Nerves !

[Reynard]

With me, it's muddy road surfaces that give me the heebie jeebies, because you can't see what's under the mud. Potholes, cracks in the tarmac, that sort of thing.

That's what caused my erm... unscheduled dismount... And if it's more than just a wet road, I'll get off and walk, no matter how silly I look - clickety clacking cleats and all. I have no desire to hit the deck like that again.

 

[carlosfandangus]

Its strange how things affect you differently, my motorcycle accident made me "invincible" however my cycle crash (hit) has made me more cautious regarding the one spot, I don't worry about what is behind me as my cycle crash was a lady who just didn't look and pulled onto the roundabout regardless and was in front of me I was already across and exiting, I couldn't stop in time.

 

[HMS_Dave]

When i was a kid i didn't care about it. I weaved about on and off paths onto the roads like a general lout and didn't think much about it. I stopped riding, became fat and felt like 💩. Yeah, when i first started a back a few months ago it bothered me a bit because i was like a top heavy swaying battleship and felt more of a danger to others than myself and stuck mostly to the canal paths. But im getting fitter and im happy riding roads and i do genuinely think more about how much fitter im getting and how healthier im getting than whether im going to get taken out by a pillock. It could happen, but then if you're walking on the pavement, you could get taken out by an out of control van, car or lorry. That also happens. I think you just have to go with the flow...

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I'd think that nerves or anxiety are a perfectly normal and healthy human reaction. The problem is when they become excessive and stop us doing what we want to do - especially if that is something we enjoy and is good for us.

Feelings, such as anxiety, are as insubstantial as a wispy cloud but can seem as solid, real and immovable as a mountain. If they cause problems they should be addressed. There are no shortage of techniques out there, but as with any medical or emotional issue probably best done under supervision of an appropriate professional.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Me too.
Kinda why I used to enjoy cycling wearing headphones. I'd rather not know the driver behind me didn't see me till it was too late.
If it's gonna happen, I'd rather not know about it before it happens.

It's interesting how we're all different. I'd rarely use headphones, and then only in situations I felt totally safe.
A mirror tells me most of what I need to know about what's coming up behind and I prefer the feeling of being "in control" rather than not.

If what I see concerns me, I'll pull up or off. In the old days that would have peed me off no end, but these days I look on it as having control as opposed to being an unimportant speck on the road. It works for me.

 

[Vantage]

It's interesting how we're all different. I'd rarely use headphones, and then only in situations I felt totally safe.
A mirror tells me most of what I need to know about what's coming up behind and I prefer the feeling of being "in control" rather than not.

Funnily enough, I do feel safer with the headphones blocking out the sound of traffic around me....I'm in my own little world. I find that I tend to look around more and be more alert to my surroundings. I tend to be more stable not knowing some eejit in a bus is driving 2 inches off my back wheel.
The mirror gets used whether Judas Priest/Doris Day (Yes I listen to both!) is blasting my ears off or not.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

The mirror gets used whether Judas Priest/Doris Day (Yes I listen to both!) is blasting my ears off or not.

If you were trying to shock me with Doris Day I'm afraid you failed miserably!!

 

[slowmotion]

I don't really think about it when I'm out in busy traffic. I've been offed a couple of times but I bounced without injury either to myself or the bike. A cheerful fatalism really.

 

[adehooper]

Really lucky in the fact I have Torbay Velopark not too far away from home. Here I can ride/race in a wanton, fast and fairly reckless way while using my headphones to my hearts content and the only thing I have to worry is similar like minded nutters all enjoying the super smooth tarmac, but were all going the same direction, clockwise, so it ain't really a problem. No motorised vehicles of any type to worry about and not a pothole in sight.
On the road, well that's a different kettle of fish, I try to ride defensively and that keeps me pretty much out of trouble, but I never fully open up the taps. There's a place to race and the roads/cyclepaths/bridleways ain't it unless you're in a properly organised race/sportive with closed off roads.
Keep safe guys, you know it makes sense 😆

 

[Deleted member 1258]

With me, it's muddy road surfaces that give me the heebie jeebies, because you can't see what's under the mud. Potholes, cracks in the tarmac, that sort of thing.

That's what caused my erm... unscheduled dismount... And if it's more than just a wet road, I'll get off and walk, no matter how silly I look - clickety clacking cleats and all. I have no desire to hit the deck like that again.

Hoar frost is the thing I'm wary of, it can hide all sorts of stuff.

 

[Reynard]

Hoar frost is the thing I'm wary of, it can hide all sorts of stuff.

At least you can *see* hoar frost. Black ice, on the other hand...

There're a few places around here that are known for black ice. I try and avoid them if at all possible, but alas, one of them is on my way home from the station.

 

[cyberknight]

It's downhill when you have your chin on the stem cap and you think I hope there is not a pothole

 

[12boy]

My worst accident occurred after crossing a highway on an overpasses paying too much heed to a semi on the left and the highway below on the right.. I've feared height since age 6 when my dad held me over the railing of the Empire State building so I could see how tiny the cars were. Had bad dreams for years. Last year I crossed an 8 lane freeway on a walking bridge with mesh sides so it was impossible to fall off. Still, I couldn't ride across and had to walk the bike. Even that was hard. I hate being so cowardly but I am almost paralyzed when off the ground.

 

[Drago]

Probably fairly normal TBH.

I've decided to stop road cycling due to the extent of injuries I received, not due to nerves. I don't want 6 weeks plus in hospital wondering if I'd walk again - one sudden movement during healing would have meant I'd have literally be on wheels my whole life. It was too bad an experience to want to repeat.

Yet mile for mile you're considerably more likely to die while walking, which makes such thoughts illogical. Presumably you do still put one foot in front of the other without giving that a serious thought?

 

[DCBassman]

My worst accident occurred after crossing a highway on an overpasses paying too much heed to a semi on the left and the highway below on the right.. I've feared height since age 6 when my dad held me over the railing of the Empire State building so I could see how tiny the cars were. Had bad dreams for years. Last year I crossed an 8 lane freeway on a walking bridge with mesh sides so it was impossible to fall off. Still, I couldn't ride across and had to walk the bike. Even that was hard. I hate being so cowardly but I am almost paralyzed when off the ground.

Same problem with heights. Can be quite disabling in some modern buildings, too.