gingerbread

today i was at a skate park on my bike (hardtail) with a mate. i go to skate parks very rarly so im not very good at doing things and i dont really have much confidence.
anyway, i was challenged to do a 'death box' - which is pretty much a 4ft quarter pipe, flat on top and then a gentle slope down. i can take a run up from a flat bank and i know all i have to do is just pedel until i reach the quarter pipe then i will get over the 'death box'. but i cant bring myself to do it. i spent ages at the top of the flat bank, just looking at what i had to do, but the more time i spent up there the more scared i got of it. several times i set of as if i was going to do it then slammed on my brakes and pulled out at the last minute.
What i want to know is does anybody else get this problem and how do they overcome it? is there any special techniques? Or am i just being a little girl?
any replys welcome
cheers
Gingerbread

Maelstrom 

Follow someone better. Helps everytime

gingerbread

im 15, there was this guy there who was 11, he was doing it with ease, which was fine until he started tellin me it was so easy and his 7 year old brother could do it.
that made me feel REALLY good :-)

gingerbread

but yeah ill try that with a less cocky kid, thanks for the advice

Drunken Chicken

ROFL! That's great.

Psyko

I dunno , when i am scared of stuff I just do it..Seriously thats the best way to overcome, just go at it, if you get hurt then at least you will most likely have a cool story to go with teh injury..

Cornish_Rdr_UK

Im the same... You just have to forget about it, I dont like skateparks as there are people there that are soooo much better than you, and when you see people who are like 10 and stuff doing 360s out of bowls and things you dont feel too inclined to do something.

best thing to do is forget what might happen, think positive, and then think of the worst thing that will hapen... Thats what i do, I think, if I fall, it'll hurt a little bit, if i do it it will be great...

Lets go and usually i go just like that then..

You also shouldnt sit there and look at what your going to hit because you will become afraid of it.

Hopper

Just hit it, feeling scared is part of what this sport is about. If you don't feek scared you can sometimes be more likely to crash, fear keeps us alert and allows us to concentrate on the task. If you are not scared you are not going big/hard/fast enough.

Drunken Chicken

So true. When I did my first 4 foot to tranny drop I was scared beforehand and for a split second I managed to convince my mind that I'd be able to do it. By the time I would have gone back to thinking "I can't do it" I was already pedalling and nearing the drop. It went fine, I'm a bit of a hack I admit but still, good.

snoopz666

if im scared to do something all i do is take one run up to it. then on the second run i do the same thing and most the time ill just go for it. because if i didnt then i would be scared of it and never take it. so if your coming up to it you just have to go for it, and if you fall oh well. gl with the jump

gingerbread

ty guys... i'll take that advice and put it into practice... I WILL MAKE THIS!!!
i'll let you know how it goes (if i can still type ;-) )

alcahueteria

Go for it. I hate to look at what I'm gonna do. I mean I will check it out and make sure it's safe, unless I already know, but I just like to hit it and figure it out on the way. The more new stuff you try the better you'll be at handling it.