they wanted to have a closer look at my bike with me still on it. Got sideswiped by an idiot who didn't check his mirrors,

I trust you're working to improve your situational awareness.

[B17DUF]

Anyway, was this a case where you had nowhere to go, or just no time to go there?

Bit of both really, had a car on my inside so couldn't move over but mainly just no time to do anything....... as I was passing the guy he pulled over and hit me!

[Tigadee]

Bit of both really, had a car on my inside so couldn't move over but mainly just no time to do anything....... as I was passing the guy he pulled over and hit me!

Hope the police nails the bastard!

A healthy dose of paranoia all the time on the road is a good thing...
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7519C354CACBF142

[Ocean1]

Bit of both really, had a car on my inside so couldn't move over but mainly just no time to do anything....... as I was passing the guy he pulled over and hit me!

Yeah. Like I said, outside of dense traffic my strategy is to simply not be there. I manage dense traffic OK irregularly, not sure I'd want to expose myself to that form of Russian roulette every day.