Experiencing the world from the saddle of your bike can be liberating as well as lots of fun! There are times, however, when we all encounter fear in some form – whether of traffic, falling, descents or anything else. At The Insurance Emporium, we want everyone to get the most from their passions, so we’ve come up with these top tips to help you overcome your fear of cycling!
Top gear
In order to ride a bike the first thing you’ll need is a bike – so to try and conquer the fear, ensure it’s one you feel comfortable riding! Also think about safety gear, making sure you wear a helmet, high-vis clothing and have working front and back lights can all help you feel safer.
Safety in numbers
If you’re new to cycling or there’s a specific route, incline or jump you feel uncomfortable about, you could try cycling with others. If you don’t have friends that share your passion for bikes, there are plenty of cycle clubs up and down the country! Any more experienced riders might also be able to help you out with tips and advice to improve your technique.
Preparation is key to success!
When heading out on a new route, planning how you’re going to attack it in advance might help with any concerns you could have. In the best case scenario, you may be able to visit beforehand, walking or riding it slowly. Otherwise consult a map – if you know where you’re going and can come up with a plan as to how you might negotiate the ride, it could make you feel less nervous.
Take it easy
If you’re afraid of doing something, one of the best approaches you might take is to build up to it gradually, taking baby steps. By breaking a big fear down into smaller ones, you might feel that they’re easier to overcome. Plus, once you’ve made one or two achievements, you could be more likely to tackle the others!
Breathe easy
When feeling the fear, it can be easy for the adrenaline to take over. This might make you become tense, forget to breathe and feel like you’re losing control. Make sure you focus on maintaining normal breathing patterns, which you could practise when out on a quieter ride. Also, when feeling scared try tensing your body then releasing the muscles, which might help your body relax, giving back the feeling of control.
Take it to the limit
Sometimes, it can be worth recognising your limitations and working to these. Whilst we’d all like to think we can achieve everything we want, there will occasionally be times when that’s just not true. This could also be true of fear when cycling. Learning to take calculated risks might serve you well, realising that some routes or manoeuvres are just too dangerous to be worth thinking about!
A certain amount of fear when cycling is justified, it can sometimes keep you from doing anything extremely unwise! Whether you’re a cautious rider or gung-ho biker, you might feel the need to protect yourself and your bike in case something should go wrong. The Insurance Emporium offer flexible Cycle Insurance that can be tailored to suit your needs, with Optional Benefits to choose from such as Territorial Coverage and Bicycle Accessories. You could also get up to 25% discount!* Conquer your fear and get to The Insurance Emporium to find out more!
* The 25% discount is made up of 15% Introductory Discount plus 5% Aged Related and Security Discounts (if appropriate). The Introductory Discount is available for the first 12 premium payments on lunar and calendar monthly policies or one premium payment on annual policies.
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