More confident/greater risks

[Markymark]

As a new cyclist I'm about to do my 30th commute which is a 20mile round trip in/out of central London.

I started off very hesitant but am getting more and more confident. Funnily enough, after reading Cyclecraft and this site I've learnt some excellent tips - although I'm getting faster, my overall time is slightly slower as I'm not doing any dangerous manouvers (undertaking etc).

I know that I am a 'baby' compared to some of you and wondered about the risk of becoming over confident. I'm sure as I get more and more experienced, I'll have a better unbderstanding of the risks, and life-savers, but just wondered what those have been doing for a long time think. Am I better off still being really careful or is getting more confident and being able to take on more experienced manouvers a good thing?

 

[atbman]

Becoming more confident doesn't mean that you are, necessarily, being less careful, unless you become over-confident. When you combine what you're learning from Cyclecraft and from increasing experience in dealing with traffic/road conditions, you become more, not less, safe.

And there's never any reason not to be "really careful". What happens is that you internalise more and more traffic movements and deal with the automatically, in much the same way as you do when you drive. The real danger is over-confidence which, often, can lead to split-second decisions which may not come off - tho' you may.

You'll also find that taking on more experienced manoeuvres comes incrementally as you deal with each new condition successfully and begin to recognise patterns of behaviour by other road users and different road layouts and how they interract.

I think that by asking the question, you're already on the right path and the force will be with you.

 

[ohnovino]

I don't know if this counts as over-confidence, but I do sometimes catch myself making stupid mistakes. It tends to happen at junctions I use regularly, where I've perhaps got into the habit of assuming I know what the traffic's going to do. It's one of the reasons I like to vary my commute slightly, just to keep myself alert.

 

[Piemaster]

We all do this, all of the time. It's just part of being human.
We do a 'risk assessment' based on what we know (or think we know), as we gain more experience of the task the risk we perceive reduces and we adjust our assessment accordingly so then push things just a bit further. We get away with it and adjust everything again and so the cycle continues. Sometimes it goes too far and thats when the accident happens

eg. Big downhill on the commute home from the office.
First time its daunting - feathering the brakes all the way.
2nd time - less braking.....and so on
Untill I eventually found myself pedaling to see what speed I could it by the bottom. (45mph record at the moment)
The hill hasn't changed, just my perception of it.

Spot the guy who works in H&S.

 

[Red Light]

Isn't that part of the learning curve? Start of untrained and unconfident, gain a little knowledge that is a dangerous thing but then the "good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgements" starts to assert itself providing you survive.

 

[John90]

Familiarity with the route is an interesting one. However vigilant I think I am, I sometimes catch myself slipping a bit into autopilot on regular commuting routes - assuming I can filter past traffic at junctions in a certain way and at certain points for example. At the risk of stating the obvious, if confidence leads to assertiveness then that's good, if it leads to complacency then not so good I suppose.

 

[Thompson]

When I first started to do longer and off-road rides, I was very cautious, always applying brakes while descending rough terrain, not cornering quickly etc. But now I've had some experience i'm much more confident and rarely use brakes while cornering and descending. It works well and I rarely crash as I make sure i'm comfortable with what's going on.

However, I do tend to take some risks, some of which dont pay off. e.g. last week where I thought I would handle going down a very rough terrained bank at a high speed, long story short, ended up in A&E getting patched up all over the place. Even with this crash, it didnt stop me going out and doing the exact same thing (without the crash).

As others have said, confidence is fine, aslong as you dont take it too far. Risks are also fine to take, if they go wrong, you can learn from them, if yoou fall, you fall, it's a learning experience.

Good luck on your 20miler, hope it goes well. You're rides will get longer and you'll get better.

 

[marooned]

Good luck and I hope you gain confidence safely. I just went for my first club ride (I'm just a hobby cyclist) and I've never cycled so fast for so long. I've been a bit hesitant following a tumble a while back - nothing nasty but it just shook up my confiednce. Anyway, tonight whizzing along and cycling through corners etc was really great and I felt safe and confident. It's just practice. Happy commuting.

 

[400bhp]

One trick to reduce the risk of becoming over confident is to vary your route. Even if that means taking a side street for a few hundred yards then returning to the main street. It keeps your mind active and you are less likely to fall into the familiar trap of "i've crossed this junction x times and never had y of a problem". It's also a great way of learning an area.

Familiarity does breed contempt.

 

[jonny jeez]

As a new cyclist I'm about to do my 30th commute which is a 20mile round trip in/out of central London.

I started off very hesitant but am getting more and more confident. Funnily enough, after reading Cyclecraft and this site I've learnt some excellent tips - although I'm getting faster, my overall time is slightly slower as I'm not doing any dangerous manouvers (undertaking etc).

I know that I am a 'baby' compared to some of you and wondered about the risk of becoming over confident. I'm sure as I get more and more experienced, I'll have a better unbderstanding of the risks, and life-savers, but just wondered what those have been doing for a long time think. Am I better off still being really careful or is getting more confident and being able to take on more experienced manouvers a good thing?

A very good point. I was once told by a motorcyclist that the longer you go between incidents the more apathetic you become. A small incident can actually help to remind us sometimes.

Marky, I think that the very fact that you have the presence of mind to ask such a question puts you way ahead of the curve already.