Early February 2011, I started riding a hybrid with a friend for exercise tooling around the neighborhoods clueless about serious cycling. Another friend (who did her first tri a year ago) mentioned doing a century and in a foolish moment, I decided why not and suddenly it was game on.

Since then (the third week of February 2011), I began "training." I started riding every day on a stationary bike or on the road working up to 90 minutes a ride - going 20 - 30 miles. I bought a trainer then borrowed a cheapie road bike (a Schwinn) and did a 50 mile ride the third weekend of March - 4 hours so time sucked but I finished.

I've continued riding but three weeks I was struck head on by a vehicle going too fast around a corner into my lane. Luckily nothing broken and I was sore for a week but returned to the trainer in four days. I purchased a new road bike (that weighs nothing) and cycling shoes with clipless pedals (getting the hang nicely). I just flat out love cycling especially doing long road rides.

However, since the collision I've find myself almost paralyzed with fears I've never experienced. While riding I approach corners with more trepidation but suddenly fear the usual hazards all road cyclists face which I never did before. Then we add an apparent new hazard of a lighter bike that in a fast stop could have the back end flipping up sending me flying (I've already had one fast stop make that seem more real than I like).

I feel like these are all fears that quickly abate with time. Then yesterday I took a substantial hill and getting to the top had me second guessing my decision ultimately turning around. What goes up comes down and the decline was not only substantially steeper but where it leveled off was essentially the intersection of a major roadway -- translation, the base of the hill has a few feet before you are at the intersection. I knew I could not realistically ride the decline letting gravity take control but I was unsure of my ability to ride my brakes enough I could stop safely. In the end I was the coward and turned around.

Part of my fear I know must stem from my recent collision that time will cure. But, the clipless pedals gives me a feeling of helplessness as does the lighter bike. I have no plans to stop riding and I would never allow fear to dictate my life. But I have no death wish either.

I accept things take time but I'm wondering if I'm doing too much too soon. Should I maybe ditch the cycling shoes for a while giving me more time to become accustomed to the lighter bike? Or is it sometimes better to just go all in the sooner the better?

I'm realistic enough to know things happen that take time to overcome. But I also know that sometimes not facing what scares us can stop us and I definitely do not want that. I'm just wondering if some of you more seasoned riders have any advice or words of wisdom you can share.

Use both brakes at the same time with the same amount of force.
Never out ride your ability to stop. You don't have to ride fast.

Take time off when you get bad feelings about riding safetly.

37,000 miles on these.

since you're a fairly new rider, are you pretty familiar with the overall function of everything on the bike (shifters, derailleurs, brakes) as well as the concept of counter-steering when you get up to speed (comes naturally i believe)?

i rode motorcycles for years before i started cycling and found many similarities so it wasn't much of a learning curve for me, but if you're still in the early stages of riding then you may want to simplify things a bit and go with some regular pedals for the time being. what is it about the clipless pedals that worries you? are you worried you won't be able to unclip or may forget when you need to?

i'm getting my wife into riding a road bike and i'm starting REAL slow, she had that "information overload" look on her face when i was going through explaining how everything functions. i think she may work up to clipless pedals eventually, but right now i'm just working on getting her to the point where braking, shifting, etc are just second nature. don't want to throw another variable in there that might cause her to lose control and crash.

as for the fear of riding in general, i'm not familiar with your area but are there any parks in your area with bike paths where you'll only encounter other cyclists and joggers/walkers and not motor vehicles? this may be a good option and could relieve any anxiety you may have about sharing the road with cars (who don't seem so willing to share it with cyclists). just a few suggestions, take them for what they're worth, but i hope they help.

I've finding the clipless pedals a huge benefit in overall riding especially getting me up the hills and inclines going fast than about 4 mph. I live in central Texas (Austin) and there's no where to ride, literally, that is flat for any distance unless you want to go up and down a short stretch of road. Plus while we have more greenbelts than almost any other city, they are more geared toward mountain bikes or at least anything but road bikes. The trails tend being very rocky and narrow if not downright a flat out mountain bike only routes. I feel really good about using the clipless pedals while riding but I think the feeling of helplessness might stem from just knowing that I'm "attached" to the bike and maybe cannot get off quick enough if a situation arises where I need to do just that. I really don't know though.

I am familiar with the bike functions. I spent some time which being fitted riding on the trainer with the associate at the LBS walking me through everything unless I could easily shift, brake, etc. No problems there. I also spent two days riding it on the trainer in the house braking and switching gears then some time not only just on my street but going around my neighborhood going no more than three blocks from the house. I've never heard of counter-steering though. What is it?

counter steering... you probably don't notice you're doing it as it apparently comes naturally, but when you're up to speed on a bike, motorcycle, etc, to turn right you have to turn the handlebars to the left, and vice versa. but when you're at low speed it's the opposite, turn left to go left, turn right to go right. just try it sometime when you're up to about 15 mph and there's nobody coming towards you or behind you (or beside you). turn the handlebars VERY SLIGHTLY to the left, you'll notice the bike will want to lean and turn to the right. i don't think it's really much of an issue because when you're riding, i think you probably tend to lean the direction you want to turn, and in doing so you "push" on that side of the handlebar, essentially turning them in the opposite direction without really having to think about it.

from everything you've told us i think you probably just need more time in the saddle to overcome some of your fears. the crash certainly didn't do you any favors, but you seem strong-willed and i doubt it will keep you down for long, just hang in there and keep at it, i'm sure you'll be fine. my wife was having similar issues but it related more to her being overwhelmed by the mechanical workings of the bike and not so much a fear of crashing or anything like that. she was just worried that when she'd try to shift, she'd accidentally pull on the brake, or something like that.

It sounds like you are just letting your fear stop you. You have good working knowledge of the bike, you have said the clipless pedals help you.. So the only thing stopping you is.. You.

This is what I would suggest. Take your bike out into the country. Even if you have to drve to get somehwere where the traffic is not as bad or the roads are a bit less hilly. Do as many rides in the "country" as you need in order to get comfortable on the pedals. I can tell you this as a fellow clipless user that it will get better and the clipping in/out will become second nature to you.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your century!

Clipless pedals are actually very safe because your natural "panic" reaction of putting your foot down is what unclips you. The only time this does not happen is when the rider's brain decides to overthink it and overrides it and they don't unclip. So basically go to a field and try to fall over with your brain shut off.
As for hills and stops, learn to modulate your speed with little touches of the brakes and stop grabbing the levers. You can read online about countersteering, but it's best to learn from someone else. The basic idea is that you lean the bike over into a turn so that the wheel turns in the opposite direction and changes your direction in a hurry. Hard to picture, but it works and helps when you need to make a fast turn or get around something in your way.
I'd suggest you do some group rides where you can ride in the safety of a pack and learn from other people. Austin Flyers Women's cycling has group rides and who knows, you might end up wanting to join them
https://www.austinflyerswomenscycling.com/our_events.php

You want an honest answer from a fellow Texan? Stop it. Just stop. You're second guessing is only going to make you wreck.

The pedals are fine. You're learning to adapt to them. There is absolutely zero reason to get worked up over being locked onto the bike. Remember, at worst you twist a little and you're out.
The bike is fine. They aren't designed to be light with the expectation that you're going to not be in control. Companies for centuries now have done the research to create the best possible vehicle for you. It's designed to be aerodynamic, responsive AND stick to the ground in turns. This is what it was born to do.

As far as controlling others, forget it. It's absolutely out of your control. Instead, be observant, don't daydream while riding. Look ahead, be prepared to respond but don't let what has happened in the past cause you undue stress.

Now get outa' my locker room and win the second half. Oh, send in the prom queen too, I need a moment with her.

DISMISSED!

You may like to practice controlling your speed on scary steep descents and rough roads.
Don't ride your breaks, but alternate front and rear, pulsing sometimes. If you ride the breaks, the rim could overheat leading to a blowout and a crash.
Learn to feel the heat of the rims and come to a complete stop to cool things down before continuing.
Try not to speed up oin desents, just control the speed at a comfortable rate.

Tanguy,.

OP's in Austin, not the Pyrenees! There isn't a hill in Texas that could overheat a rim / tire on a tandem, let alone single bike.

OP, on descents, let your instincts be your guide. Never ride faster than you are comfortable with. Use your front brake for serious slowing and stopping, feather your rear brake to fine tune speed. Don't be too afraid of descents. You would be AMAZED at how hard you can brake without 'going over.'

Regarding the clipless pedals, it sounds like you're doing well making the adjustments. Almost everyone goes through some anxiety when starting with them. I've seen several riders take a minor dump in the parking lots, usually while tooling around waiting for the ride to begin. I've also seen a few come to a cross street, forget to unclip and slowly tumble over.

The trick is to practice unclipping before you get to the point when you need to put your foot down. I always use the same foot to balance and leave the other foot clipped in when coming to a brief stop. You will get the hang of it - don't give up.

Jamie Have you ever ridden a bike on Guadalupe Pass Tx?

Nasty events can have a dramatic effect on how we ride, especially if there is an inherent risk-aversiveness with us. I've had two that have affected my cycling.

The first was coming off on a slippery corner and suffering a serous dislocation of my shoulder. But I was determined enough to get out and ride a 300km randonnee 10 days later. Probably because the incident involved no other person.

The second was destruction of my home in bushfires in 2009 that killed 175 people in my region. What happened was totally out of my control, and it seriously affected my riding for 18 months, and especially interaction with vehicles on the open road.

Essentially, it is a matter of getting out and riding as much as you can, and restoring your confidence. If you still have the old bike, there is nothing wrong in regarding it as your safety blanket, getting on to it and riding it a bit as you used to. Then transition across to the new bike as you feel more confident.

You have to do what you feel comfortable with. If it means riding without clipless pedals, do so. Take the hills in baby steps. Ride up part way, get off, turn, and ride down. Experiment with the brakes in various conditions... just be aware that if you put too much effort into the front brake ponn a slipper surface (wet or sandy road), you will likely lose the front end and go down sideways, rather than over the bars.

Forget about the technical stuff like counter-steer (why anyone bothered to mention that is beyond me). Find a quiet neighbourhood and experiment. Go through the routines with starting, stopping, cornering, and clipping in, clipping out on the move and stationary.

If you can find a new housing estate that has new roads, but no houses yet, that would be ideal on weekends because it should be deserted. Ride, and get confident with your bike(s). And one essential thing I have found helps is: Look to where you want to go. Not down at the road in front (that upsets your balance) and not at the little things that you now regard as major threats.

As to the downhill braking, you can engage your brakes at any time on a downhill to moderate your speed. Nothing says you have to let gravity take over.

Squeeze rather than wrench on the levers, and as 10Wheels said, use the same amount of pressure on the front and rear. You shouldn't be approaching an intersection at the bottom of the hill and brake at the last moment. And, if you feel that you are going to go over the handlebars, tense up or straighten your arms and move your butt back on the seat a bit... otherwise, it sounds as though you are flexing at the elbows and flopping your body forward as you brake hard.

And on the clipless pedals, there should be a tension screw on each that adjusts how hard or easy it is to unclip. Ease it off so that you can very easily unclip. You can retension the force again as your confidence increases.
Hope this helps.

Just keep riding. It takes a while to become one with the bike.

Look where you want to go is the best advice in this thread. If you can do that you'll avoid a lot of crashes. It takes practice to not look at the thing that we're about to run into because that's our natural instinct. But we also instinctively go where we are looking, hence the problem. I learned it from off-road motorcycling. I can't even count the number of times I'd see a rock and go "don't hit the rock... don't hit the rock.. thud!". But plenty of people learn it on the bike. It even helps your driving.

You can practice descents. Climb a hill part way, then turn around and go back down (remembering to check for traffic both ways first even if it's a low traffic road). Then do it again. Start out turning around where the descent is easy to build confidence. Then work your way up the hill.

riding a bicycle, even riding one really fast does not an athlete make. really good riders have a bag of tricks to help get them out of trouble and those skills require practice. the basic things you need to be able to do, and not necessarily in this order:

bunny hop, brake with your stomach on the saddle and your rear off the bike, grab your water bottle safely while in a group, hold your line in a fast corner.

when i conducted learn-to-race clinics, i'd use cones, milk cartons, etc. to set up obstacles and courses in parking lots. i'd have the riders play games of slow on grass, and then have them lean on each other while riding using their shoulders and elbows. you might benefit from some of these types of drills.

A 50 mile ride after riding just one month? Cool.

To stop quickly in an emergency, you must use your front brake. If you do it correctly, you won't fly over the handlebars.

In fact, I've had more danger from locking up my rear wheel when I grabbed both front and back brakes in a panic stop. The skidding rear wheel starts fishtailing side to side since it has no traction. ( I let off the back briefly and recovered, but it's scary.)

Practice hard braking on a smooth road with no traffic in sight.

With experience, I can tell if I can make the upcoming turn easily, and how much distance a fast stop will take. So now I'm more confident going faster downhill than when I was a new rider.

Read this short article by Sheldon Brown on braking.

From the article:

I can sympathise. I had a bad crash coming down a steep hill on a 200K randonnee on Vancouver Island in 2007. For months after that crash, every steepish hill had me stopped by the side of the road and walking my bicycle down, or wearing out my brake pads on the way down.

I also struggle with my confidence climbing hills, and have done since about 2003. I had my first uphill crash on a 20+% grade in England that year because the hill was too steep for me, and with the clipless pedals I have not been able to unclip in time.

After the crash in 2007 and then struggling with confidence both climbing and descending, I changed my pedals to the Shimano PDM324 Multi-Purpose pedals. These have the SPD attachment on one side and a platform on the other. Sometimes I ride with both feet clipped in (on flat ground) and sometimes I ride with my left foot clipped in and my right foot on the platform. Actually, more often than not I ride with my left foot clipped in and my right foot on the platform. This gives me the confidence to know that if I need to put my right foot down at any time, I can.

My climbing confidence has increased a lot, and since the pedal change, I will tackle longer and steeper hills than I ever thought I would. Instead of getting off and walking at the bottom, I'll give them a go because I know that if they ever get too steep, I can just stop.

As for descending ... that's been a slow progression. I crashed on a steep, curvy, wet hill and for a while any descent was at least somewhat terrifying. Then I started building my confidence and speed on small straight, dry hills (like overpasses), and then longer straight, dry hills, then hills with a little bit of a curve in them ... and I'm still working my way up to feeling more confident on curvy, wet hills, but at least I can maintain about 50 km/h on dry hills with a bit of a curve in them where in 2007 after the accident I had trouble maintaining about 15 km/h on those.

It is a slow, gradual progress ... especially if you're not in your teens or twenties anymore.


One question ... you mention being fitted for your bicycle, which is good. But where are the handlebars in relation to the saddle? Is the height about even, or are the handlebars quite low? For the type of riding you want to do, I would suggest that the handlebars should be about even with the saddle, or maybe even a tiny bit higher. And that might also increase your confidence, and reduce the feeling that the back end of the bicycle might flip up in a fast stop.