Total Motorcycle Community Forums

learn to overcome those survival instincts

I would prefer to hone my survival instincts.

And..thanks for the apology because yes it did sound very patronizing....women are not exclusive to having a lot on their brains.

blues2cruise wrote:

learn to overcome those survival instincts

I would prefer to hone my survival instincts.

And..thanks for the apology because yes it did sound very patronizing....women are not exclusive to having a lot on their brains.

Ah, but you hang out with sophisticated people, I hang out with hairy arsed bikers who think that caramel vodka is just the Bizz

clutch wrote:Hi, Ladies

I'm new here. I'm so glad to find this place!

My fiance has been riding for about 20 years. I've been riding as a passenger for 2 years.

He surprised me and got a Honda Rebel 250. I completed the MSF beginners course in June so I could start riding.

On my first trek outside of the neighborhood, I crashed. I was trying to keep up with him while going around a curve, but I ran off the road.

Three months later, my leg has finally healed up enough to try riding again. So I tried to ride today. I just stayed on our neighborhood street.

Although I thought I was ready physically & emotionally, the fear took over. The only thing I could think was "I'm going to crash! I'm going to crash! I'm going to crash!" I never made it off of our street. And I almost crashed twice!

I want to ride, but I'm afraid to get back on the bike.

How do you conquer your fear after a crash?

Hi everyone,

Well, I had a very similar experience on my 1st ride out about a month ago. We were out for a bit too long, I think, for my 1st ride. I was doing okay, but could feel the fatigue from being nervous set in. I ran it into a ditch going down a long sloping curve. I was fine, as I am a committed ATGATT rider; the bike just lost a footpeg and dented the tank. Due to weather, vacation, and yes fear, I have not been back on - yet. But I will not let that stop me.

What I have to navigate is my BF has been riding all his life. The ride we took was to him, the simplest of easy rides. For me, it was just a challenge to remember all the things I had to do just to get the bike to go and stop. I rode horses for years, and I remember what it was like trying to learn how to ride, and what to do with my feet and hands and eyes and balance and... so I know it will all come with time and practice.

My next ride needs to be 20 minutes, not an hour and a half. It needs to be EASY with not much in the way of curves and hills. My question is: is it better to just go out on my own, not having to worry about keeping up or following anyone? My guy is a smart and caring man - I know he doesn't want to put me at risk. I just think it is near impossible for him to put himself in my place with all the experience he has had. He's got well over 500k miles.

Yeah, and I felt REALLY stupid too. I just have to get over THAT!

Men? Ladies?

Yes, it is better to go it alone if you can not convince your SO to follow you. You need to ride your own ride and get more experience before you extend yourself at all. On any one day it might be 15 minutes instead of a 1/2 hour.

On the same note you should probably be looking for a local parking lot that you could use to improve your skills before extended riding again. Its amazing how quickly we loose our edge.

Just my .02

Baby steps. A little at a time and eventually you will gain your confidence back.

I also find that practicing one thing at a time also helps. Set your self a goal. Get your guy to take you to a parking lot when it is quiet. Practice mounting the bike, going though your start procedure, ride a short distance and then stop , stop the bike and dismount.

It's like exercise, your body and mind remember the sequences without it being in the conscious mind. practice enough and then it becomes automatic.

Send your man for coffee if you are uncomfortable with him watching. There is nothing more motivational and confidence building than achieving a goal on your own

Great ideas. I really like the one thing at a time idea. That forces taking it slowly and does allow that mind-body connection that is so important to develop.

Thanks so much!

Glad to help. I have had a couple of really nervous girls (for training) I asked them both to write down what they wanted to do. They wrote things in a different order, so I trained them in the order they wrote stuff down, even though it was not what I thought should come first. That made a huge difference. I think because they overcame the obstacles that they saw as the biggest challenges in an order that they wanted and not what was imposed on them by "conventional training"

You are welcome to PM me if you want help or idea's

I would still ride with your SO, but you lead and set the pace. When it's time to go home, you go home. Build up to the long rides slowly, next thing you know, you'll be doing a cross country ride and pushing 500 mile days... )

dr_bar wrote:I would still ride with your SO, but you lead and set the pace. When it's time to go home, you go home. Build up to the long rides slowly, next thing you know, you'll be doing a cross country ride and pushing 500 mile days... )

That is the plan now. I've expained how it all felt to him and we've decided we will do a very short ride on Wednesday assuming the weather holds. We will keep it easy and local. He is very supportive, as understanding as his 'iron butt' self can be. We will work through this, as I am committed to not just learning to ride, but learning to ride well. 500 mile days? Yeah...I'll get there.

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. It really does help.