Need some BB therapy...

[Bailey93]

I thought it would be smart on my day off last Friday to head to my local green lanes and do something new to me and have some fun.

Everything was going great the track was dry the views were amazing and my confidence was growing and I was adding more and more speed... still no higher than 20mph but offroad that felt fast to me... but then dry track turned to wet grass and I lost the front suddenly I was seeing grass, sky, grass, sky, grass. Then I was laying there thinking "oh fk what damage have I done to her" ignoring what now is an aching hip and shoulder. Luckily no damage done other than cracking the front mud guard.

I picked her and gingerly road back the way I'd come feeling completely paranoid and shaken. I got out the lane and started riding home my brain was completely convincing me I was going to loose the front end at any second. Going round any kind of corner or round about was a nightmare

I got home parked the bike up and gave her a good wash.

I didn't ride all weekend and tonight rode to the cinema it was dry and as the miles went by my confidence grew and I arrived there feeling happier... riding home however it stated to rain and the paranoia came back in full force and I rode like such a baby I had genuine fear the front was going to go and thought of doing that on the road and not the relative safety of a green lane wasn't helping

I arrived home feeling blue all over again...

I need a mental slap BB. How do I get rid of this paranoia and regain my confidence in front end grip again. Doesn't help being my first off either

Thanks

[Wacky Racer]

MTFU.

Barry Sheene came off at 170mph broke half the bones in his body and was back racing a few weeks later.

[MotorsportTom]

Get your arse back in the saddle as often as possible. That's the best rememdy.

After 6 months and my first crash being a highside, then coming into winter my confidence was shot. Took a good 6 months to get confidence back again properly.

Cheer yourself up by buying a bike/bike kit.

Oh and MTFU

[gazzarose]

If your going to do any sort of offroad biking your going to have to get used to falling off. Ive been riding a mates Road bike alot lately and it feels strange coming home after a ride WITHOUT any bruises. I must admit for a while on a road bike I didn't have any confidence going into corners. It's definitely a different cornering technique offroad. Have you got knob lies on your bike or trail tyres? If just trail tyres then provably won't be much use or give you any confidence offroad til everything dries out in the spring. A decent set of enduro tyres are a different matter, but then they'll be useless and scary on the road.

[Andybow]

If you're just starting to do lanes, try a enduro practice day, you'll still come off, but it gives you more confidence on the bike
Oh and get some decent body armour!
Definetly get a good set of enduro tyres, st on the road but a lot more confidence off, ive been riding offroad for years and always fall off, where you based?

[308mate]

If you ride offroad, you'll come off. That's half the fun. Its reason to celebrate, not sulk! Also, make the clutch your bestest most closest friend when offroad. Most situations can be calmed almost instantly by just pulling the clutch in.

[rossb]

started doing greenlanes december 2015 - crashed consecutively for 10 weekends - to the extent that i twisted the frame of my old bike. I then invested in set of michelin legal enduro tyres - bothered to correctly adjust tyre pressures to 8 psi on wet mud - discovered grip & stopped falling off (well as much anyway). Proper enduro tyres are not ideal on the road - but once you have spent some time sliding around off road - the low grip/squidgy high tread block feeling on the road won't phase you - they do wear fast on tarmac though

try and ride with others off road if you can - crashing then almost becomes a competitive sport in it's own right - specifically the rush for everyone else to stop. Not to as you might expect - offering to help you back up - but to get their phones out quickly before you get back on your feet to take a picture for posterity...

also do a trials experience day like tricks in the sticks if you want to improve your off road skills. i reckon off road riding offers just about best £/thrills ratio - stop whining - get back in the saddle and if you ride on your own and have a crash - try and take a photo for the amusement of others

to get you started - here's a pic of a mate who saw this "puddle" on salisbury plain and pinned it....it was a bit deeper than he thought & he did a Superman over the bars. Naturally i took the photo and was nearly in tears laughing - untill i realised i had to get in the water to help him drag the fking bike out! Being a 2 stroke - when we turned upside down and took the plug out and cranked out the water - it started afterwards and sort of ran - well at least to the car park.....

[moanthebairns]

308mate said:

If you ride offroad, you'll come off. That's half the fun. Its reason to celebrate, not sulk! Also, make the clutch your bestest most closest friend when offroad. Most situations can be calmed almost instantly by just pulling the clutch in.

That's kinda what I thought, do off road crashes count? Its kinda expected.