I had a fall last week. I was going down a nice windy downhill stretch of road in the wet and lost traction entering a corner. The bike slid out from under me and I was on the ground before I knew what was happening. I was fine, a fair bit of rib, shoulder, and hip/groin pain, but x-rays showed no bone damage and I was out of hospital in four hours.
So now I’m back on my bike and my first major ride was a 120km event in fairly ordinary weather. In the downhill runs the road was wet, and though I expected I might (and should) be a bit more cautious, I was unprepared for the complete lack of confidence I had in staying on the bike.
Does anyone have any tips on how to get back into the saddle mentally? I think part of the problem is that I don’t really know why I crashed. I can’t remember if I was using any brake*. I had no warning at all. I had thought in the past that if I push myself on the bike and had a fall I would at least have discovered where my limits are, but I feel like I’ve discovered nothing. All I’ve learned is that what I thought was a sensible speed, wasn’t.
I had been for a few shorter rides but I only lack confidence in the wet, I feel as bullet proof as before in the dry and as a general rule I don’t choose to ride in the wet. It’s cold, miserable, slippery, and you’re not as visible to traffic. I felt that way about it before I fell. I could make a point of heading out on wet days but it just feels like poor risk management. I’m not sure what else I can do other than what you suggest though.
To be clear, I’m not a competitive rider. The events I ride in are organised but not competitive rides. The only competition is with myself.
You probably will not know how confident, or unconfident you are until you are faced with similar conditions. Your mind is now calibrated to recognize a wet, windy descent as a problem, so you will naturally be very cautious next time you are presented with that situation. Sort of like the first time you rub a pedal while taking a tight turn - you now know how to not let that happen again.
Best thing you can do is continue to ride, and learn how to navigate thru the fear when that condition emerges (brake gently on the straights, for example, to moderate the speed on wet pavement).
Also, re: tires - if you are running slicks in the wet you may want to reconsider. In the fall around here I switch to something with tread when the roads and trails get covered in wet leaves.
After my fall, I went into the bike shop (I usually do all of my own work) and went over the bike top to bottom (replacing all brake pads and some cables that were getting on in life) looking at every weld, joint, screw, and nut. It gave me a lot of confidence that my bike had in no way caused the fall, but also that it was 100% in great shape. I did end up replacing my rear wheel as I bent it a bit.
So I recommend doing a thorough check and tune up and then getting on the bike and doing some uphills (more strain on the bike) to give you some confidence before doing the downhills at high speed.
In addition to the great advice already given, maybe consider putting on burlier/fit for purpose tires for now, just to help with your confidence on wet roads?
I ride down a huge hill every morning and it is somewhat frightening in the rain- especially heavy rain. I just take it very slowly and keep my eyes on the ground for any slippery spots.
I’ve only had one really scary fall (on that same hill I ride down every morning- I was going too fast and hit a pothole). I was a little bit nervous going down it again, but I realized I just need to go slower, and I also now know pretty much what to expect when something like that happens. I’d say the same idea could apply in your situation about knowing what to expect now in these conditions.
Everyone gave great advice re: different tires, a bike check up, and riding slower, but aside from all that I really think making a habit of riding your bike whenever you can for shorter trips will help tremendously with feeling better about riding.
I think I’ve already done most of what you all suggest. My first time back on the bike was at a spin class on indoor trainers at the local bike shop. The owner had a look over the bike and confirmed my own assessment that it was fine aside from some cosmetic damage. It had slid along the road on the side of the seat. the handle bars, and the quick release lever on the back wheel. No scrapes at all on the frame so the carbon should be ok. I might look at tyres, though this is a carbon road bike and 90% of the riding I do is in the dry so I’m inclined to go with dry tyres and just deal with the wet conditions.
The long ride I did last weekend was in very similar conditions to the ride on which I fell, so I’ve faced the conditions again. I just feel like the accident didn’t help calibrate my wet weather judgement but kind of did the opposite.
I agree that I need to just face the wet conditions as much as I can. I’ll do that when practical and see how I feel.
