HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Bicycling Rumination and Anxiety

Support Forums
>
Anxiety & Panic Disorders
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 1/7/2021 1:19 PM (GMT -7)
I'm a bicyclist. Ever since last month's accident near Las Vegas in which a truck plowed into a group of 20 cyclists, killing 5, my anxiety has risen and it's difficult to stop thinking about it. This has happened to me before.

As a cyclist, I've done everything I can control, and am a 100% attentive, defensive and abide by all rules of the road. I was hit by a driver as a kid, and landed in the hospital for a week, but thankfully don't remember anything. I've had motorists throw things at me, etc. With all the distracted driving going on, I know I take a chance riding my bike. I stay on roads with designated bike lanes or on trails that are reserved for non-motor-vehicle traffic.
Posted 1/7/2021 10:29 PM (GMT 0)
Caution, attentiveness, good bike maintenance, and realistic evaluation of risk are all good. Obsessive thinking and rumination, not so much. If you feel like you’re in the latter category, a few months of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy might do the trick.
Posted 1/7/2021 4:50 PM (GMT -7)

medved said...
Caution, attentiveness, good bike maintenance, and realistic evaluation of risk are all good. Obsessive thinking and rumination, not so much. If you feel like you’re in the latter category, a few months of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy might do the trick.

Agreed. CBT works for me. A day at a time.
Posted 1/8/2021 4:02 AM (GMT -7)
Tim,
I would only ride on back streets or parks. Nothing remotely close to traffic. I see people riding all the time in heavy traffic. This scares me to death. I know its not right to have to worry about what a motorist might do but better safe than sorry.

I used to have a motorcycle and would like to ride one again but I know if I did get one my riding would be severely limited. I used to ride when younger with no shirt or shoes on. How is that for really stupid behavior. Now I would not dream of such a thing.

Best of luck to you sir.
Posted 1/8/2021 6:18 AM (GMT -7)
An ex avid cyclist. Hoping to
Te engage.
I was fast...skilled attentive
And took no @*#!.
Ridden in all conditions and
I was the one drivers neefed to be wary of! And in younger days...of myself!

Keep cycling. Soz for what happened.
Ya brain just sensing danger
And advising ya in it's own way.

Keep 💪. Expletive them.
You have the same rights on the road....and the right to ride knowing you are safe.

HT
Posted 1/8/2021 5:40 PM (GMT -7)
I like your post, HT. I know the rights of the road, but regrettably a man on a bicycle is no match for 2 tons of steel.
Posted 1/8/2021 10:23 PM (GMT -7)
I hear ya. HT.
Posted 1/9/2021 1:48 AM (GMT -7)
Bicycling has increased in popularity in the US and many cities are constructing separate bike paths. There are plans to build a bikes-only route across the country. In many areas abandoned railroad tracks have been converted to bike trails. This is a reason for celebration for those of us who love to cycle. A big relief from the anxiety of Covid for me was watching the European bike races from August thru October.
Posted 1/9/2021 3:38 AM (GMT -7)
Tour down under, giro and le tour de france. These i enjoy.
walter, pari rebaux, etc. spelling! errr.
Am an aussie, good riding here, but each state has it good and bad spots.
Am going an electric pas.
Been an age since i have turned a wheel,
should be a blast.

Ride on. HT
Posted 1/9/2021 5:16 PM (GMT -7)
Aussies rock! And roll!

Post Edited (Tim G) : 1/10/2021 12:13:17 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/9/2021 5:25 PM (GMT -7)
👍🎸👷🚲 HT
Posted 1/10/2021 12:12 PM (GMT -7)
Being noticed while cycling-- I already use a neon reflective vest when riding. I am getting a brighter flashing red rear light. I already have other safety features, including a front and rear helmet light, rear view miror, strobe headlight.

Post Edited (Tim G) : 1/10/2021 12:16:20 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/10/2021 12:46 PM (GMT -7)
Seems to me the practical part of this (reasonable safety measures) and the psychological part of it are separate, though I appreciate how easy it is to conflate them.
Posted 1/10/2021 1:20 PM (GMT -7)

medved said...
Seems to me the practical part of this (reasonable safety measures) and the psychological part of it are separate, though I appreciate how easy it is to conflate them.

One can't live in a bubble and protect against every eventuality, but practical measures help with mental resilience. The easy answer is to give up bicycling; the crazy answer is throw all caution to the wind; the practical answer is to do all in one's power to take a risk while reducing it. In the case of the recent death of 5 cyclists's deaths in Nevada, there is NO protection against a truck driven by someone under the influence.
Posted 1/10/2021 8:37 PM (GMT -7)
am with ya. on my mobility scooter, before it died, was lit up, i had vest and fluro tape.
Yeah it hit 32kmh easily. i miss it. Legal battle. Hit by a truck riding, yeah, heart attack at home......
well. Got to enjoy life, safely as best, no bubbles. riding more attentive than walking! HT
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply