Do You Do Things That You Arn't 100% On?

[Barbra]

Well basically, i seem to have hit a brick wall with riding, but ive decided to try and go bigger, sidehops i can go bigger on now, and all of the basic things i don't mind, but then it comes to rail gaps, and i (and i'm sure others) always think of the worst thing thats going to happen, ie what happened to porter in the latest auch video. This is not entirely about rail gaps its about anything, is it a lack of confidence? or should i just go at something even if i'm not 100% confident that i'm going to land it (which..lets face it, is most of the time)

post your thoughts/stories

EDIT: The place that i live could also be part of the problem, because everythings either too easy or too hard,

Edited January 1, 2007 by Barber

[ben_travis]

as i got older i have become more aware.

but riding with damon is incredible watching the boy, he knows no fear. just kinda how i used to be. that said though, i generally dont consider stuff that much before i do it. and i worry about the consequences later. simple really

[Ash-Kennard]

you just have to get on with it in the end, i personally just get up there and do it, don't give yourself a chance to consider repercussions, just f**king do it

[damon]

Friend of mine says, that if i`m not sure about smth, it`s obvious i wont do that. Just stop thinking, start riding. You dont have to be master in rail gapping to do that trick. And remeber, that crashes make You more cinfident (excluding big ones)

[Greetings]

Never - if it applies to rails, sidehops and big stuff. I fail about 3 sidehops a year which is enough to keep me off riding for a good 2 weeks every time I fall off

[Jez]

"If you're gonna do something, do it...worry about it afterwards."

Wisdom from Mr. Warner.

[zoo]

I just don't do something unless i am fully confident,accidents happen if you aren't confident like in mid air you will panic and f*ck up big time.

[Houseface]

im starting to push myself more, however scary it is, but sometimes i just dont do it because i think about stacking on it oo much.

steve.

[PaRtZ]

I do, and when im not 100% I ALWAYS bail I guess its just a way of pushing myself

[that NBR dude]

As someone else said, the older you get, the more you consider these kind of things. When you are young, bones heal quicker, and its a good excuse for a week off school, but as you get older, being healthy and able to go to work ect becomes a little bit more important than landing some million foot drop gap.

If I fall off and hurt myself badly it affects things like not being able to work, not get payed, not pay bills, so If im not 100% confident that I will make something, I will give it a lot more consideration than I would have done 4-5 years ago.

[26inch]

i like to be pretty confident about stuff, but youve got to take chances overwise progression will be real slow. I find its bad if i think too much about a move, its better just to size it up and do it. + when a chance pays off its the best feeling

[Captain Scarlet]

For me I either do it or a don't, I don't finnick about wondering whether I should pull off a gap or not. I just give myself a certain answer.

Currently I am wondering about pedal hopping onto thin walls, mainly because I could pedal hop too far. Also I don't know whether to brace myself for the edge or for the top when doing it.

I try and find something a bit smaller to do it on first them work my way up, but usually I just say a definate YES or NO.

[lawrence osborn]

you just have to get on with it in the end, i personally just get up there and do it, don't give yourself a chance to consider repercussions, just f**king do it

Yeah true, and when you go for it give it all your effort or else the bad things you thought may happen. What i tend to do is approch the object thinking i will do it check the landing, the run up and take off if they seem ok, as i said put 100% effort in and you will make it if it isn't impossible and you know you can't make it

[A!!]

I find the best way to approach things you aren't sure about doing is to sit back and visualise yourself going through the move, involving everything like where to land your back tyre, where to launch, when to use the back brake. It is what i always try and do before i do something i'm not certain about, and it always works for me.

So sit down for 10, visualise the move a few times over (imagine you're doing it), then just get up and go for it

[omgnoseat]

depends on the move, i do try gaps, bunnhops and pedalups where i'm not 100% (no rail stuff though)

but things like drops and sidehops are a different story

drops, because they will just f**k my badly trued wheel with several loose spokes up

and sidehops because i sidehop to my choco foot, so won't catch the pedal when i screw one up and always have nasty bails because of that

i also have no chainstay protector..

[Danny Kearns]

Just think of it this way. If you don't do it, Somebody else is going do it so you might as well get it done.

They are the wise words of Mr. Damon Watson.

Dan..............

[Ali C]

I try loads of stuff I cant do, but then again I fall off more than most rider too Its funny riding with the tartybike crew, they do things so calculated, its like clockwork, where as I and my friends kinda throw ourselves at things and hope for the best (why my bikes always look so abused)

[poopipe]

I and my friends kinda throw ourselves at things and hope for the best (why my bikes always look so abused)

that there is exactly the right sort of attitude..

I've never understood why a lot of riders are so scared of falling off - I think it's cos they're pussies.

Huck it and hope - you don't know what you're capable of until your life depends on it

Edited January 1, 2007 by poopipe

[GTF]

You need to try things before you get it dialled, so just try things you wanna do. You will most likely survive 2

[Phill_Monks]

i never push myself if it includes rails....other than that.....100%

phill

[IFallOffLots]

It's mind over matter really; the longer you sit contemplating what could happen the bigger than chance is you're going to chicken out.

Obviously there's a limit to what's possible and what's suicidal

I always found (when I used to ride more) that if I just went ahead and did it, I'd have a huge rush, then suddenly think 'Crap that could have been nasty'

[IOLO]

im one of the 'Thow your self at stuff' people in ali c's group.

in fact i may be the main one :$

u remeber the endo bail the other night ali !! fworr beast,

my rear wheel smackd my head a beauty !!.

haha i love riding, and bails spur me on SOOO much,

if i fekk up, thats just the line i want 'playing hard to get'

hurt yourself, hurt your bike, hurt the obsticle,

or... get it smooth UCI

both are good, but i know which one gets my higher and further. (and still UCI mostly)

iolo.

[Ali C]

we had some good crashed that night, you falling into the road and then smackings your head on that sigh with the back wheel the squashing your head lol, I had that leg lengthener from trying to get over that rail hahaha

[Tommy d]

Usually I find myself just leaving things till I've improved. There's usually plenty of stuff near me that I probably could do, but don't want to scare myself trying. It never really seems to hold me back, because I always just go off and do something else, and when I come back in a few months I find the scary thing doesn't scare me any more so I do it no problem. And feel good.

On the other hand, sometimes there are things which my friends say 'no don't be a fool!' to but I feel fine with and go for. It can even end up with me falling off and not worry me. These things tend to be the ones that involve going fast and just leaping... I think the first case happens more with static gaps.

[Brian Bleech]

yeah - all the time! Except rail gaps really! But if I try something and fall off and don't really hurt myself, I have more confidence the next time I try it.

But if I don't feel at all confident I would go near it and find something similar and smaller and work up to it.