Road Bike Racing - getting over crashing

Ive had two some what bad crashes over the last year and I am having a hard time getting over the fear of it happening again and I havent even ridden with a group since the last crash.

how do you get over the fear?

Ive had two some what bad crashes over the last year and I am having a hard time getting over the fear of it happening again and I havent even ridden with a group since the last crash.

how do you get over the fear?

are you old enough to race masters?

I had a similar issue in lacrosse: some bad hits and head injuries left me very hesitant to engage in the action. I call it the "Maverick Syndrome".

Only way to get back in is to dive in. For me, I just had to say "F*** it" and start hitting people again. The support of teammates is always helpful - when I was ready to get back into the game, the team would slowly step up the intensity of contact during practice to ease me into it.

You can take that and apply it to cycling, too - group rides with your team where they slowly ease you back into the "pack" feeling.

I think you should ride with others, fast. Follow wheels through fast corners. Maybe do some bump drills in grass.

It sucks though, for a while.

Like they said, you just have to get back with it and do it. It's uncomfortable for a bit, but you get used to it again.

after my crash last year I was able to get back pretty quick. it was easy to rationalize that crash as my once in a career real bad crash. Now that its happened again its harder to do that.

are you old enough to race masters?

im 30 so I can do the 30+ races which I intend to. Of course then I read about the 40+/50+ crash at poolesville.

im 30 so I can do the 30+ races which I intend to. Of course then I read about the 40+/50+ crash at poolesville.
I was going to suggest you do RFK masters for your first race back, but it's 35+ so no dice. I feel for you and I know you're dying for cross season to be here already;)

only a little over 120 days a way

im 30 so I can do the 30+ races which I intend to. Of course then I read about the 40+/50+ crash at poolesville.

That was just dumb. I know, i was there tending to the cat 4 guy who crashed by himself. Dont let that incident be a deterent. It was most unusual for a Masters field.

I know what you mean though about hard to get back into the groove. It's taken me 2 years to feel comfortable sprinting again.

That was just dumb. I know, i was there tending to the cat 4 guy who crashed by himself. Dont let that incident be a deterent. It was most unusual for a Masters field.

I know what you mean though about hard to get back into the groove. It's taken me 2 years to feel comfortable sprinting again.

the thought of sprinting gives me the shakes. watching that crash in the giro the other day didnt help either. i hate this feeling

i might end up only racing one more time on the road this season. if thats not the case i will definitely be checking out a 30+ race. i figure in that race my chances of crashing will be limited to the 10 or 20 minutes before i get dropped. :D

the thought of sprinting gives me the shakes. watching that crash in the giro the other day didnt help either. i hate this feeling

i might end up only racing one more time on the road this season. if thats not the case i will definitely be checking out a 30+ race. i figure in that race my chances of crashing will be limited to the 10 or 20 minutes before i get dropped. :D

Last August we had a bad crash on our tandem. We went over, hard, at about 20 mph, and the captain bounced while the stoker (me) bounced and skidded. :eek::(:mad: It happened on a steep descent with a sharp hairpin to the left.

For weeks after that I had a distinct physiological reaction every time we went downhill with turns and speed. I had to use my Lamaze breathing (which I hadn't used for 21 years) just to control my shaking and oh-my-gawd-i'm-gonna-puke-i'm-so-skeered feeling.

Ride, get scared, repeat. By continuing to put yourself in uncomfortable situations like this you'll learn how to cope with them.

After 9 months I'm happy to say I can bomb down hills on my Orca at 40+mph, something I couldn't even have imagined the day after our crash. Same thing on the tandem, but closer to 50. ;)

Off the bike I practiced specific visualization: Repeating the ride and visualizing how it felt to finish without the crash. The intentional relaxation and recreation of the perfect descent gave me something to fall back on when I got that fright prior to a steep, fast, curvy descent.

Be patient. Everyone gets over this stuff in their own way, in their own time.

you have no idea how close I was to starting a very similar thread this morning, only workload prevented me from doing so.

although I've not had the same degree of damage to myself that you've experienced, being on the ground 3x in the past 30 days has left me feeling tentative. tentative = very, very bad in bike riding and racing as it leads to more problems (crashes).

my instincts tell me to just say eff-it and get back into the fray, but everytime I approach a corner nowadays I feel myself tightening up and reaching for the levers - both 100% wrong things to do and I've got to talk myself out of doing them, bad. I like what WR says to do, get on a fast wheel and focus forward.

I was talking to a former pro racer that I know about this, his advice was: 1)heal physically. you dont do this for a living, you do it because it's a passionate hobby, pushing the body when it's not right isnt helping, it's huring. 2) for the mental part of it, everyone responds differently and getting over stuff is tricky. his advice was to do what you really really enjoy on a bike - if its group rides, go do some, if its riding solo, do that, get your confidence in your own abilities back. then if feeling good, get after it again, if not, go do a race in another district where you are around a different bunch of chuckleheads. His thoughts were that this often makes you focus on unfamiliar things and kind of snaps you back into riding instead of "thinking" too much or overanalyzing.

I used to be a pretty good descender... maybe not the best at the technical aspects, but somewhat fearless. A few accidents (not descending!) took care of that and gave me some fear and now I think I'm overly cautious and have a hard time taking corners fast. It helps sometimes if I'm following someone's line down (because I know they were able to make it), but I usually end up visualizing myself sliding out or running off the edge and slow down. Its gotten better, just takes some time. I always try to push myself a little faster into the corner each time to show myself that its ok.

I kind of wish I had some less serious crashes because it all seems so friggin brutal. the worst part is having everlasting reminders of this **** in my mouth.

also, having stuff like just typing this post being difficult because of said crash makes it harder to even WANT to get over it sometimes.

I am just getting over my first hard crash of my racing "career" - happened just about exactly a month ago. It was going around a corner in a fast circuit race. Someone overshot a bit, bumped the guy to his outside, panicked, cut straight across the peloton and right into me. I hit my head hard. I don't remember a thing about the race and for some hours afterwards, my short term memory was cycling in a loop. I never was unconscious, but I was having the same conversation over and over and over again. Finally came out of it at the ER. I also got a huge hemotoma on my left hip which has been slow to subside (mostly gone now).

Anyway, I raced my first race since the accident yesterday. Same course, same direction around the circuit, everything. I was so tense that I feel sorry for those people around me - didn't bump anyone, but I was timid and overly cautious and just overall, not loose. But it had to be done.

The part about regaining confidence doing the things that you enjoy doing seems like a good bit of advice. If you know you are still good at the things you should be good at and like doing, then you have the confidence to race in situations which challenge you.

Part of my uptightishness yesterday was my fear of crashing two times in a row at the same course. Make or break it. If I crashed seriously again yesterday, I don't know if I'd ever race again.

My solution was to get into time trialling!

Better advice is listed above, however.

...I was talking to a former pro racer that I know about this, his advice was: 1)heal physically. you dont do this for a living, you do it because it's a passionate hobby, pushing the body when it's not right isnt helping, it's huring. 2) for the mental part of it, everyone responds differently and getting over stuff is tricky. his advice was to do what you really really enjoy on a bike - if its group rides, go do some, if its riding solo, do that, get your confidence in your own abilities back.....

+1.

You don't HAVE to do anything that you don't enjoy doing. If you don't want to race, don't race. Why torture yourself?

Time heals most wounds, even mental ones. So I'd suggest that you let this run its course and let time do its thing. But if you're in a rush to get back, then maybe you should consider visiting a sports psychologist who might be able to show you ways to speed up the healing process.

Good luck. And stop putting pressure on yourself. It will happen when it happens. And if it doesn't happen, then that's alright, too.

Bob

Man, I don't know. I had my first serious crash (so, more than just road rash) just over a month ago at the track. Lots of skin gone, two cracked ribs, and some shoulder damage. After about three weeks -- the races are weekly -- I thought I was just about ready to get back at it. But then I saw the pictures of, and blog entries about, a guy who crashed during one of the nights I was not there (and just a few weeks after me): unconscious on the ground (in front of his daughter), hauled off to the hospital, multiple surgeries, casts, braces, no weight on his legs for two months, etc. So now I have to mentally overcome not only my own crash, but his too. I'm not there yet. Oddly, however, I have been back on big and fast group rides with no hestitation. I'm not sure what the difference is, other than prehaps some sort of "scene of the crime" factor. If you get it all figured out, please post it.

Either 1) dive in and put it out of your mind or 2) get a few rides/races in at the back to calm your nerves and get confidence back that a crash is not around every corner.

If you're asking the question then you obviously love to race (or love the idea of racing). If you only love the idea of it, then the suggestion to do TTs is probably a really good one. Same work ethic, same preparation before the race, same everything, except there's no pack.

If you love to race, then all you can do is ease back into it. I've had 3 crashes that were light at best, just road rash and some bruises. But its just as hard for me to bump elbows with people and to cover small gaps and I tend to acquiesce when someone moves in on me. But, I'm racing, I'm practicing my skills, I'm riding fast and pushing my comfort zones a little each time. Maybe I'll never be a sprinter or able to move through a 8 corner crit at 30mph but at least I'm still doing something I love.

Good luck!

edit: My coach told me he had 5 crashes in 4 stages in some pro race. Some days you're the windshield, some days a dumbass cuts across your wheel and takes you out and you go stab him in the neck with the spoke you pulled out of your leg...

i have no interest in TTs. they do nothing for me. im just going to have to wait this out and see what happens.

My solution was to get into time trialling!

Better advice is listed above, however.

That's the only solution for me. Say what you like, but I'm not willing to risk life and/or limb for the excitement of pack racing. Especially not if my safety depends on someone else and I'm not getting paid to do it. I'm not especially afraid of pain; I just can't stand the thought of being inactive for days/weeks/months after a nasty crash.

I got hurt playing volleyball some years ago because some @#$! didn't know how to jump for a block and his feet were under mine when I came down. I was out of action with a bad sprain for 6 months -- the longest 6 months of my adult life.

So time trialling is my compromise. And busting my ass in century rides. Heck, it beats watching TV... :thumb:

^^ whatever keeps you on the bike

That's the only solution for me. Say what you like, but I'm not willing to risk life and/or limb for the excitement of pack racing. Especially not if my safety depends on someone else and I'm not getting paid to do it. I'm not especially afraid of pain; I just can't stand the thought of being inactive for days/weeks/months after a nasty crash.


thats exactly what my problem is. I can deal with some pain and road rash. its the other stuff thats the problem.

this **** makes it awful hard mentally to go home and do 3x15m on the trainer in an akward position because of a cast.

unfortunately i get no fun out of racing a clock, i need the pack.

I think all of us that have gone down hard go thru this. I had one particular course that I ducked for 2 years after some hospital time (and I prided myself on being a sprinter with nerve). You havn't yet decided if you want to do this or not, I don't mean that in a bad or judgemental way. Just take some time away from thinking about it, ride, and you will come to a decision.

Here's what I think. Everyone likes to say just get on the horse. Well, intensity is not the answer. When someone is freaked out by the danger of their sport, they should be pulled from events and eased back in. Throwing them in the fire is a good way to set up a few years of anguish, followed by a less than graceful exit.

What I think would work well is to work on bump drills with a partner on the grass. Reassure yourself that you know what you're doing. Then enter the next available race you can, and ride it 100% in shadow mode. Ride behind the pack, don't mix it up, stay on wheels that look like they won't get spat out the back, and roll through the miles in safe mode. No nerve-racking bumps and close calls at the front. It's all about building your confidence back up. Enter with absolutely no intention of doing well, consider it a failure if you get impatient and jump to the front.

Good luck!

If descending scares you don't watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NLM_BRYf5U). No crashes but I almost pissed myself.

Ive had two some what bad crashes over the last year and I am having a hard time getting over the fear of it happening again and I havent even ridden with a group since the last crash.

how do you get over the fear?

not sure if you do.

i didn't even open this thread until i raced tonight.

i also adblocked zimbo's avatar, because i HATE when people o out of their way to show that they crashed.


:digression:

to those who read this post, if you crash - DO NOT POST PICS of your broken or bleeding bodies.

you lose all of my sympathy when you go out of your way to seek it.

:end of digression:

anyway... yes, it's probably pretty clear how i deal with it. i've become HYPER superstitious. i don't want to see, hear, or read about crashes.

here's a few examples of what i do to get beyond past crashes.

http://myshavedlegs.blogspot.com/2007/03/lucky-charms.html

http://myshavedlegs.blogspot.com/2007/06/race-report-rubber-on-road.html

not sure if you do.

i didn't even open this thread until i raced tonight.

i also adblocked zimbo's avatar, because i HATE when people o out of their way to show that they crashed.


:digression:

to those who read this post, if you crash - DO NOT POST PICS of your broken or bleeding bodies.

you lose all of my sympathy when you go out of your way to seek it.

:end of digression:


anyway... yes, it's probably pretty clear how i deal with it. i've become HYPER superstitious. i don't want to see, hear, or read about crashes.

here's a few examples of what i do to get beyond past crashes.

http://myshavedlegs.blogspot.com/2007/03/lucky-charms.html

http://myshavedlegs.blogspot.com/2007/06/race-report-rubber-on-road.html

Not enough skin left and too deep to stitch. For you:


http://filer.case.edu/jmm19/IMG_1695.JPG

That picture was uncalled for...
Honestly, that was effing terrible taste...

Lith, I know how you feel. It's been almost 3 weeks since my crash and I haven't been able to even start running yet. I've graduated from eating with a straw, to eating mostly soft foods.

I'm 19 and healing pretty fast, but my entire summer is going to be gone to getting surgeries and plastic surgeries to fix all the damage to my face and teeth. I cut my lips up pretty badly.

Botto, don't read the next paragraph if you can't read about crash damage.

I have scars on my lips from where they were pretty much cut straight through when my teeth shattered. I have scars on my forehead, the side of my face, and my nose is broken and heavily scarred up. I'm probably getting plastic surgery for all the scarring if insurance will cover it. I can't open my mouth wide because of how the left side of my lip has healed.

Botto, you can read again.

No matter what, I don't regret my accident. It's given me a new perspective on life which is something I really needed right now, just for everything to snap back in focus. I have to finish my semester from home, and I can't do an internship over summer that I'd dreamed of doing for years. I'm going to be indoors over most of the summer other than evening runs.

I love cycling and I love racing, but I don't know how this is going to work in the long run. I have hopes of being a doctor or going into a science PHD program and that's something I need my hands and dexterity for. I also can't see myself being able to handle seeing my parents' faces and all my friends' faces when they visited me in the hospital. The fear and concern on their faces was as frightening as it was reassuring and I never want to put them in that position again if I can help it.

I know I've avoided many near crashes and had a few that led to minor road rash as most crashes do. I don't remember my crash so I'm not really scared of crashing, because I'll be smarter the next time around, but I'm scared of the consequences...

There are things far worse than what happened to me, and like I said, I don't regret it because it's really brought everything back into perspective for me. All the same, I'm really scared about something going wrong because that feeling of invulnerability has kind of worn off and I'm scared about the consequences...

Not enough skin left and too deep to stitch. For you:


htt p://filer.case.edu/jmm19/IMG_1695.JPG
Poor baby, want a hug?

maybe take a break and after a while you'll be itching to get back on the bike and racing?

What I think would work well is to work on bump drills with a partner on the grass. Reassure yourself that you know what you're doing. Then enter the next available race you can, and ride it 100% in shadow mode. Ride behind the pack, don't mix it up, stay on wheels that look like they won't get spat out the back, and roll through the miles in safe mode. No nerve-racking bumps and close calls at the front. It's all about building your confidence back up. Enter with absolutely no intention of doing well, consider it a failure if you get impatient and jump to the front.

Good luck!

part of my problem is that I am not afraid of contact and bumping. That stuff doesnt scare me (yet). Even technical crits dont really scare me.

Both of my crashes have come in super non technical courses in really easy sections. Both were out of my control. The first time the guy directly in front of me must have tapped wheels and went down leaving me with no time to react the second time I got plowed into from behind while trying to avoid a crash.

Coming into this season I changed my outlook on racing and decided to ride much more aggressively on/off the front to try and avoid being in sketchier situations in the pack. So it really sucks to get caught out again.

You havn't yet decided if you want to do this or not, I don't mean that in a bad or judgemental way. Just take some time away from thinking about it, ride, and you will come to a decision.

I understand what you are saying and you are right. Its just very hard to take time off in this sport since race fitness leaves so fast. You work so hard to get to a certain point and then its taken from you.

not sure if you do.

i didn't even open this thread until i raced tonight.

i also adblocked zimbo's avatar, because i HATE when people o out of their way to show that they crashed.



It used to not bother me either. Crash footage was cool. Same thing happened to me in skateboarding. The slam sections was sometimes the highlight of the video. Now I zone out or fast forward.

Hell, now just watching the twitchyness of pro riders in the giro makes me a bit nervous.




anyway... yes, it's probably pretty clear how i deal with it. i've become HYPER superstitious. i don't want to see, hear, or read about crashes.

here's a few examples of what i do to get beyond past crashes.

http://myshavedlegs.blogspot.com/2007/03/lucky-charms.html

http://myshavedlegs.blogspot.com/2007/06/race-report-rubber-on-road.html


Im crazy superstitious too. almost ocd at times. im just lucky that i havent been racing long enough to develop any routines yet.

That picture was uncalled for...
Honestly, that was effing terrible taste...

Lith, I know how you feel. It's been almost 3 weeks since my crash and I haven't been able to even start running yet. I've graduated from eating with a straw, to eating mostly soft foods.

I'm 19 and healing pretty fast, but my entire summer is going to be gone to getting surgeries and plastic surgeries to fix all the damage to my face and teeth. I cut my lips up pretty badly.

Botto, don't read the next paragraph if you can't read about crash damage.

I have scars on my lips from where they were pretty much cut straight through when my teeth shattered. I have scars on my forehead, the side of my face, and my nose is broken and heavily scarred up. I'm probably getting plastic surgery for all the scarring if insurance will cover it. I can't open my mouth wide because of how the left side of my lip has healed.

Botto, you can read again.

No matter what, I don't regret my accident. It's given me a new perspective on life which is something I really needed right now, just for everything to snap back in focus. I have to finish my semester from home, and I can't do an internship over summer that I'd dreamed of doing for years. I'm going to be indoors over most of the summer other than evening runs.

I love cycling and I love racing, but I don't know how this is going to work in the long run. I have hopes of being a doctor or going into a science PHD program and that's something I need my hands and dexterity for. I also can't see myself being able to handle seeing my parents' faces and all my friends' faces when they visited me in the hospital. The fear and concern on their faces was as frightening as it was reassuring and I never want to put them in that position again if I can help it.

I know I've avoided many near crashes and had a few that led to minor road rash as most crashes do. I don't remember my crash so I'm not really scared of crashing, because I'll be smarter the next time around, but I'm scared of the consequences...

There are things far worse than what happened to me, and like I said, I don't regret it because it's really brought everything back into perspective for me. All the same, I'm really scared about something going wrong because that feeling of invulnerability has kind of worn off and I'm scared about the consequences...

my injuries have been nothing compared to yours. Its the frequency and consistency at this point that has gotten to me. Unfortunately you are going to know all too well how some of these lasting reminders will drive you crazy even when you are the farthest from the bike you can be.

maybe take a break and after a while you'll be itching to get back on the bike and racing?

This is what I am realizing is going to be the answer. I just wish it didnt take so long to get back to "racing" once you have stopped for a while.

That picture was uncalled for...
Honestly, that was effing terrible taste...

Lith, I know how you feel. It's been almost 3 weeks since my crash and I haven't been able to even start running yet. I've graduated from eating with a straw, to eating mostly soft foods.

I'm 19 and healing pretty fast, but my entire summer is going to be gone to getting surgeries and plastic surgeries to fix all the damage to my face and teeth. I cut my lips up pretty badly.

Botto, don't read the next paragraph if you can't read about crash damage.

I have scars on my lips from where they were pretty much cut straight through when my teeth shattered. I have scars on my forehead, the side of my face, and my nose is broken and heavily scarred up. I'm probably getting plastic surgery for all the scarring if insurance will cover it. I can't open my mouth wide because of how the left side of my lip has healed.

Botto, you can read again.

No matter what, I don't regret my accident. It's given me a new perspective on life which is something I really needed right now, just for everything to snap back in focus. I have to finish my semester from home, and I can't do an internship over summer that I'd dreamed of doing for years. I'm going to be indoors over most of the summer other than evening runs.

I love cycling and I love racing, but I don't know how this is going to work in the long run. I have hopes of being a doctor or going into a science PHD program and that's something I need my hands and dexterity for. I also can't see myself being able to handle seeing my parents' faces and all my friends' faces when they visited me in the hospital. The fear and concern on their faces was as frightening as it was reassuring and I never want to put them in that position again if I can help it.

I know I've avoided many near crashes and had a few that led to minor road rash as most crashes do. I don't remember my crash so I'm not really scared of crashing, because I'll be smarter the next time around, but I'm scared of the consequences...

There are things far worse than what happened to me, and like I said, I don't regret it because it's really brought everything back into perspective for me. All the same, I'm really scared about something going wrong because that feeling of invulnerability has kind of worn off and I'm scared about the consequences...

i remember your crash post. how couldn't i? i have a fake tooth because of a face plant into a double parked UPS van, from my brief messenger career. what happened to you sounded a hella lot worse, and i stopped reading after i saw "my face..."

hope you're healing well (and hope you can understand that i only grazed over your post ;)).

i remember your crash post. how couldn't i? i have a fake tooth because of a face plant into a double parked UPS van, from my brief messenger career. what happened to you sounded a hella lot worse, and i stopped reading after i saw "my face..."

hope you're healing well (and hope you can understand that i only grazed over your post ;)).

implant, bridge, crown?

implant, bridge, crown?

first came the implant.

after a year of going to the the oral surgeon, to get my gums peeled, and scraped, because it kept on getting infected (there was a fair amount of bone loss), they put it in.

then, after a 6 hour training ride, with the last 2 hours in snow and sleet, i loosened the implant when i used my teeth to pull off my soaking wet gloves, because my fingers were too numb.

they finally took it out, and i've had a maryland bridge (http://www.mynewsmile.com/Maryland-Bridge.htm) for 15 years. i believe that may be a record.

my friend just had his bridge replaced with an implant. it sounds horrible. he said the same thing about having to go in for months and months. he can pull out his tooth too. he has been so stressed over the dentists visits he hasnt bothered to make an appointment to get it recemented in. While my friend was telling me this another guy there was talking about how he just got implants too and he already chipped one of them!

I got "lucky" and didnt break my teeth far enough to require more than 2 root canals and crowns.

enough.

That picture was uncalled for...
Honestly, that was effing terrible taste...

Lith, I know how you feel. It's been almost 3 weeks since my crash and I haven't been able to even start running yet. I've graduated from eating with a straw, to eating mostly soft foods.

I'm 19 and healing pretty fast, but my entire summer is going to be gone to getting surgeries and plastic surgeries to fix all the damage to my face and teeth. I cut my lips up pretty badly.

Botto, don't read the next paragraph if you can't read about crash damage.

I have scars on my lips from where they were pretty much cut straight through when my teeth shattered. I have scars on my forehead, the side of my face, and my nose is broken and heavily scarred up. I'm probably getting plastic surgery for all the scarring if insurance will cover it. I can't open my mouth wide because of how the left side of my lip has healed.

Botto, you can read again.

No matter what, I don't regret my accident. It's given me a new perspective on life which is something I really needed right now, just for everything to snap back in focus. I have to finish my semester from home, and I can't do an internship over summer that I'd dreamed of doing for years. I'm going to be indoors over most of the summer other than evening runs.

I love cycling and I love racing, but I don't know how this is going to work in the long run. I have hopes of being a doctor or going into a science PHD program and that's something I need my hands and dexterity for. I also can't see myself being able to handle seeing my parents' faces and all my friends' faces when they visited me in the hospital. The fear and concern on their faces was as frightening as it was reassuring and I never want to put them in that position again if I can help it.

I know I've avoided many near crashes and had a few that led to minor road rash as most crashes do. I don't remember my crash so I'm not really scared of crashing, because I'll be smarter the next time around, but I'm scared of the consequences...

There are things far worse than what happened to me, and like I said, I don't regret it because it's really brought everything back into perspective for me. All the same, I'm really scared about something going wrong because that feeling of invulnerability has kind of worn off and I'm scared about the consequences...

Holy ****, i fall off bikeforums for 2-3 weeks and miss this completely, damn man! i'm going to go look up your original thread... wtf!

I changed my racing style. Attack, attack, and attack again. If you crash, it's your own damn fault at that point (though crashes still do happen from breaks or even mechanicals). Do TTs. When you are in the pack, ride on the front, or one of the sides so you have room to move. If you are in the pack, leave a little etras space in front of you. Yeah, someone will want to take it. Yeah, you will be sucking more wind. Yeah, you aren't as likely to win. Yeah, you are going to be in pain riding as hard as you can. Do what you can to be comfortable and I am sorry, for the squeemish and non-squeemish alike, everyone here is going to crash again. It is not a matter of "if" but "when." If you cannot accept that fact, don't only give up racing, but give up training, and give up riding.

I changed my racing style. Attack, attack, and attack again. If you crash, it's your own damn fault at that point (though crashes still do happen from breaks or even mechanicals). Do TTs. When you are in the pack, ride on the front, or one of the sides so you have room to move. If you are in the pack, leave a little etras space in front of you. Yeah, someone will want to take it. Yeah, you will be sucking more wind. Yeah, you aren't as likely to win. Yeah, you are going to be in pain riding as hard as you can. Do what you can to be comfortable and I am sorry, for the squeemish and non-squeemish alike, everyone here is going to crash again. It is not a matter of "if" but "when." If you cannot accept that fact, don't only give up racing, but give up training, and give up riding.

I'm semi-seriously considering reducing my racing to practice races + TTs... just need to get stuff to make a cheap TT rig

practice races because they're simply not as competitive, there's still a chance to crash but probably less. Now someone should chime in and say that their worst crash was at a practice race...

I changed my racing style. Attack, attack, and attack again. If you crash, it's your own damn fault at that point (though crashes still do happen from breaks or even mechanicals). Do TTs. When you are in the pack, ride on the front, or one of the sides so you have room to move. If you are in the pack, leave a little etras space in front of you. Yeah, someone will want to take it. Yeah, you will be sucking more wind. Yeah, you aren't as likely to win. Yeah, you are going to be in pain riding as hard as you can. Do what you can to be comfortable and I am sorry, for the squeemish and non-squeemish alike, everyone here is going to crash again. It is not a matter of "if" but "when." If you cannot accept that fact, don't only give up racing, but give up training, and give up riding.

NO TTs!

I did change my style and in this last race employed it. The only reason I was in the back during the crash was because I was recovering from a multi lap break that I had instigated.

NO TTs!

I did change my style and in this last race employed it. The only reason I was in the back during the crash was because I was recovering from a multi lap break that I had instigated.

I cant comment on your incident in 2007, but for the 2008 incident, you just had S*** luck as some dufus who shouldnt even be in a race didnt notice the 40 guys sprawled out on the road, was hammering with his head down, and t-boned you. Nothing you can do about that but when know that when you get stopped on a course, get off of it and out of the way as quickly and safely as you can.

when you get stopped on a course, get off of it and out of the way as quickly and safely as you can.

trust me I was certainly trying.

the 2007 crash was bad luck too. the only way i could have avoided that crash was to not be behind the guy in front of me. i had no time to react to him going down.