Letting fear control you

[xwhatsit]

Get a full-face helmet and some earplugs.

[CookMySock]

[....] but for myself its another story completely i still have a simple fear that controls me and after pushing myself i still can not overcome this fear - its the simple act of openroad riding and cornering, how can i overcome this fear?

Make sure that your bike is completely 100%. I had my bike ridden by an experienced rider, and it's unstable past a certain angle of lean. He was not surprised that I was having fear issues, as so was he !! So make sure it's set up fully for you by someone who knows their stuff.

As to the fear, if you are hitting your angle-of-lean limit then you and I am in the same boat

So here's what I am trying - physically lean off the bike - start small ! Left corner - smoothly move your chin to the left over your left-side of the screen(or some other nearby landmark) and sit on your left bum cheek. Do this a second or two before entering the corner, enter the corner, now look up and out of the corner and relax and countersteer. Rinse-and-repeat for the right turn.

Keep your speed down. Don't approach your comfort zones until your fear begins to drop back.

Experiment! Mid corner, if you feel your fear growing, then move your chin out further. Concentrate - countersteering - you already know this bit so just do it as usual. Breathe. Relax.

Soon you will notice cornering is much less stressful are more controlled, and more fun!!

How has this affected me ? The bike feels more stable and I feel more in control of it. The steering is lighter and I'm not gripping the bars - rather relaxing and steering with a light pressure. I have discovered that countersteering works very well indeed anywhere - particularly mid-sweeper with quiiiiiite a lot of lean on - so try it with a bit of lean added and you hopefully will discover a new world of cornering bliss. Now I'm finding I am competent in open road corners at 140, 70k corners at 120 ish, and 65k corners at 100k ish. I'm not comfortable and relaxed at these speeds though, and a couple of corners and I'm backing down.

best. chill.
DB

[jrandom]

Blah, blah, blah.

One answer: trackdays.

You don't have an appropriate bike to ride, so call MotoTT and book their KR150 or CBR400.

The fear you're feeling is your eminently-rational brain telling you that what you're doing carries the risk of serious injury or death, and not allowing you to push into the unknown.

It's a good fear.

You know that it's unnecessarily severe, though, and want to be able to ride faster while remaining relaxed, right?

So put yourself in a situation where you can practice riding quickly and safely with a guaranteed perfect high-traction surface and no chance of hitting something nasty if you fall off and go for a slide, and you'll discover the next time you're out on the road that your 'known performance envelope' just expanded significantly.

A single trackday is worth six weeks of daily focused roadriding.

Go do one.

[tone_crafter]

Go find a rider training course!!!

I have done several courses with Andrew & Lynne at www.roadsafe.co.nz & they are bloody brilliant!!!

I used to have "issues" with my front brake.. ie: being too scared to use it to the degree I should have been, in fear of locking it up or flipping myself over the handlebars..

Andrew helped talk me through my barrier & encouraged me to pull the lever in harder each time I did a run past him.. & each time I managed to use it more & more.. so that now when I'm out riding my front brake & I are very well acquainted & are firm friends!

Also learning "how" to corner "correctly" from trained instructors.. makes a HUGE difference Learning the correct lines for road riding increased my confidence ten fold! Also keeps me safe by being well away from the centre white line!!

Jen

Can anyone suggest a similar good training school in Auckland? I have been riding now for about 12 months and am looking to improve my road skills (especially open road).

[avgas]

Life 101 - look where you want to go, and you will go there.
Fear never comes into it, it merely distracts you from looking.

Some of the wisest advice i have ever received. It was initially applied to racing, from a racer i respected. But he said if you apply it to every aspect of life you will succeed there too.

[90s]

i only have one eye my depth perception is a little off and i guess im really scared of not so much coming off but the will my tyres hold me in the lean etc etc

recently ive been riding throught to Hunua through the twisties and that road is shit the first time riding it i was scared of the unknown but now i find it is the fact i lack a fluid motion with the bike (i am on LilSels bike) so its a combination of scared of the unknown and me being pissed off with myself because i know i can ride but i just cant get it...... if that makes sense?

Don't push through your fear-barrier 'just because' you feel you should. And the first time you ride a road expect to have to go slow, as anything could be around that corner - and how tight is that corner?

And remember, you never really ride the same road twice.

Instead of trying to ride faster, concentrate on enjoying yourself at a slower more even pace, and gradually you will start to speed up and become more fluid naturally. (this is not the advice to take if you want to be a 'road racer' however ... )

[90s]

Can anyone suggest a similar good training school in Auckland? I have been riding now for about 12 months and am looking to improve my road skills (especially open road).

RRRS.

I am assuming also that fireball has basic CS skills etc, otherwise I would recommend the RRRS course for everyone. Good point earlier about riders with 15 yrs exp. having 14 yrs. experience of bad habbits - I was impressed on that course (I've done it twice) that the mix is between 250-riders & those who have 15-25yrs exp. and all learn from it.

[HungusMaximist]

Learning new skills and practising is all good but you gotta having that burning desire to step higher.

Set yourself some goals and work towards them.

Like traning for a marathon, you gotta get out of your comfort zone and push yourself a bit.

Other than that I've found nothing boosts the confidence/moral faster than going and picking-up some hot girls. That is if you are successful

[GaZBur]

Can I ask a few questions.

1. What type of bike do you ride.
2. What tyres and pressures.
3. Has the bike been checked by someone who understands suspension.

The fear you have may be a legitimate self preservation device due to feedback from a crappy handling bike. I have ridden some bikes that scare me in situations I would be laughing at on other bikes. Before you doubt yourself get someone knowlegable to check your bike as it could be the cause of the lack of confidence that is causing your fear!

[fireball]

Can I ask a few questions.

1. What type of bike do you ride.
2. What tyres and pressures.
3. Has the bike been checked by someone who understands suspension.

the bike i am on at the moment is a ZZR250 running 28 in the front 30 in the rear (and the bike as far as i know is set up for LilSel not me....) that i understand i dont expect to be great on her bike as its not what i like to ride but its what ive got till i get my bike back.....

my bike is a GZ250 not sure what the tyres are at this stage its spent more time in the shop than on the road... an i am very comfortable on this bike but i have not had it set up for me suspension wise.... as soon as i get it back from getting the top end rebuilt im selling it and buying brand new bike
looking at a intruder 250 as i have found cruisers are more my style find them easier to ride than the sports and sport tourer

hope that helps

[mstriumph]

Life 101 - look where you want to go, and you will go there.
...............

i'm gonna frame this

[GaZBur]

So you are a newish rider on an unfamiliar bike. My questions were to make sure the problem is really with you and not the bike you are riding. If you can be sure the bike is ok then do what everyone else here is saying as it all sounds reasonable. Sounds like DangerousBastard has just gone through the same thing so what he said maybe.
Good Luck.
Now can anybody rid me of my fear of sharks when I am bodyboarding! I know its my imagination and the chances of attack are less than winning lotto but every time i see a shadow -- errrrghhhh!!!!

[fireball]

So you are a newish rider on an unfamiliar bike.

have been riding for 6 years.... spent most of that time on an FXR150 and in november last year decided to actually get my learners and do it all legal and stuff so in a way i am new to the bike but not new to riding

[toycollector10]

I recommend you buy a small capacity vintage bike, maybe like a Honda CB200 or similar, and thrash that around the hills.

Everyone seems to just get their learner licence or restricted whatever it is out of the way then it's into the dealers for the meanest beast they can find.

You might feel happier on a smaller bike for a while before you gradute up, in steps, to a large powerful bike.

[Jiminy]

The ones that worked best for me are:

- Loosening my arms: usually by leaning a bit more forward when I start being tense in a curve
- Finding the right tyre pressure: on my bike, it's 1psi more at the front than the factory setting and several psi less than what the guys at the shop usually set for me
- Riding the same curvy road over and over again, and trying to remember how I felt the first time I took that road so I can get a sense of improvement

Oh, and doing it on my own first, so no peer pressure.