fear after a wreck

[Barbarian]

The fact you're posting about your worries here is a step in the right direction. Congrats!


Back when I was 18 my car got crunched by an 18-wheeler during a snowstorm. I borrowed my parent's car and went out to dinner that night with friends, but I had to pull over once or twice before I made it to the restaurant just to remind myself that I knew what I was doing. That accident forced me to turn my life around.

You're in a different boat, in that you have no control over your ride. You're forced to be a passenger dependent on your husband's skills, which is a lot like trusting a pilot who has already crashed a plane. In my opinion you've got a much harder task with only one option when you're riding: you have to tell your husband to stop and pull over when it's too much for you. Exert the only control over the situation you have, and regain trust in your husband's skills.

Some people never do that, and I can't say I blame them. There are certain people I won't let me drive around in a car, let alone a motorcycle.

[themeatmanlandry]

Originally Posted by NOAHSGAL

well thanks for eveyone's comments.. I think I will look into professional help. Just wanted to see what other riders thought.
Thanks again

[Landry pulls up a couch] "How does it make you feel to know that you have an irrationaly fear of chimichangas?"

Seriously, a couple of close up pics would really help me diagnose your condition.

I've wrecked a couple of times. Starting back, I tend to ride a little slower and take less risks for a few weeks. It *definitely* helps to be in control of the bike. Part of the process of overcoming the fear (for me, at least) involves progressively "getting back on the horse," by wicking it up gradually until I'm back to where I was skillwise before the wreck. I would guess that a passenger wouldn't benefit from a progressive approach to riding aggressively. Now, about those pics . . .

[NOAHSGAL]

I have thought about getting my own, so I have control.. just not ready money wise. I have gotten right back on it. We had our wreck on April 26, and we got our bike back 3 weeks later... The day before the R.O.T. rally in Austin, we rode all the way from the other side of Houston to Austin, then rode around Austin all weekend. I only had one panic attack that weekend. and it was when we were are on the freeway, I thought it was because it was so soon after the wreck. Then 2 weeks ago we rode to South Padre, that is over an 8 hour ride. Had one attack on the way up, but nothing else the rest of the weekend or all the way back home. So what really makes me mad is how, I can go and nothing happens and then other times.. One little thing will set me off. I really am going to check out professional help. My husband is very understanding, but I don't want to do anything while sitting on the back that will cause things to be worse for him.

[themeatmanlandry]

. . . and the pics would be where?

Ask yourself this: Do I really enjoy riding on the back of a motorcycle?

Do you? If the doctor told you tomorrow that you could never ride again, would it be that big of a deal? Maybe it's time to find something else to do. I'm just playing devil's advocate.

When you have an episode, can your husband tell?

[NateHarris]

Noahsgirl,
In the recent past, as I was rebuilding a bike for my brother, I took it out for a very short test ride. What I didn't know what that the air pressure has bled off of the front forks. So as I went into a low speed right hand turn transitioning from heading downhill to heading uphill, as I started to make the turn the front exhaust pipe made contact with the ground under braking. This caused the rear wheel to loose all traction and the bike literally fell out from under me. As I said it was a low speed crash, maybe 15 miles per hour, but it still happened so fast that I was on the grond and sliding before I knew what happened. I got up, looked at my torn up jeans, hands, etc., and pushed the bike back to the house.

However, for the next several months, every single time I would ride my bike, I would feel like the bike was falling out from under me in a turn. It was unnerving and took away a lot of the pleasure of riding. However, I have been riding motorcycles since I was 14 y/o, and knew that this was just a mental problem I had, and that riding had not changed. So I kept riding. And eventually my brain reset.

It will pass, give it time. The wreck was traumatic and your brain does funny things during a traumatic events. So, I would recommend you stay on the bike, but maybe as a passenger for now. Panic attacks are dangerous and could cause another accident, which may keep you from riding forever. Stay calm, and stay safe.

[NOAHSGAL]

Originally Posted by themeatmanlandry

. . . and the pics would be where?

Ask yourself this: Do I really enjoy riding on the back of a motorcycle?

Do you? If the doctor told you tomorrow that you could never ride again, would it be that big of a deal? Maybe it's time to find something else to do. I'm just playing devil's advocate.

When you have an episode, can your husband tell?

I would be devastated if I couldn't ride anymore. I really do love riding, there was a short period where we didn't have a bike and I was at total lost.. it has always been on of those things for me , that no matter how bad of a day I have had, I can get on the back of a bike and all my worries go away. I still feel that way in general if we are just riding back roads and such. but when we get anywhere near a freeway or over pass is usually when I start to feel the panic and think of all kinds of horrible things. I usually tell my husband when I am having an episode, I will either ask him to slow it down or pull over so I can collect myself.

[Blade]

Hey Noahsgal,

My wife is dealing with the same issue from a car accident and this is what I tell her. Accidents are a part of driving/riding and what you need to do is try and figure out why it happened and learn from it so you do not do it again. Also you have to tell yourself that you are a good driver/rider and know how to ride. But most of all, do not quit riding or you will lose the confidance to ride.

I can not begin to tell you how many crashes I have been in in the dirt, but I have been in 8 crashes on the street (two on motorcycles) and one at the track. Even though it would be in my mind after a crash, I would get back on a bike as soon as possible. I would re-learn the bike, trust in my skill and in no time I was back up to speed. When I would crash in the dirt, as long as the bike was not broke, I would get up and do the same thing that caused me to crash at a slower speed to see what I did wrong and before I know it, I was going faster through the same thing with out crashing.

Fear is human safety factor and powerful hinderance to doing what you wnat to do, so you want to use the fear, but not let it control you. Once it controls you it is hard to break.

This is my opinion.