The Fear of Riding in Front of Others and How to Work Through It
Adventure Rider Radio – Motorcycle Podcast
Adventure Rider Radio | Adventure Motorcycling
4.9 • 960 Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2026
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
There’s a side of motorcycle training almost no one talks about — the mental pressure of learning new skills in front of other riders. Why can training make you feel like you’ve suddenly gotten worse before you get better? Why does confidence sometimes drop even when your skills are improving? Through rider Erik Wilkinson’s experience, along with insights from expert trainer Chris Birch and Monica Birch, we explore what’s really happening in your mind during training — and how to manage it so you come out a stronger, more confident rider.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | One of the best investments you can make in yourself as a rider is training. The idea is simple. |
| 0:05.6 | You go, you learn new skills, you come out a better rider. But that's not what always happens, |
| 0:10.7 | because sometimes it's not the terrain or our skills that get in the way. It's what's happening |
| 0:16.1 | inside our heads. The pressure of riding in front of others, the pressure of making mistakes where |
| 0:23.3 | everyone can see. And that strange feeling that in order to improve, we first feel like we've |
| 0:28.7 | actually lost skills that we thought we already had. It's something that most riders experience |
| 0:35.0 | in training, or even just on a group ride, but it's rarely |
| 0:38.6 | talked about. So in this episode, we're going to look at what's really happening in those |
| 0:42.7 | moments, why it affects us the way it does, and very importantly, how to work through it |
| 0:48.4 | so the experience builds confidence instead of eroding it. I'm Jim Martin. This is Adventure Rider Radio. Stay with us. We |
| 0:56.2 | get a good one for you. |
| 1:00.7 | Hi, I'm Sam Manicum. Ted Simon. Justin Vince. Simon Pavey. How'd you get heard of? |
| 1:05.1 | Jocelyn Snow. Charlie Bowman. Simon Thomas. Lisa Chavittoran. Grant Johnson. Jimmy Lewis. |
| 1:09.8 | James Javis. Chris Birch. |
| 1:11.1 | Chipney coat. |
| 1:11.9 | Chavich Farts. |
| 1:12.8 | Quentin Smart. |
| 1:13.5 | You're a Lee Schoolwacker. |
| 1:14.5 | And you're listening to Adventure Dry. |
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| 1:20.5 | And Green Chili Adventure Gear offers American Made. |
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... |
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