Originally Posted by Dave Kirk

I have a slightly different take on this - I think the best way to reduce fear is to increase confidence and I don't think confidence is the same as guts or bravado. Instead I think the best way to increase confidence is to increase skill.

Many riders discount the skill needed to ride a bike well. We've all seen the guy who looks so centered and balanced on the bike. Thus guy has little trouble with going fast or with avoiding a pile up in the group and this isn't luck but instead it's a combination of skills that he has learned - bike handling, timing, reading of the way the group moves down the road, reading the way traffic moves..........etc. And we've also seen the opposite - the guy who is always in the area when **** happens. The guy who gets caught in the pile up, the one who gets the flat on the shoulder or the one who runs wide on the downhill corner and has to lockup the brakes to avoid going off. This is not bad luck most of the time but its lack of skill.

If you were to find a safe area and practice various skills on a routine basis your overall skill level will go up and your worry level will go down. Since you are having fears of going too fast on descents I would practice counter-steering techniques. If you counter-steer properly you will be in a better and more balanced position when going fast around corners and it will not require that you take more risks. IMO you can go faster by improving skills without being more brave.

I think many folks treat bikes as exercise machines that happen to move. The best riders are not only fit but they have the skill to pilot the bike in all kinds of conditions and these skills need to be developed and built over time.

I hope that helps.

Dave