Let’s talk about motorcycle anxiety. You know what I mean: the sudden, random thought that you might not walk away from your next motorcycle ride.
These thoughts might pop up while you’re preparing for a long ride; or you might be nowhere near a motorcycle. Most of mine come to me when I’m doing mundane activities like washing dishes or getting dressed.
If you ride a motorcycle and you haven’t had anxious thoughts about riding, you’re lying — either to me or to yourself. We all know riding is dangerous. Even if you push the risks out of your mind, the road has a way of snapping them back into focus. A car pulls out in front of you, or you narrowly avoid a pothole in a blind corner — that rush, the quick brush with your own mortality. It’s intoxicating, but it can also keep you up at night.
Many motorcyclists — true to the old stereotype — don’t talk about these thoughts. They suppress them, because they’re worried that having these thoughts means they aren’t “tough” enough to ride. I know they do this, because I have done this.
I’m here to offer an alternate point of view: Having these thoughts is completely natural. But if you ignore them, you’re missing an opportunity to prepare yourself for the risks that lie ahead.
“Bad is Stronger Than Good”
In cognitive psychology, “bad is stronger than good” is considered to be a general principle about the way our minds work. It’s called “negativity bias,” and it means that our minds place more prominence on bad events than good ones, and even process them more thoroughly.
Jonathan Haidt explains it well in his book The Happiness Hypothesis:
If you were designing the mind of a fish, would you have it respond as strongly to opportunities as to threats? No way. The cost of missing a cue that signals food is low… one mistake won’t lead to starvation. The cost of missing the sign of a nearby predator, however, can be catastrophic. Game over, end of the line for those genes.
It turns out that the fearful thoughts we have about riding are hardwired into our minds, “designed” by evolution. As Rick Hanson puts it, “the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences but Teflon for positive ones.” We instinctively gravitate toward thinking about the risk that something bad might happen.
Of course, we aren’t fish: the potential “good” and “bad” events we face aren’t black and white.
Often, for humans, risky activities are also a source of pleasure — like riding a motorcycle. As I’ve discussed before, humans actually enjoy facing and overcoming risky challenges.
In fact, researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi claims that facing meaningful challenges well matched to your skills is the primary source of true enjoyment in human existence — it’s the entire foundation for his book, Flow.
So, when faced with the potential for enjoyment (challenging yourself on a new, adventurous ride), versus the potential risks (which I don’t need to spell out), what do you do?
Our animal, evolutionary instinct tells us to steer clear of the risk, no matter what enjoyment we may divine. But evolutionary adaptations are all about the survival of genes — they have nothing to do with the quality of human life.
And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather live a life rich in challenges and adventure than sit on the sidelines.
What matters, then, is not whether we have these negative thoughts — we’re going to have them, it’s instinct — but what we do with them.
Turning fearful thoughts into problem-solving opportunities
The day before a ride, it’s easier to imagine the millions of ways things could go wrong. But when I’m on my bike, there’s only one scenario facing me at a time, and I always know where I stand.
And in this distinction is the key to knowing how to handle your morbid thoughts — whenever you have them.
“Rumination” is the psychology term for replaying the same problems or catastrophic outcomes over and over in your mind. It’s a key hallmark of both anxiety and depression.
Some psychologists believe it’s a problem-solving mechanism, but the difference between rumination and true problem solving is that, if you’re ruminating, you never land on a solution that helps to resolve the problem. You’re caught in a loop, reliving your anxiety over and over, spinning your wheels.
One good way to escape the rumination loop is to ask yourself questions about it. If it’s a general, nebulous anxiety, then you can ask: do I feel the risks of riding outweigh the benefits?
If you do (and it’s okay if you do), then you may want to reconsider your decision to ride. And — I can’t stress this enough here — that’s okay.
But if you know you still want to ride, make your anxieties get specific. What is it exactly you’re nervous about? Chances are, you’ll come across an anxiety you can prepare for.
If you’re worried the weather will get bad, practice riding on wet roads. If you’re worried about other vehicles, practice your emergency braking. When was the last time you bought a new helmet? How’s the wear on your tires?
You get the point. The key is to turn your anxious thought into action, so you feel prepared and confident on your next ride.
Riding is both a physical and mental activity. That’s why it’s important to come to terms with your fearful thoughts.
On one hand, too many anxious thoughts can keep you from concentrating on your ride. If you’re too anxious, you might not be able to react if a hazard does come your way. But also, a little fear of something dangerous can be a good thing. You can turn it into a productive activity, and better prepare yourself for future rides.
In the end, it’s all about what works for you. What do you need to do to make sure you ride safely?
My advice is this: listen to your instincts, but don’t let them rule you.
UP NEXT >>
Motorcyclists tend to be portrayed as thrill-seeking adrenaline junkies. But we both know (and psychology research agrees) that’s not the whole story.
I’m hearing voices in my head. It’s your stories! They say, “Read me … read me now. I’m really good!”
More than any of your other stories to date, this was a thoughtful, well laid out, and emotive piece that struck a deep chord within me for a few reasons, not the least of which being having JUST had a discussion Saturday night on this very subject (with no prior knowledge of your post) with a cousin who is dear to my heart.
You’re going to call me a filthy liar; but we’re all winding down a mini-family reunion / mass-birthday celebration up in New England with my wife’s side of the family. I hadn’t seen a notification for your post, because I was taking some time away from electronics; and my cousin (who’s a new rider) and I were talking about this very subject because she gets understandably nervous about riding. Then I turn on my computer today and, miraculously, there’s your post.
Life is crazy, serendipitous, and beautiful that way.
I have 10 – and a bonus – simple, personal rules about riding that I’ve shared with you in the past – one of them being, “Don’t ride tired/angry/sick/tipsy or worse drunk.” Another being, “Do not ride scared (you’ll incur greater risk otherwise); but you must ride as though no one can see you – that goes especially for intersections.”
Because of your latest Ridewell post, I’m adding another: “Use the Force!”
As you may or may not know, I’m a Star Wars fanatic. I don’t believe there is such a thing as an X-Wing Fighter (though there should be) nor Jedi Knights; but I do believe in the power of the Force. We here on Earth just call it “instincts.”
If I’m not violating any of my 11 rules; but I just don’t “feel” the ride then I don’t ride. That said, if the feeling persists for more than a day, I perform a bit of a mental inventory to figure out and work through any triggers that may have activated that negative feeling within me so I can get back to riding … quickly!
Seriously digging your writing, LT. Your lit is lit.
Ride on and Write on, because you’re Right on!
Thank you!! I have to say, I drafted this one several times over several weeks. It’s a sensitive subject, and I didn’t want to alienate any of my readers. And I’m trying to weave more research into my writing, because so much of the existing writing about motorcycles is based mostly on anecdotes and personal observations. My goal is to combine both.
And how serendipitous! I hope more and more people start to have these conversations with other riders. It helps so much to know that others have the same thoughts and learn about how they manage them. I got really nervous about riding when I first started, and I wish someone had been there to share this with me!
Yes, your rules are awesome 🙂 I think most riders have some variation of them, even if they’re more tacit. I grew up a huge Star Wars fan myself, and I think that’s a great rule to add to your list. Instinct and intuitive understanding are on my list of favorite research topics right now — IMO it’s how our powerful brains synthesize the mass of information we accumulate every split second and turn it into action. But that’s a topic for another day!
Always good to hear from you, Ohene! Ride safe! 😀
Great post.
I have to agree with you, I think the majority of us get this pre-ride anxiety.
My answer was to absorb as much rider training as I could, not just skills based lessons but a big focus on risk assessment. Then all I did was practice and more practice.
I guess a big part of riding is overcoming your survival reactions, I’m not saying I had these feelings all the time but that when I had them I better knew how to manage them or could work back through them.
Just my personal approach, I’m always interested to hear how others manage these sort of emotions.
Thanks, Kathy! Education and practice is a great way to not only help yourself become a better rider, but help cope with these anxious thoughts. I think you’re right that overcoming survival reactions is important to learning how to ride, but you also have to know when to listen to them, like when you’re riding and you need to react quickly. Which is, of course, where your practice comes in 🙂
It sounds like you’re a very thoughtful and responsible rider! I wish we had more of you 😉 Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!
This is a really good post. I’m currently injured due to a slow bike crash and every so often I get huge anxiety pangs and worry that I’ll have another accident. I know the chances are slim and I’m really keen to get back on the bike when I’m well enough but the thoughts still come. I try to tell myself that it’s normal to be a bit scared, after all, it is more dangerous than driving a car but I won’t let it stop me from riding.
http://www.thesroad.com
So sorry to hear about your accident! I just read your post about it, I’m glad you and the pedestrian are both okay, but I’m so sorry this happened so soon after you got your license! You’re right, after something like that it’s completely normal to be anxious about getting back on the bike. Just be patient with yourself and take it one step at a time. You’ll get there! Looking forward to reading about your journey 🙂