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How to rebuild confidence after an accident?


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Technically you can't fail them they'll just advise you need a bit more tuition before you get the certificate. If they don't think you'll be safe they'll ask you to come back. You do need a certain level of confidence to be safe on the roads over hesitancy or dithering is as dangerous as being cocky.


Tell them you're nervous as you've had an off. They just want to ensure people who they let on the roads will be as safe as possible. It's not a competition and there's no shame in needing more time to get back up to speed.


Good luck keep us updated :thumb:

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Going to retake my mine tomorrow, and fear I may be the first person in history to fail a retake.

 

Since it's not a test, it's impossible to fail.


If you're told you need extra road time on a retake, you probably shouldn't be riding at all. Ever.

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Technically you can't fail them they'll just advise you need a bit more tuition before you get the certificate. If they don't think you'll be safe they'll ask you to come back. You do need a certain level of confidence to be safe on the roads over hesitancy or dithering is as dangerous as being cocky.


Tell them you're nervous as you've had an off. They just want to ensure people who they let on the roads will be as safe as possible. It's not a competition and there's no shame in needing more time to get back up to speed.


Good luck keep us updated :thumb:

Sound words there....... :thumb:

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Do I feel like a total pillock now. It was fine!


One very stupid mistake though. Turning left at a mini roundabout crossroads I saw a car stopped opposite, looked right and nothing was coming, so turned. Somehow missing that the car had moved onto the roundabout and had to stop. Think I let the pressure of being observed get to me as I am normally very cautious waiting at junctions.


But I was deliberately taken bendier ways to work on my line because that has been the main problem post-accident and it did improve the longer we rode. So overall the best I have felt for a while. I also learned I had my feet all wrong, a different way of braking, and I should not be afraid of dry manhole covers.


Worst thing about it all is that tomorrow is not the weekend.

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Thanks! At least I know I am still capable, and without the CBT deadline to worry about now I can just take my time and stay in if the weather looks bad. Forcing myself like that was probably doing more harm than good really.

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I was planning on training anyway though as I have not taken the tests yet. Unfortunately I was feeling confident about them before the accident, but wanted to leave it to the new year to get better on sweeping bends first.


I regret that now as I no longer feel ready and with the time lost the CBT is about to run out. So am going to sign up with a school so I can retake that if it comes to it, but I guess I should just see what a trainer says I need overall. I was originally hoping a few weeks on my own would be enough to recover then could go for lessons but doubt that now. Especially if the weather starts to turn icy.


Thanks everyone.

 

Just book your DAS or A2 training (depending how old are you) and get the license. Riding big bike is completely different experience. Hence trying to master your riding skills on 125 is a complete waste of time.


You will get your confidence back much easier on a big bike, which will have much better handling than 125.

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You will get your confidence back much easier on a big bike, which will have much better handling than 125.

 

So I have heard. But people saying how much more difficult a 125 can be to handle just made me think that was all the more reason to manage that first. Although, whilst I know many can, I am quite sure I would have found it impossible to do the DAS with no experience anyway.


Besides, my main problem has been confidence in the moment and keeping to my line though, so handling is not an issue. But now I have the CBT out of the way though I can just take it easy without putting unnecessary pressure on myself. Which is why I stayed in this weekend after checking the weather even though I had been looking forward to it. That said, the way the wind was vibrating the upstairs flat's satellite dish was making a good argument for a bigger bike.


Also a bit of a shame to stay in when last year I went out on February 8th then only missed one weekend of riding (because I was away from home) until the accident in October. Me and my wee bike had lots of fun then, though, and we will again soon, then can look into training later in the summer.

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  • 1 month later...

Thought I would give a quick update to say I had another little accident a few weeks ago. Maybe I am just cursed!


Went to a nearby bit of quiet countryside where I always go to build confidence, and though it was a bit foggy when it got to higher ground everything was reasonably okay. But coming back it was unusually busy as I somehow had about five cars behind me, so between them and the fog I was feeling extremely cautious.


As the road was too narrow for them to overtake when I saw a driveway to a farm I decided to pull in to let the cars pass. It was a bit muddy and gravelly, but I was going slow enough when I turned onto it for that not to be a problem. The sort of place where I have stopped when lost many times before.


After getting the bike up and trying to work out what had just happened I noticed my rear tyre was looking a little flat (I had checked it was the correct pressure before leaving). It seems a small but sharp stone had earlier wedged itself in the tyre. I was able to get myself home, albeit very slowly and carefully, avoiding main roads, and at one point walking the bike on a closed road across a common.


How unlucky am I? Not sure there is much to learn from that experience, other than avoid the narrower and messier country lanes I guess.


I had the tyre repaired but have not been out since for various other reasons, hopefully will finally get back on this weekend.

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That's a bit rough :( . To be honest, we've all dropped a bike (or more than one in my case), and it's most likely to happen when the bike's going slow. (Hahaha - I remember one particularly acrobatic drop done at nearly 0 mph by one of the members of this fine forum - I can't say his name though - the bike he dropped was spanking new and it wasn't his :D ). As for your situation, add in the gravel, perhaps a bit of turn on the bars AND a half-flat rear and there were a lot of things making the bike unsettled. The flat is real bad luck.


Anyway, hope it goes well for you this weekend. Take it steady and stick to places you know (which you're doing, I can see) and you'll get there soon.

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That is bad luck mate, I'd recommend getting an under seat repair kit - I've had to use mine a couple times. Bit of a pig at first and from fully flat you will need 3 of the compressed gas cannisters to get a vaguely decent PSI but should get you home :thumb:

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Avoid gravel and farms.

As Stu and a few others will no doubt testify the countryside especially round east yorks can be a nightmare.

Last year I'd rode over to the coast like an arse to be honest and the only wobble and it was a big big wobble was entering the farm where we have the van. :|

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No accidents for me today, despite the help of a kind driver trying to make up for my competence.


As I had other plans for the morning I decided to go back to basics and just get up at the crack of dawn to ride around locally to get comfortable. Just a shame the clocks had to go forward as right now what I need are some nice empty roads so I can work on the practical stuff without also having to worry about other traffic.


At one point it felt like I was watching a hazard perception video as at two consecutive side roads a car pulled up and stop with its front sticking out. But on the way home I was in the middle of the lane, having just gone between some speed cushions and passed a parked car, when a white mini van stopped correctly at a side road to the left about ten yards ahead.


I say correctly, but after less than a second it turned right in front of me. Thankfully a little swerve was enough, although I still need to learn where my horn is. Despite being a very bright morning, I had earlier felt blinded heading into the sun, I was coming from the north west, and wearing high-vis. I doubt it would have made any difference were I a lorry given how briefly it stopped, presumably only looking the other way, as the parked car made it impossible for anyone to look far enough down the road to not need to check again.


Maybe my luck is changing! Otherwise though uneventful and boring, imperfect but helpful.

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Just think that cars lorries etc are going to pull out on you or do something stupid , look as far ahead as you can for possible situations :thumb: just keep getting them miles under your belt .

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  • 2 months later...

Just an update to say going back to basics seems to have been a good idea. Still not fully there, but some of the time almost back to my old self.


One thing I have remembered, it seems the most important thing to feel confident in corners is confidence in braking. I thought this when first learning but forgot about as it all became more instinctive. One reason why I was going so slow around them was because I was braking so far out. Being able to brake later means not having to lose as much speed before I can see out of them, if needing to brake at all, and being able to go faster for the distance I can see.


Maybe it is just me, but that would have made for far better advice than all the usual talk of using counter steering. Something I think I may have only ever consciously done once. Useful to know about, but it will take care of itself with steering seemingly controlled more by the eyes than the hands. The other important thing is being confident that oncoming traffic will not do anything stupid. Which given how many drivers seem to feel the centre line is optional, even when a double solid one, is somewhat a challenge.


Not sure whether my poor line on the road was a result of my speed or vice versa, and I am still getting them wrong too often, but they are getting there.


And no more accidents. Although yesterday a couple of times the bike felt like it stumbled crossing a piece of patched up road, so I ended up taking it slowly worried the tyres might be a problem. I still worry about road conditions like that anyway if I cannot go straight over then, like the filled-in trenches that run along the road. Even at the best of times it felt unstable if my tyres ran up against them at faster speeds, something I always hoped was just because of my little 125 tyres. And in addition to that, for part of the ride my ankle started to feel stiff and I had trouble changing gear. I have arthritis but it had never affected like that before.


When I got home (and let things cool) the rear tyre was a few PSI under. I always give them a squeeze before riding, but the last time that I thought it felt too soft I checked properly and it was the correct pressure. So that had been my benchmark to check before feeling the need to use a gauge, but which then always loses enough air in the process to guarantee they will be low. But the before and after squeezes were noticeably different so will hopefully be better at monitoring them in future.

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All of my offs, I have had three on the move and a few drops getting off the bike have been because of a loss of grip on wet/greasy/rough/icy roads. Unless you only go out in the bone dry and on decent roads, you are at risk of loosing grip. The secret to survival is to keep your speed down. Lower speed means less of impact and so a greater chance of survival.


I suspect you would get a lot of benefit from riding off road on a trail or BOAT or doing an off road course. It will help you to relax more when it does get slippy.

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I suspect you would get a lot of benefit from riding off road on a trail or BOAT or doing an off road course.

 

In case anyone wondered BOAT = Byway open to all traffic. AKA Beware Horses, cyclists, motorbikes, quads and pedestrians all fighting over the same patch of mud! :lol:

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It's really good to hear things are turning up for you. :mrgreen:


One thing I still find now, after 8 years of riding, is forcing myself to relax!

There are times when my head briefly goes "Oh Shit! :shock: We might not make this [insert situation]" and I feel my body start to lock up; which obviously means the bike starts to stiffen too!


So just forcing myself to let my muscles relax and trust the bike to handle the situation is probably my main way to avoiding these "eek" moments these days :D


Don't know if this will help you at all, but hope it does! :thumb:

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I suspect you would get a lot of benefit from riding off road on a trail or BOAT or doing an off road course. It will help you to relax more when it does get slippy.

 

Although not off-road, some of the places I have ended up have been almost as good as. The problem with making routes on a map is that everything looks the same, and unclassified roads can just as easily be like A-roads or forest paths. Once, somewhere south of Gravesend, I even thought that is where I ended up as it was so narrow and covered in twigs and other debris.


Doing something properly off-road does sound fun, though right now it is more confidence in my bike in difficult conditions that is the problem. The stock Chinese tyres are apparently known for being poor, and I am not even certain it is designed for going on-road. Coming home on Sunday I could only managed just over 30mph going uphill in a 40, whilst the first time I went on an unlit road I could barely see anything because the headlight is so poor. Those experiences are every bit as tense as poor roads when you get impatient drivers behind you.


But while I keep looking for new quiet-looking roads to practice on there will be plenty more covered in mud, gravel, and whatever else. After originally learning on them I then got too carried away with collecting A and B-roads (hopefully I am not the only one to do that) that it is interesting to be exploring awkward narrow country lanes again.

 

It's really good to hear things are turning up for you. :mrgreen:

 

Thanks, there have been times the last few months when I have had to force myself to ride, but it was worth it as it has become fun again.


One of the big things which changed that is when it went from feeling like I was 'driving' the bike and having to force it to do anything, to feeling like I was just guiding it while it glided along looking after itself. Not sure if that was due to being too tense before that I was feeling every movement then transferring that back, but I know what you mean.

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An odd and unsettling thing today. I struggle a bit with roundabouts by being too slow on them, and was going around this one joining at the northwest and exiting to the south:

 

roundabout.jpg.a1960f69ec6bd15ce80725021611ed5c.jpg

 

I was in the position of the yellow blob and was indicating left to exit. When I turned off I was doing 15mph and looking ahead, going into the outside lane of the exit road. Only for a car to pass me by inches to my right.


Admittedly I was far too close to the lane divider, but made sure to stay within that lane as someone could have turned from the first lane of the roundabout into the inside lane.


Whilst I know I am rubbish at roundabouts, surely this was technically the driver at fault? Even if they thought I was going to change lanes — given my position I can only assume that is why they did it, and it turned out that lane was clear — I never strayed out of the lane so surely he or she should have stayed back and waited until I did leave it?


But I mainly blame myself because of my poor positioning, as only I can be responsible for my own safety.

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I was in the position of the yellow blob and was indicating left to exit. When I turned off I was doing 15mph and looking ahead, going into the outside lane of the exit road. Only for a car to pass me by inches to my right.

If they over took you there and went left off the exit,its them being bullying in. Defensive riding is needed with the modern driver, encased in a box, in their climate controlled enviroment they forget about everything around them.

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  • 1 month later...

Whilst I know I am rubbish at roundabouts, surely this was technically the driver at fault? Even if they thought I was going to change lanes — given my position I can only assume that is why they did it, and it turned out that lane was clear — I never strayed out of the lane so surely he or she should have stayed back and waited until I did leave it?


But I mainly blame myself because of my poor positioning, as only I can be responsible for my own safety.

 

Sometimes no matter what you do (by the book) there will be impatient people who can't wait to get past and/or aren't reading the road. I've turned off a roundabout, in the correct lane, only for a car (in the wrong lane) to swerve right INTO my lane beside me while I was still in it! :shock: My only chance of avoiding an impact was to shoot forwards and go into the left lane which thankfully did not have a vehicle to the side of me. You can't prepare for these kind of moments.


But in general the more you ride the more you will become aware of what to look out for and can avoid most things :wink: . I ride like a granny (because I am one :mrgreen: ) but not too slow because after all I am SuperNanny :lol: :lol:

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  • 1 month later...

To be honest you just need to get back on it and take it at your pace as others have said. It's the same with a car or anyone on the road after an accident but it's a bit harder with a bike, self confidence makes up a lot of a riders ability in my opinion. When I first started I did about 2 hours a night just round my area, a few roundabouts, gradual and sharp corners, hills and slopes to get my confidence when I crashed and finally rebuilt my bike that's when it really hit me. I spent a lot of time going straight on at roundabouts after my accident, could end up 5 miles out of my destination haha. But I got it back now, and you will too. Fair play to those mentioning advanced classes etc. But believe in yourself is what will bring your confidence back, as long as you are out on that bike no matter how slow or nervous you are, as long as you keep going and keep riding you will get over it.


Ultimate respect for MotoGP riders who can go through a ridiculous crash and ride the next day.



p.s It doesn't help to blame things, when I came off the road was lightly wet (still me fault) and there was a load of shit on the road as there is a tip just off it (still my fault) I think unless someone takes you out of nowhere if it's just you then you did something wrong, that's where you have to take a step back and asses it all. That's why it's in a way healthy to lose and regain confidence from an accident you could crash and think "f**k won't lean that much next time" but your natural instinctual loss of confidence is a conflict you resolve within yourself and thus you are a better rider from experience and understanding.

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Thanks for the advice, but this is an old thread now and everything is good again.


The problem was with lower confidence everything that went badly knocked it further. And with being too cautious on corners, which meant I was going too slow and too tight to the inside of them, other traffic would be impatient to overtake no matter how safely if felt to me. So it became a downward spiral every time I went out.


Not entirely sure what made me think going back to basics would work, but it did. Instead of riding like I knew how to and expecting it to comeback to me naturally, I essentially went through learning how to ride again.


When I first got the bike, and had to teach myself gears having done the CBT on an automatic, I went out early on Saturday morning and just rode around a few local streets. The next day I rode around the block. The weekend after that I rode around my block and the neighbouring one. And so on, gradually extending further each time.


So I just did that again. It was quite boring at first, but each time I rode it was adding to my confidence instead of taking away from it. And at least I got to colour in more of my map!


To keep things interesting when originally learning I would plan routes around London using different A and B roads then mark them off. Although I continued doing this once I started going out of town, obviously I then had little desire for just riding around congested 20 and 30mph roads. So it had left many new local ones I could do this time.


This time last year, shortly before the original accident, I felt I would be able to pass the full tests but there were areas I wanted to work on first. I feel the same again now, although I am better than I was then and with having had to retake the CBT can now take my time. But I think I will look to do them soon anyway as I am using dual carriageways more now and would like a bit more speed than my bike can manage.

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