Getting over my fear of a bigger wheel

[seshbones]

So, I have this Begode Extreme. Really cool wheel. Problem is, I'm just scared to get hurt on it. I can ride it in my hallway just fine, I actually have some pretty good low speed control, but I just find myself making excuses when I want to bring it outside. When I first got it I managed to end up falling so bad I got a big bulging bruise on my leg. 

With my V5F (which I bought AFTER falling), getting over my fear of faceplanting was easier since I was able to ride it around in my house. I ride it basically every day now, but I'm still struggling to get over my fear of falling on the Extreme. 

What are your guys tips for stepping up in weight class? If I can't ride my Extreme by this winter I'll probably just buy a middleweight wheel and use that as a stepping stone... 

[Punxatawneyjoe]

13 minutes ago, seshbones said:

What are your guys tips for stepping up in weight class?

 A large wheel can ride just as slow as a small wheel. Advice: don't do anything beyond your ability.

[Forwardnbak]

Before you know it it will feel like a small wheel. Just need to build up that extra leg muscle and listen to those fears. Those fears are telling you to stay at your pace while you learn the ropes.

Your confidence will increase without you even noticing and in a month you’ll be popping stairs  

good luck, gear up and enjoy the pace of learning new toys. 

[seshbones]

45 minutes ago, Punxatawneyjoe said:

Advice: don't do anything beyond your ability.

My problem is reaching my ability in the first place. I have the ability, just not the confidence. 

11 minutes ago, Forwardnbak said:

Before you know it it will feel like a small wheel. Just need to build up that extra leg muscle and listen to those fears. Those fears are telling you to stay at your pace while you learn the ropes.

Your confidence will increase without you even noticing and in a month you’ll be popping stairs  

good luck, gear up and enjoy the pace of learning new toys. 

Again, this is a confidence issue rather than an ability issue. I've had the Extreme for 7 months now. There is no reason other than cortisol and adrenalin for my inability to ride the Extreme. 

Maybe I should've mentioned it in my original post, but I have PTSD from riding a motorcycle around aggressive drivers. This means my stress response is much higher than the average person, especially when it comes to vehicles. I'm looking for ways to combat the stress and anxiety of taking a wheel out, not general advice on how to improve at riding. I can do that myself. 

Edited September 19 by seshbones

[Asphalt]

Slow, gradual exposure therapy has been shown to be effective in overcoming PTSD.

To start:

• I would wear as much protective gear as possible to minimize the consequences of a fall.
• Ride it in a quiet controlled environment where you don't have to worry about external factors affecting your riding (empty parking garage, parking lot, park, etc)
• Practice mounting and dismounting until you're confident that you can bail safely.
• Ride slow and controlled.
• Ride for a predetermined amount of time and stop before you get tired.
• Leave feeling like you want to ride more.

Subsequent rides:

• Increase the "riskiness" a tiny bit each ride.
  • remove a non-critical piece of protective gear
  • ride around 1 person that you know
  • ride a little bit faster
  • ride a little bit longer

After a dozen or so rides, your confidence (and muscles) should be stronger than when you began your journey.
There's no rush, so try to enjoy the process, knowing that a year from now you'll be comfortable riding the Extreme and will probably be lusting for even bigger wheels.

[seshbones]

2 minutes ago, Asphalt said:

Slow, gradual exposure therapy has been shown to be effective in overcoming PTSD.

To start:

• I would wear as much protective gear as possible to minimize the consequences of a fall.
• Ride it in a quiet controlled environment where you don't have to worry about external factors affecting your riding (empty parking garage, parking lot, park, etc)
• Practice mounting and dismounting until you're confident that you can bail safely.
• Ride slow and controlled.
• Ride for a predetermined amount of time and stop before you get tired.
• Leave feeling like you want to ride more.

Subsequent rides:

• Increase the "riskiness" a tiny bit each ride.
  • remove a non-critical piece of protective gear
  • ride around 1 person that you know
  • ride a little bit faster
  • ride a little bit longer

After a dozen or so rides, your confidence (and muscles) should be stronger than when you began your journey.
There's no rush, so try to enjoy the process, knowing that a year from now you'll be comfortable riding the Extreme and will probably be lusting for even bigger wheels.

Thanks, this is really good info. I'm pretty terrified of falling on the pea gravel and hard dirt by my house, and I only just found out about dog ramps . If I can make the wheel easier to get into my car, I'll be more likely to stop by a nice spot and practice for a bit! 

[bpong]

seshbones,

if you have a friend or friends who are into martial arts or mma,  please approach them and ask them to teach you how to take a fall, forwards, backwards, and sideways.  this will be very very helpful in you getting over your fear of falling...

[seshbones]

28 minutes ago, bpong said:

seshbones,

if you have a friend or friends who are into martial arts or mma,  please approach them and ask them to teach you how to take a fall, forwards, backwards, and sideways.  this will be very very helpful in you getting over your fear of falling...

I bouldered and skated so falling correct isn't new to me, the fear of falling is actually sorta new to me . The problem is the falls I did take happened so fast (and at very low speeds) that they were pretty uncorrectable. Granted, I'm a lot better at mounting and unmounting than I was then... I can step on and step off at a standstill pretty smoothly so I can probably feel when to bail sooner now! 

[mmk]

Maybe build up confidence by practicing on a nice, soft grassy patch?

Nicer for you and even for the machine.

Edited September 20 by mmk

[OldFartRides]

Being in ‘zona, you are just coming into the riding season, no ?  Keep at it ! Lots of good advice heretofore. Good luck !

P.S. Don’t play in traffic !

[Scubadragonsan]

Reply to seshbones: What are your guys tips for stepping up in weight class?

Can I be your gauge and give you confidence? Male, 145 lbs, 7'8". I used to ride KS18XL and have upgraded to Veteran Sherman S, 96 lb wheel. Are you lighter or heavier than me? I'd say if you are heavier, you should be able to ride the Extreme since it's 10 lb lighter and you have body weight behind you assuming your are heavier than me. Before taking on Sherman S, confidence and ability were issues. First, my leg would wobble making the wheel wobble also and I fell. So I find ways and techniques to build up my legs.

Quote from my past post:

"A technique I called "blocking" that is very useful to build up your leg muscles. Blocking is using your leg to stop any size wheels from tilting or leaning toward where your body weight is mostly lean toward. It's like your leg has become a stick planted into the ground to stop the wheel from leaning; in this case, planting is down the center of the wheel. Together used, another technique is called "grabbing." Grabbing feels like you are wrapping your arms around an object; in this case, using your leg to wrap around the wheel. Blocking helps stablizing and grabbing helps controlling, esp. during mounting and unmounting. Anyone riding the wheels, I am sure consciously or unconsciously applying these techniques, they're nothing new, simple mechanics. I hope this gives your mind a breakdown of what you may be doing and now you know what to focus on."

Once ability is assured, confidence comes. Vice versa is less assuring. Not everyone riding a heavy wheel ends a success story. But if you don't try and persist, you never know. Good luck!

Edited September 24 by Scubadragonsan

[Skampster]

It’s really very simple, the more you ride, the more you step on and step off, the better you’ll become. The only way to get confident, is to ride. And before you know it, you can stand there for an hour having a chat with someone while you have a reasonably unbalanced, weighty wheel like a Sherman S, leaning up against your leg like it’s not there. It’s mostly about finding a wheels ideal balance point than dealing with the wheels weight. 
 

Stop thinking about it and just ride. 

Edited September 24 by Skampster

[seshbones]

On 9/24/2024 at 6:16 AM, OldFartRides said:

Being in ‘zona, you are just coming into the riding season, no ?  Keep at it ! Lots of good advice heretofore. Good luck !

P.S. Don’t play in traffic !

Yeah the hot weather has definitely been a huge demotivator  I can't wait for it to cool down... 

On 9/24/2024 at 8:33 AM, Scubadragonsan said:

145 lbs, 7'8". I used to ride KS18XL and have upgraded to Veteran Sherman S, 96 lb wheel. Are you lighter or heavier than me?

I'm 30 lbs lighter!  that blocking technique is what I think I already do to stop with my V5f, I'm pretty comfortable throwing the Extreme around with a foot on the ground. I can definitely get it going, but since I've only ever really practiced successfully against a wall I get concerned about those low speed twist-turns. I might buy a falcon to get my legs used to a bigger weight class... 

 

On 9/24/2024 at 4:41 PM, Skampster said:

Stop thinking about it and just ride. 

This is kind of what I was asking for help with  I can't "just ride" the thing, it doesn't ever leave my house!