I know exactly how you feel (I'm 39 years old). I have an anxiety disorder which makes it difficult for me to run double diamond trails. Plus I have panic attacks over any wooden ramp so I don't ride on them.

Curtis Keene (pro racer for Specialized) always tells me to take "calculated risks." His recommendation is to take baby steps. In your case, just walk the rock obstacle and identify what you need to do to get over it. If you have friends, ask them how they do it and just let them tow you in.

If you weigh your life options constantly on the trail, it will eventually ruin your trail riding experience as a whole. Baby steps my friend

 

Stay off the black trails for now. Green and blue are what you want to do. There is a green near my house I have been doing each time I go out to try and get faster. I tried a blue too, but I have to ride way further to get to it so only did it once. It was fun. The main difference I have seen between colors us as you have found, the cost of failure. Crash on a green and there are not likely to be any jagged limestone rocks to land on or dangerous hills to slide/roll down.
It just takes time to build up your skill. The same trail that seems impossible now will be fun and easy later....

 

Just ride what is comfortable to you. If you're comfortable on blues, keep doing that. If they freak you out, maybe back it down a bit until it doesn't feel threatening anymore.

As your skills improve, you'll gain confidence, as you've done "some other feature/obstacle almost like this one before", and you'll likely naturally atttempt trails that are a bit more difficult, until you get to the point where you don't consider the risk/likelihood of crashing to be worth the reward.

Also, since we're (I'm 32) not made out of magic and rubber anymore like we were in our teens, I'd suggest wearing at least some knee pads, and possibly elbow pads as well. After breaking my elbow a few years back, I've padded up.

There are some really nice, flexible, and breathable pads on the market right now. I honestly never think about my elbow pads at all after I put them on (Leatt Airflex), and I really like my kneepads as well (7idp Sam Hill). I don't really think its worth it to ride without them at this point.

Also consider a full face helmet. There are some nice lightweight, and breatheable full face helmets around now. They cost $175-250ish dollars, but thats way less than the price of replacing teeth, or fixing broken jaws. I wear one on every ride.

Anyway, welcome to the sport, and just find what you enjoy, and do that some more .

 

I have been out about 5 times now here in Round Rock and Austin TX. I am really having fun. I even went out and bought a better bike. I got into this at the urging of my brothers who are both quite a bit younger and their bones bounce instead of shatter more than mine do at 43 years old and 230 lbs.

We have been exploring the trails marked in this site. Mostly blues and blue with a black diamond. There seems to be mostly super flat and boring trails or fun trails with a good portion of them being jagged limestone rocks, often forming steps or edges that will turn your front tire if you aren't careful. There doesn't seem to be much in between, which is what I really need for training.

Fun to me is the ups and downs, with the turns and such, but with minimal rocks that will end my life. I don't mind some little rocks here and there, but these rocks I encounter on these trails are really mean and usually on a pretty sharp decline where I know superman is where I will end up.

I look at those jagged rocks and think to myself "I'd like to try it. Just put your weight backward. Don't go too slow"...but then, "What is the price of failure here? I expect to fail a few times while learning." and the answer is a broken rib, elbow, knee, etc. Those jagged limestone rocks do not look like they will be nice to land on.

So, how then do I possibly progress? I need to learn how to go over those spots. Others do it no problem, but I want to learn with a safety net :/

Perhaps there are some lessons on how to fall?
Should I pad myself up like the stay-puff marshmallow man?
Should I book a trip to another state?

I was just thinking about this the other day, my area recently got a new set of flow trails that are fast with berms and jumps. they range from 4-8miles. by the time I get to the end, I've already forgotten the features from the beginning. and it's narrow and not conducive to hiking back up and redoing a section.

naturally, coming from other sports, I'd like to have a repeatable practice session. And at least where I live, you're either committed to a multi-mile route or you've got nothing to ride on but flat earth.

Stay off the black trails for now. Green and blue are what you want to do. There is a green near my house I have been doing each time I go out to try and get faster. I tried a blue too, but I have to ride way further to get to it so only did it once. It was fun. The main difference I have seen between colors us as you have found, the cost of failure. Crash on a green and there are not likely to be any jagged limestone rocks to land on or dangerous hills to slide/roll down.
It just takes time to build up your skill. The same trail that seems impossible now will be fun and easy later....

this was going to be my plan next, I was going to check out the green trail and ride it harder. whereas in previous outings on the blue, I was slowing down on the berms (because overshooting it means going down a steep drop), scrubbing jumps (because I don't have the landings memorized yet). I heard a saying, "doing the easy hard to make the hard easy."

 

scrubbing jumps

If you can scrub, you can ride blacks all day long.

 

You have to consistently put yourself in situations where you're a bit uncomfortable. Progression should be you trying to find things that push your comfort zone but you're pretty certain you can do it. I think there's two types of people who don't follow this. 1) The person that never pushes themselves. They feel any fear and they're out. They don't challenge themselves. 2) The person that seems to have no idea what will happen when they send it off that 4 ft ledge but they go for it anyway and end up hurt. Like someone already mentioned it should be calculated risks.

But outside of tackling that nasty rock gardens you've been eyeing, you should be practicing. Mountain bikers are terrible at practicing. They want to go trail riding and hope they keep leveling up. 10 years later they can't bunny hop or jump and they look about as loose as a mummy riding a bike. Dedicate time to doing drills, session stuff on the trail. I'd also recommend taking an in person skills course.

 

Your fear is protecting you from doing stupid sh!t. Before you focus on building bike riding skills, in my opinion, you need to build your muscles, balance, and stamina. Many riders, some very experienced riders, fail to understand how important it is to build and strengthen their core muscles. Quads and calf muscles cannot get you to far down the trail if you cannot breathe.

While you are building your body and mind to riding, get acquainted with your bike. Move around on it. Move your feet on your pedals to feel the "difference". Move your hands on your handlebars and pay attention to your breathing.

Everyone wants instant gratification. It is much easier to focus on building bike riding skills if you have invested the time into building the necessary physical level necessary to skillfully handle a mountain bike.

There's a huge difference between actively handling a mountain bike than just holding on a hoping for the best. Invest early on and enjoy the pain as you build your muscles and breathing and the bumps and scrapes from unscheduled dismounts, this pain is much less than you will continue to experience if you think you can shortcut the skill and physical building process.

 

Keep on riding, 5 times isnt enough to really get a grasp on the skills you have or what you need to work on.

Nothing wrong with progressing slowly. If I get injured im out of work, and im out thousands of dollars. I cant be doing that anymore, so I definitely think twice about pushing my envelope! I still have tons of fun riding, I'll just pass on stunts with extremely high risks and low reward.

As your skills grow, progressing in the sport becomes less risky. Crashing down double black diamond trails your first few times out basically guarantees injury, but with some skills built up over time it can be fairly low risk.

I bought pads for the first time in a decade. Im getting older and I have a lot to lose if im injured now. Its a small investment, and worth it.

 

Definitely as a beginner, you need to take it easy. Do what's attainable, work on your body. The legs, the lungs, the core. Later on, you can start working on the skills and techniques necessary to ride rock drops and ledges and other manifestations of chunky stuff.

It takes time. I've been riding mountain bikes for 20 years and I still learn stuff. I still work on my fitness. And there's plenty of stuff I deem too risky to attempt.

 

Don't know which trails you ride but you might check out walnut Creek which has more single track and not as many rocks like brushy Creek and just get some time there working on your skills and techniques.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

 

Don't know which trails you ride but you might check out walnut Creek which has more single track and not as many rocks like brushy Creek and just get some time there working on your skills and techniques.

We did Walnut Creek and found one loop there that was really really fun, flowy and dug out manually for sure. Aside from that there were a few down sections to the water and back up, but for the most part, the trails were really short and the rest was flat :/

Maybe we didn't find the best parts?

 

5 total rides.... you better listen to that fear. The worst thing you can do is try to ride stuff you're not confident in attempting. That's when you panic, go stiff, and bad things happen. Ain't no shame in walking, and riding again tomorrow. Knowing your limits, and when to push them, is an important learning curve.

 

"Fear blocking progress"

Welcome to the club!

 

At almost 54, and massive responsibilities (like most) I'm happy with riding XC trails, what I did is "down-graded" my bikes to zero suspension. Green and Blue is where I stop, riding for me is full on therapy, so I want to enjoy it. There is one section (rock garden) on one of my local trails that I still haven't mustard up. My buddy got hurt really bad there, and I run most of it, until I hit that spot that I just can't seem to get over the fear.

I'm still having tons of fun though, and no need to prove anything to anyone. I also ride gravel, and some road. Its all fun to me. Not everyone sends it!

 

At almost 54, and massive responsibilities (like most) I'm happy with riding XC trails, what I did is "down-graded" my bikes to zero suspension. Green and Blue is where I stop, riding for me is full on therapy, so I want to enjoy it. There is one section (rock garden) on one of my local trails that I still haven't mustard up. My buddy got hurt really bad there, and I run most of it, until I hit that spot that I just can't seem to get over the fear.

I'm still having tons of fun though, and no need to prove anything to anyone. I also ride gravel, and some road. Its all fun to me. Not everyone sends it!

You sold your full suspension bike? Oh, I didn't know.

Fleshbits, I also ride a lot of trails with chipped, sharp rocks. And I do limit my speed on them when it gets really bad. I hate to say this but you will not know your true limits until you have a bad crash. So just keep riding those trails over and over until you get more comfortable. And if you still don't have fun on them then you need to do other trails. There are plenty of fun trails 'somewhere' out there that don't have chipped rocks, just explore a bit.

 

The "safety net" you're looking for is a dropper post, if you don't already have one, it will be a big help where you say "these rocks I encounter on these trails are really mean and usually on a pretty sharp decline where I know superman is where I will end up." Really getting your weight down lower makes a big difference and you will feel much more comfortable.

As someone above said, you're new to the sport so you have plenty of skills to work on. Just ease into new challenging terrain. Watch others do it and see how they handle it.

I rode some trails this past weekend for the first time and hit several spots where fear stopped me from riding. A couple of them I made a few unsuccessful attempts on but decided to just walk in the end. They really weren't all that difficult, I'm sure they were easier than some stuff I ride all the time. But I also knew my lack of confidence on them could lead to failure so I skipped them. If I rode those spots more often, I'm sure I'd eventually conquer them as I've done with the spots on my local trails.

 

Fleshbits... Did I read it right that you've been out 5 times? If so, first off, welcome to the sport. Secondly, you have yet to begin! Fear wanes with experience and confidence. And regardless of how much experience you have, there will always be a trail or feature that sparks your fear. At 58 and riding since the 70's, I still come across something from time to time that makes me question, just what the heck do I think I'm doing.

I ride North and Central Texas. I know what you mean by the limestone staircases in the hill country. They can be unforgiving. For something different, have you tried Spider Mountain yet?

 

For something different, have you tried Spider Mountain yet?

I have not. It looks to be an hour and 45 away, so I'd have to wake up at like 4am, but I'll see what I can do.

 

well,the older i get I find fear is a good thing,so I wouldn't worry about it to much, ,
It's an "old age wisdom" kinda thing

 

Learn how to ride comfortably and confidently. Jumping into the 'hard stuff' feet first isn't a way to gain confidence.

Fundamentals first; balance. Awareness of your surroundings. Confidence that everything you've done recently has been fun and error free. Bike setup. Ride by yourself on easy stuff if you need to, instead of having the peer pressure of your resilient brothers pushing you beyond your comfort limits.

 

I'm learning too. I've got about 75 miles under my belt. It is about confidence and lack of confidence. I try to push myself. I had a lot of anxiety about wooden bridges. I walked them at first but then decided to try one with a little speed. It was fine. That gave me more confidence to try a harder one. I'm still not over the anxiety, but I'm progressing and that's all that matters.

So I usually start with trails I feel good about, then once I build up some confidence try a harder trail. If I get in over my head I go back to a trail I feel good about and ride that to build up my confidence again.

My biggest issue is getting impatient. I've got to learn that it takes time to acquire skills. The best way for me is to go on the same trails over and over and improve each time.

 

Fear can be good or bad, sometimes simultaneously. You need some fear to keep from getting in over your head, but you need to know when to dial it back so that you can make some progression. Either find some formal instruction (ask at your local bike shop) or ride with people that are both more experienced and empathic to your current situation (a combination which is surprisingly rare, considering that we all started at the bottom).

Progression is difficult. You need to build up base fitness, and it's not just about cardio - proper mountain bike riding requires explosive strength throughout the body. You need to then put that strength to use through a series of complex coordinated moves, and do so while facing dangerous situations.

Ultimately, you're most dangerous to yourself when you become tired and/or over-confident. If your fear decreases faster than your skill increases, then you get in trouble. It'll eventually happen to all of us.

I'm torn on the topic of protective gear. It's good to cover up stuff that's easily injured, but if the gear provides false confidence, then eventually you could just get hurt worse. If I lived in an area with lots of rocks, then maybe some light knee and elbow pads would make sense.

 

Fear can be good or bad, sometimes simultaneously. You need some fear to keep from getting in over your head, but you need to know when to dial it back so that you can make some progression. Either find some formal instruction (ask at your local bike shop) or ride with people that are both more experienced and empathic to your current situation (a combination which is surprisingly rare, considering that we all started at the bottom).

Progression is difficult. You need to build up base fitness, and it's not just about cardio - proper mountain bike riding requires explosive strength throughout the body. You need to then put that strength to use through a series of complex coordinated moves, and do so while facing dangerous situations.

Ultimately, you're most dangerous to yourself when you become tired and/or over-confident. If your fear decreases faster than your skill increases, then you get in trouble. It'll eventually happen to all of us.

I'm torn on the topic of protective gear. It's good to cover up stuff that's easily injured, but if the gear provides false confidence, then eventually you could just get hurt worse. If I lived in an area with lots of rocks, then maybe some light knee and elbow pads would make sense.

There's a lot of truth to this. I would say, however, that FEAR is not good, ever. Turning fear into respect and a measured risk assessment is what's good, though. You have to have a realistic assessment of your own skills and fitness, as well as your weaknesses in order to assess the trail and make a measured decision about whether to try something or not. If you're fearful, then your own head is going to get in your way before you can make that measured decision.

To be fair, I absolutely make decisions based on fear from time to time. The number one thing that generates fear for me is big exposure. Narrow trails alongside huge cliffs/super steep slopes. Even if the trail itself is entirely within my skills, the exposure changes things drastically for me. Simply because I have a mild fear of heights and my anxiety ramps up. My threshold has changed over the years as I've become a more skilled and confident rider, but there still is one.

But more often than not, my decisions about whether to ride something or not are more measured. There are lots of janky jumps in my area. I know that my skills with jumping aren't great, so I'll only ride them when they've got a good approach, have a smooth entrance and transition to the lip, and a good landing zone. There are a lot of cool, technical lines that I'll pass by because they're at the top of some big climb and I'm absolutely tapped out when I get there. I know I'm not riding my best at that point, so trying stuff at that time is a recipe for a stupid wreck (and those seem to be the ones that cause the worst injuries), so I make a measured decision to pass it by.

I could go on, but I hope that OP gets the point.

 

I upgraded my bike to a Giant Trance 2, and am doing much better. My first bike was constantly trying to launch me over the handlebars. You are right, the dropper post is the awesome sauce.

 

Well thats one way to go about it.
What was your first bike (that you just replaced) after about 5 rides?

 

A couple ideas I've found helpful...

Watch mtb skills videos and then go out and work on those skills. I'm working on learning to manual. Just the process of working on it has made me more comfortable with steps and drops.

Spend some time "sessioning" a challenging section of trail. If I'm dismounting on a trail section or feature I know I should be able to ride, I'll go work on it until I clear it. I had one tree root on an uphill climb that I just couldn't get over. I probably repeated it ten times one day until I finally made it. The next time I rode that trail, I went right up it again.

Knee pads and elbow pads are your friends. Those are your most vulnerable areas to get banged-up if/when you fall. Having them on can add a little courage to your attempts. Sometimes all it takes is having a little attitude to "attack" the feature rather than approaching it cautiously. Momentum is your friend.

Don't get discouraged. Recognize there are very specific skills to be learned. Oftentimes, riders who have been riding for many, many years can't even really tell you how they do something as it's become second nature to them.

AM.

 

Dropper posts really do help with confidence, especially in steep stuff.

That said, if you haven't already, I'd recommend pads again/as well (I mentioned them in my first response). Smallish tip-overs/falls can happen frequently when you're starting out, and knowing that if you get stuck on that climb, and fall over, that you won't have any new cuts/scrapes to explain at work the next day does let you relax a little. And relaxing does wonders for your riding.

Anyway, glad to see someone else out enjoying the ride. Good luck progressing .

 

I understand the whole 'fear blocking progress' thing.

For me, it's 'manuals'. I managed for 40 years to have fun on bikes without even knowing there was a technique called a manual, let alone being able to do one. But since I've started to take it up a notch, all the serious riders on YouTube seem to say its an essential skill. It gets you over rough patches, off drops, or up obstacles apparently. So I've been practicing.

Here's the thing. I know I can physically do it. How do I know? Because I've set up obstacles in my garden to practice in a way where even if it goes horribly wrong, worst case I'll land on my back on flat grass. In my clinically simple practice setup, I can get my front wheel up onto an obstacle about 3ft high no bother, and control it back down no messing. I try the exact same principle out in the wild, I get the front wheel a few inches off the floor for like a second or two. I know it's because I don't fully commit, but that's not conscious choice, something on a subconscious level simply stops me doing it.

 

I understand the whole 'fear blocking progress' thing.

For me, it's 'manuals'. I managed for 40 years to have fun on bikes without even knowing there was a technique called a manual, let alone being able to do one. But since I've started to take it up a notch, all the serious riders on YouTube seem to say its an essential skill. It gets you over rough patches, off drops, or up obstacles apparently. So I've been practicing.

Here's the thing. I know I can physically do it. How do I know? Because I've set up obstacles in my garden to practice in a way where even if it goes horribly wrong, worst case I'll land on my back on flat grass. In my clinically simple practice setup, I can get my front wheel up onto an obstacle about 3ft high no bother, and control it back down no messing. I try the exact same principle out in the wild, I get the front wheel a few inches off the floor for like a second or two. I know it's because I don't fully commit, but that's not conscious choice, something on a subconscious level simply stops me doing it.

There's a bit of order of operations here and I think you're on an earlier one than a full "manual" which is a particular way of getting the front wheel up using body weight shifts and lots of leg as well as HOLDING it. I'm sure a whole lot of people are able to do a "manual front wheel lift" as you're actually describing without realizing that there are actually words to describe what they're doing. All that means is using the manual technique to lift the front wheel over and onto things.

No question, lifting the front wheel is an essential skill. Having a toolbox of WAYS to lift the front wheel (there are quite a few) will make it easier to ride technical trails, since you might use a different technique in different situations.

However, the ability to do a full manual (where you hold the wheel up for a length of time) isn't really an essential skill. It's a skill you can use to add more fun or style to your riding, but it's pretty rare for manual skills to make or break a rider's ability to ride a certain trail.

 

Ride with people slightly better than yourself...

I'm guessing your younger cohorts are shreddy ;-) i.e. their prefrontal cortex allow them to attempt things that our more mature brains won't o_0

If I went out & rode with Richie Rude, the only thing I'd learn is how slow & old I am...

If I went out for a ride with BCPOV, I'd likely learn 2-3 things =)

Another bonus of riding with those of similar level/slightly better than you, you'll notice when each other improve & you'll naturally push yourself to catch up or surpass each other.

Sent from my Nokia X6

 

Baby steps, dude, baby steps. It kind of sounds like you may not really even understand some of the risks you may be taking.

Learn to be fast and in control on those flat boring trails and they won't be boring any more and you'll learn quite a bit that you can use on the more rugged trails. Learn to keep your traction and your front wheel down on non-technical but steepish climbs. Do them seated and standing.

Learn to get your front wheel up and on/over obstacles. Learn to land small jumps flat and make some things that aren't really jumps huckable. These skills will serve you well on the more rugged trails.

 

Build your fitness up, not being tired and trying to learn stuff is a game changer. Pads are magic for me, I relax, ride good, and DONT fall.. so can’t actually tell you how much the pads help in a crash. But it sure hurts without them. Don’t be afraid to walk, can always try it next time.

I did shop rides that also provided some coaching and showed you the lines. Don’t know if all shops are as cool in that aspect, But I really enjoy it.

To the person that has anxiety Over the wood stuff you are not alone. I finally got the nerve to do this small little jump that that you couldn’t really fail at that I looked at all day. Get at the point of no return and it’s now BROKEN last board is missing and there is now a gap....but landed it. But if that same obstacle was dirt and rock I wouldn't of had a problem.

 

Build your fitness up, not being tired and trying to learn stuff is a game changer. Pads are magic for me, I relax, ride good, and DONT fall.. so can't actually tell you how much the pads help in a crash. But it sure hurts without them. Don't be afraid to walk, can always try it next time.

I did shop rides that also provided some coaching and showed you the lines. Don't know if all shops are as cool in that aspect, But I really enjoy it.

To the person that has anxiety Over the wood stuff you are not alone. I finally got the nerve to do this small little jump that that you couldn't really fail at that I looked at all day. Get at the point of no return and it's now BROKEN last board is missing and there is now a gap....but landed it. But if that same obstacle was dirt and rock I wouldn't of had a problem.

That's very true about fitness. I've now ridden 125+ miles and can start seeing a difference. I'm also doing bridges without hesitation. There was one particular one that I finally cleaned the last time out. It was over a brook and you have to jump up about a foot onto it and the approach is sketchy. It felt good to accomplish it. My stamina and strength are much better too.