Quantcast

courage/crashing

dakota_lyons

Chimp
May 25, 2008
28
0
ok. well, im going to be getting (more than likely) a specialized big hit for graduation, and all i can think about is mountain bikes. i can hit most of the jumps locally, if somebody does it before me. How do you get the courage to do a jump that is huge? and i barely ever fall, but the other day i crashed, and i hit the ground so hard it wasn't even funny, like a 8 foot double. What are some tips for getting your courage up and if you crash, is there anyway to... crash right? like be able to get right back up and try again? cause when i hit, i can't do anything. thank you very much for helping a noob biker
 
Last edited:

skatetokil

Turbo Monkey
Jan 2, 2005
2,383
-1
DC/Bluemont VA
If you're not scaring yourself in DH you're doing something wrong, but that's not the same as saying "fak it, i'ma hit this 30 footer and see what happens." Crashing is part of the game, and every once in a while you're gonna get hurt. The key is progressing incrementally (think droping off curbs 5000 times until you never nosedive, and then moving up to 1000 2 footers etc etc) so your crashes and close calls wont kill you or keep you off the bike for too long.
 

renorider40

Monkey
Aug 22, 2005
426
0
if your already hitting 8 foot doubles your probably past the curb thing. just learn through progression and be smart about things. other than that just say **** it and don't think about the worst that can happen. Also don't give yourself time to overthink things
 
Sep 20, 2007
443
0
Champaign, IL
You sound like you ride like me almost. I never want to hit something first but will often do it if someone of comparable ability does. I crashed hard about a year and a half ago (3 days in intensive care, lacerated liver, cracked rib, nasty concussion) and I have just really gotten comfortable jumping again. I just went back to basics. I jumped jumps that I had hit a million times and then slowly moved on to bigger things. One day your mind will basically go "F%*k it" and you'll start hitting things you haven't before. It's really hard to put into words. Really just keep riding anything. Haha
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
You sound like you ride like me almost. I never want to hit something first but will often do it if someone of comparable ability does. I crashed hard about a year and a half ago (3 days in intensive care, lacerated liver, cracked rib, nasty concussion) and I have just really gotten comfortable jumping again. I just went back to basics. I jumped jumps that I had hit a million times and then slowly moved on to bigger things. One day your mind will basically go "F%*k it" and you'll start hitting things you haven't before. It's really hard to put into words. Really just keep riding anything. Haha
Words of wisdom!
 

SquadraCorse

Monkey
Jul 25, 2007
297
0
Ridgefield CT
The one thing I learned is that if I don't "feel" right about hitting something on a particular day, I won't. Even if it's something I've hit several times before and cleared/landed with no issues, if I don't feel good about it I don't chance it. If I'm in the groove and riding really well with a lot of flow I'll try new stuff.

I think your body and mind know when you're able to hit something and when you shouldn't.
 

dakota_lyons

Chimp
May 25, 2008
28
0
yea, i say Fvck it and tried the 8 foot double. but yeah, thank you for the help. im trying not to get to comfortable on my current bike because if i get a big hit i will be too used to my bike right now. Thank you, and im gonna start riding retaining walls around campus.
 

cuteman

Chimp
Nov 13, 2007
45
0
WV
I find it easiest to wait the next day to start jumping again if youve taken a nasty spill. Whenever I eat it pretty bad and try to jump again like nothing happened Im usually pretty shaken up and it only results in more mistakes and more wrecks.
 

hardtales

Chimp
Jul 23, 2005
75
0
Tega Cay, SC
It's definitely a big mental barrier to get past, if you're hitting something for the first time, esp if you haven't even seen someone else hit it first. Hard to know how to get the speed right...

On the first try, I usually get a little more speed than I think I need, and keep the front wheel up a little higher (better to 50/50 a short landing than nose into it...). On rhythm sections, I'll usually hit just the first double and swerve out of the line if it didn't feel just right. Get that 1st double pretty dialed, and then start linking up more.

Definitely have an exit plan. Scope out the line first, and think about what'll happen if things go wrong. "I could end up here", "falling there would be better than there", "ooh, don't hit that tree"... most of my bad crashes have been when I got sloppy and didn't think something through first.

How to crash? Rolling is good, for one thing. Knowing when to hang on and try to let the bike take the impact, or when to bail out just takes experience, I guess. Crashing on smaller stuff is probably good (and less painful) practice for crashing on the bigger stuff!
 

BIGHITR

WINNING!
Nov 14, 2007
1,084
0
Maryland, east coast.
Ya know, my problem I have with this is that when I go off something, I think it's the jump builder that is my problem. I feel comfortable jumping on a jump that is upwards and flat like a take off ramp but the ones that have that quick curve upward at the end, that usually throws my balance off and I wind up hitting nose first almost over the handlebars. But my biggest problem I need help with is when I go off a jump, normally I'm not going too fast so I wonder if my speed plays a part as to balance. I find when I go off a jump, the jump throws my body one way and the bike goes the other. Not like a motorcycle that you can control with your thighs, there's nothing there between the pedal and my bike that I'm holding can controlling my bike with other than the handle grips. So when I go off, I find sometimes that my body goes off on a side angle and the bike is continuing forward. You can't turn in mid air, it don't work. So my result, is me saying repetitively fast, "Please come down fast, please come down fast," in hopes my front tire will land and I can recover. But in most times, I find my bike keeps going straight and continues to lean either left or right, hairy like close to major front end wash on landing and a major crash. It usually keeps me from jumping anything high. I don't know if it's my speed going too slow and not having enough balance or the type of lip the jumps have but I don't like the style I see a lot of guys do on that quick up lip thing that most jump builders make. They lean back over the back seat on take off to keep the bike nose up when my way of thinking is to push down on the forks and spring up like a motorcycle only I can't crack the throttle at the last second to compensate and get a good balanced lift off. I wish someone would tell me what I 'm doing wrong cuz I would love to jump more and higher and longer but the higher I get, and the more I keep leaning left or right in mid air, like I'm falling over to one side, and the bike keeps going straight, not landing straight up and down is going to cause me a nice crash one day. And what's with the jumps that people build that have a nice launching ramp say three feet all nice and straight and then the quick big 1.5 foot angle up at the tip of it? That stuff is made to make you endo if you don't go back over the seat on launch.

If you are going too slow, is that the reason for the left or right lean. And by that, I mean like standing straight on the ground and then like leaning to your left or right next to a wall. But in mid air, there is no wall to catch you so you keep leaning over while the bike is mid air going straight. I HATE that. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Is it the speed that's too slow for this reason? Of course, I ride with no armor and just a Giro and a pair of gloves.
 

BIGHITR

WINNING!
Nov 14, 2007
1,084
0
Maryland, east coast.
umm, i noticed i had a ton of green under my name last time and not I'm down to like one block. Any reason why? Do you have to come here and like post every day to keep it up because my last post was like a 3 or more months ago and I can't see the reason why I'd lose the green bling. Then again, I may not be recalling correctly... could be my mind going as a result of old age. Time for some suppliments I guess

Just curious. :confused:
 
Last edited: