Fear is a funny thing, on one hand it's a reason why I'm still alive and can still bike, on the other hand it can be frustrating. Like when I stop short or dab on a feature I've done many times - and I know that feature is absolutely within my skills. I've got a bridge like that right now - done it before, can still do it one direction - but stop short going the other direction.
Not much to add to posts above except inspect feature and honestly determine if it's within your capabilities. If not skip it and live to ride another day.
BTW, wife and I spent last winter camping near Austin and Hill Country and found lots of lively MTB trails. Walnut Creek Metro Park has a nice set of trails, Reimers Ranch, Reveille's Ranch near Burnet is crazy, also Pedernales State Park has a trail just across the main road that is a great beginners trail.

 

Kind of interesting that this 1 year old thread was bumped. It gave me the opportunity to think about how far I've come with my bad anxiety and mountain biking. For some reason, practicing skills and tricks like endo turns and manuals have given me a bit more courage to break through some of the fear and stress I deal with when cycling. I'm now riding/balancing on logs and actually pedaling on wooden features. I'm just tackling the little things that give me the least amount fear and anxiety and slowly work my way upwards from there. I should have thought about that years ago!

 

That has been helpful for me as well, the idea of actually practicing techniques and sessioning features instead of just pedaling away. I am advanced enough to realistically assess things and if I pause on something that I know I can hit I have taken to stopping and running it until I get it.

Of course things can go awry, and I am 41 and not as nimble or as slight as I used to be. I am refusing to let that stop me, and I feel skills-wise I might be at the best level I have ever been. Fitness needs some work but is getting there too.

That said, mistakes do get made. You just have to let the blood dry and bruises heal, and get back to it. Here is to hope for the weekend. Big thanks to my kid for helping me record for review and focused improvement.

 

That said, mistakes do get made. You just have to let the blood dry and bruises heal, and get back to it. Here is to hope for the weekend. Big thanks to my kid for helping me record for review and focused improvement.

Ouch! Looks like you went dead sailor on that one! Other than the crash, that place looks like a lot of fun.

 

It is awesome; a Chicago city park, albeit in the boonies of the city, with a pretty good skills progression focus. Very rare for my neck of the woods. My daughter went from being afraid of any terrain change last year to rolling the entire line in the video and asking to go weekly.

As for the video as funny as "man falls down" is I was really looking for a third party view into what I was doing so I could review and I got what I was looking for. It may seem over-analytical but doing things like this and focusing on one or two little things got me from rolling every jump to being able to clear most of them with occasional deceased seaman in there.

I am not sure I really want to do the same on the trail, but sessioning and a bit of mental review helps too. I used to just roll a log pile and say that was ugly but its done, never to see it again on the ride, or skip a drop and wonder what could of been. Now I have taken to pausing, walking it, and at least trying to get it done clean even if it takes a few tries.

Everything is always bigger before you hit it for the first time. Then it strangely shrinks down a bit.

 

Everything is always bigger before you hit it for the first time. Then it strangely shrinks down a bit.

I definitely agree! I'm still working on my nerves to ride on a big log located at my nearby trail. I've cleared it several times but I'm still nervous to roll on it. The funny thing is that I ride 2-3 miles on balance planks all the time and they are half the size of the log. I have to keep reminding myself that I can roll a log no problem. The planks sit flat on the ground while a couple others are 6" off the ground. The log starts around 1ft above the ground and eventually ends with a 2-3ft side drop to get off the log.

Eventually I will just ride the log like it's nothing. One step at a time.

 

Excellent point on riding with others who are better. Not only does it give you peace of mind for safety's sake it gives you a rabbit to chase and an example to follow. I take corners way faster when I trying to keep up with someone, and peer pressure helps me get over unreasonable fear and hit things I might be too timid to hit alone. That said, you better be self-aware enough to know where the progression line ends and the actual out of your league line begins.

 

This is such a dope thread. Thank you all for your contributions. As a new rider, I look forward to building the skills necessary to advance to more challenging trails. Gotta find some local riders to link up with, as I'm new to Texas. I appreciate not being the only one feeling apprehensive about it all.