Over-coming fear??

You need to know if hitting it is worth possibly getting injured. If you know what your doing then the chance of crash is much lower. Personally I just figure out if its worth hitting (jump/drop/sketchy gap line on a dh track etc) and if it is, then I'll usually give it a go. Definitely for big jumps, don't think about it too much before you do it. Just send it

Mostly trying new tricks or a new line I keep telling myself that I could of got hurt severely on the way to the jumps (in the car) and if im going to get hurt why not doing something I love. Back when I first started riding I would play a song in my head to shut up the bad thoughts in my head. For the tech/scary sections of a trail i never really have to do any of that, I kinda do it and then get scared I guess. What about yourself spomer?

I put a lot of trust in the fact that trail builders usually know what they are doing. If I made it through the first jump clean, I'll likely make the next, and so on. That helps me get through some things.

When I try new jumps (mostly gaps), I like to have someone I trust to follow on those. Plus, we have those expressions we tell each other with my riding buddy: "suck up and do it" or "harden the F up" - usually do the trick as it makes us giggle and get relaxed

I try and figure out what all the outcomes will be and think through all the get-off options so I'm kinda prepared for them if something does go wrong. When it comes to actually riding it - whether it's dirtjumps, techy bit of trail or whatever - I try and focus more on the landing or riding the section out.

I draw on past experiences to guide me through what i need to do... Speed, how much to pop, and how harsh the landing is gonna be...

Along with that i go with silence.... i hate people cheering me on... i like to get there focus on what i have to do... do a few run ins... and listen to a rad song in my head and go...

but most of all... just have the attitude that your gonna stick the landing... its all about confidence in the end

So, in essence, make sure you know what you're doing, how to hit the feature, thereby minimizing the unknowns (risk). Then visualize success, smile, and stay loose. Also, if you're goin for it, don't hesitate, that's a great way to hurt yourself--learned that lesson the hard way. Now pull the trigger.

dont give yourself a chance to stop and consider the risk. start counting to ten then drop at 3

Hold on and Just Give'r

Follow someone through a section or dirt jumps and its all good.. mental commitment .
Speed is your friend, If in doubt, thrown in two pedal strokes.. faster crashes work better.. you end up sliding
and grazing, no falling and breaking..
says me, sitting here with grazes all over my arms and ass..

I was having so much trouble with the big line at our local trails, I couldnt get past it, it became completely demoralizing everytime I dropped in but failed to pull the trigger. For some reason my mind was locking up at the thought of jumping, even though I was sure I had them covered and had jumped bigger in the past. One day I just snapped, I couldnt figure it out but I knew I was dealing with fear and I wasnt going to overcome it without a plan. When I got home I immediately googled "overcoming fear" and I stumbled on a wicked site called The art of manliness, basically there was an article on there that exactly targeted the type of fear I was dealing with. I would reccomend everyone check out the site but the jist of the article was that we need to view fear for what it is, an irrational reaction to an outside stimulus, this reaction can be useful when were tetering on the edge of cliff but it can be incredibly damaging when it stops us from doing the things were capable of and that will grow us as individuals. The excercise I used to put jumping the big line in perspective was to simply take the irrational emotion out of the equation and replace it with fact ie. I've jumped bigger jumps, I've been riding for years, have more than enough experience and the worst thing that could happen is I could case it. I wrote it all out and made sure to include exactly how shitty I felt everytime I had to drive away from the trails after Not jumping it, the key is to understand how toxic fear can be and how it eats you from the inside out. You have understand that controlling the fear is empowering and the benefits go far beyond riding, in fact Ive used this technique in almost every aspect of my life and have even taught my Son how to use it as well. After getting my list together and allowing it to settle in for a day or so I loaded up my bike headed down to the trails, rode to the top of hill, dropped in and cleaned the whole line on the first crack, honestly I felt like a tool for making such a big deal over it but I also felt pretty damn good. Check out theartofmanliness.com for some really cool insights into modern life and certainly for tips on how to better deal.
Note: I feel like I should mention that I didnt need this when I was 15 or 25 or even 30 but now that Im pushin 40 its sometimes the only way to make it happen. Im a big fan of making it happen and this is a small price to pay.
Good luck.

Good response mxnate. I had a look at that site and I must say I'm really enjoying reading it!

If you are worried about a new gap but you have the urge to send it just think to yourself... why not? Don't think about the consequences but visualize yourself sticking that landing perfectly. Another thing is you can't "half ass" a new jump or line. Give it 100% and say to yourself "I'm gonna do this and it's gonna be done right"

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2 beers and a homie to follow. worst case, the beers make the fall not hurt so much.

I tell myself that I am just doing a speed check, but then I just send it last second.

with a new dirt jump or park gap or street gap i take my hand off the brake and it works for me. and a trick section on the trail i just need some pump up music that takes my off it.

BEER.

I take my fingers off the brakes, that pretty much always does the trick.

Get really warmed up and loose then it starts to flow. That and remember how much worse skateboarding falls hurt.

I close my eyes, but it doesn't work everytime... Otherwise, to me building the jump help, I feel the lip and then just a speed test or if I feel really good I try.
If the jump is already built, just to take the shovel and pack it or do something on the jump, I feel it good! and to dig is a really good warm up!!

Make sure what your are hitting is reasonably safe (not a stupidly built jump etc..) then walk the line. Get your gear ready sit at the top for about 20s so you can concentrate then count down 3-2-1-drop in and go for. Make sure to commit 100% because there is nothing more dangerous than not committing and half chickening out.

Also build up your confidence slowly, no point trying to run before you can walk.

bjenson wrote: I put a lot of trust in the fact that trail builders usually know what they are doing. If I made it through the first jump clean, I'll likely make the next, and so on. That helps me get through some things.

Thats a lot of trust in your common man my friend!
But if Im at a place like Ray's in Cleveland I guess I would agree, but, coming from the land of bandit trails, I would never assume, it has gotten me hurt before.

If I roll up on sumthin and grind to a stop more than once approaching it, I usually think its probably not meant to be, Over thinking a gap is usually the death of me. I'm dont ride pro, I ride for fun, so nothing too big is worth it. As we like to say "Walk away, Ride another day!"

ERNSTEVERYTHING.COM wrote: Follow someone through a section or dirt jumps and its all good.. mental commitment .
Speed is your friend, If in doubt, thrown in two pedal strokes.. faster crashes work better.. you end up sliding
and grazing, no falling and breaking..
says me, sitting here with grazes all over my arms and ass..

I agree... I always ride scary/big sections SO much better following somebody who I know.

Cocaine. Nothing gives confidence like a fat line. I go into instant 80's investment banker mode.

It's funny to me that everyone likes to follow, I don't think I have ever followed someone off a brand new feature, at least not anything intimidating. I usually get the scoop on speed from a test-dummy friend like Wentz, who is excellent for providing info on how to execute something. One of my goals as a rider is to gain the confidence to try stuff like he does. It's good to have people who can articulate how to do something and don't BS you.

The tough part for me comes when I've bitched out on something a few times and grabbing the brakes starts to become habit, that can be a vicious cycle to break out of, even if you're nailing the set-up for the feature. At that point I usually have to decide I'm doing it no matter what before I even start rolling, which ironically means I usually end up going for stuff on less-than-ideal run ins.