How to overcome the fear of riding a bicycle: 7 tips
Riding a bicycle can become both a hobby and our main means of transport for urban areas. In many cities it can be said calmly that the bicycle has more prominence than the automobile, either due to lack of resources and infrastructure for larger vehicles, or because of the awareness of the importance of contaminating as little as possible.
However, not everyone is able to enjoy the use of this useful tool to navigate. The fear of riding a bicycle is, for some, an obstacle that prevents progress in the task of learning to master and maintain balance for long enough.
In this article we will review several tips on how to overcome the fear of riding a bicycle, step by step and with some examples.
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How to overcome the fear of riding a bicycle
If you want to progress when learning to ride a bike, or you just want to lose the fear of the bicycle and get back on the bike as you did before , follow these tips.
1. Propose simple and realistic goals
This is very important so as not to get frustrated. The possibility of setting ourselves rather modest and relatively easy to reach goals makes us more eager to progress, since in that way we know that we can get a feeling of victory almost immediately, or in a matter of minutes .
On the other hand, if we only set the final goal, we will see it as something unattainable, and in the best of cases we will progress more slowly, while at worst, we will give up.
So, the idea is to divide our main objective into several sub-objectives, so that in each practice session we can notice that we improve, even if only a little.
2. Use protections
Using a helmet, knee pads and fingerless gloves (to improve grip on the handlebar) not only offers the obvious advantage of decrease our chances of receiving wounds . In addition, it has a powerful psychological effect.
If we feel that we have the "physical" part of the problem covered, so that it is very difficult to hurt ourselves, we can concentrate more on what matters. That is to say, our attentional focus You will not be so divided into different things that concern us, and this is very advantageous when it comes to losing the fear of riding a bicycle.
3. Assume that it will touch to fall sometime
It is important to minimize the idea of falling, something that may happen sooner or later. However, the bicycle is designed in a way that if you do not go at a great speed and do not go through rugged terrain, it is difficult to injure .
Following the advice we will see, the most frequent accidents of this type will have to do with the possibility of feeling some pain when you step on the floor, to get off, or fall and scratch your forearms a little (which will surely not be important if you wear the right protections).
So, unless you go too fast or go through unsafe areas, you should keep in mind that most catastrophic thoughts What you may have because of the fear of riding a bicycle are very unrealistic, a bad description of how reality works.
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4. Find someone to accompany us
Having someone to help us being close is very useful. Not only can it help us in situations in which we are about to fall by a loss of balance; In addition, his presence reassures us, and can take care of carry over things that we do not need at the time of practice and that would hinder our progress .
5. Look for a soft soil, but not too much
For obvious reasons, it is good to choose flat surfaces that are rather soft. However, you should keep in mind that it is better to avoid areas of grass, however short it may be, as it can destabilize the bicycle due to the irregular parts that hide on its surface , and the poor adherence to the wheels offered, on the other.
Thus, areas of land are ideal, as long as it is not composed of sharp pebbles and large enough to cause significant scratching.
6. Avoid areas with physical or visual obstacles
When it comes to losing the fear of the bicycle and getting used to using it, many people focus on choosing places to practice that have no obstacles capable of blocking the wheels.
But nevertheless, the visual barriers are also very relevant . If you practice in a place free of the latter, this will allow you to concentrate with greater happiness, and the fear of injury will be mitigated, in addition to reducing the chances of accidents.
7. Look at a fixed point
This is one of the most important tips.If we do not, we run the risk of entering into a state of anxiety because we do not know where to look due to the possible risks of falling, which is significant, because when riding a bike the look is very important and the head is one of the few parts of the body that we can move from almost the entirety of its range of motion.
