do you ever start to question yourself , just before you ride.insomnia

I've been a Dad for 5 months and I'm kinda feeling the same way. Once the bike starts the feelings go away, but it can be tough to get to the track.

The best thing for me is to think about it logically. When I race, it's the expert class, meaning I'm not that shitty on a bike. I'm in shape, I always ride in my limits. My local tracks are safe, it's not logical for me to be so worried about getting hurts.

I'm always a better Dad/construction worker after I ride.

It's even more common when there is road riding involved (ADV for example).

Best to have a routine and checklist so all your ducks are on a row / avoid f-ups / anxiety

Insomnia and some of the medications for it can be brutal the first half of the following day. Lack of sleep can make you “Desperate.” You have a ride day scheduled with friends or a day trip planned with family, then wake up in the morning and can’t see it happening. Coffee, a little junk food and sunshine. Just power through the day. Typically that works for me, and looking back on the day I usually feel it was worth it.

Take a step back and have fun and stop pressuring yourself.

Being older those thoughts cross my mind more about speed and getting in the way. Luckily, I still have decent speed and pretty good technique. And like Sandusky said " I'm a better dad/ construction worker after I ride". Just enjoy and be as smart as we can.

I never sleep good the night before a race, try to get 8 hours of sleep for 2 or 3 nights before race day eve. Race on Saturday ? Concentrate on getting good sleep Wednesday and Thursday nights. It makes not sleeping the night before less of a worry so you might even sleep better the night before knowing that even if you don’t get a lot of rest you’ll still be good to go.  Easier said than done I know but it works for me. Same with hydrating, the 3 or 4 days before is when you need to be powering fluids  Plan ahead, be prepared and “maybe” lol you might sleep better the night before as added bonus.  As for 2nd guessing ? Fuck that’s every time I ride I don’t have a fix for that. Good luck 

I don’t have insomnia, but the older I get the more nervous I am when I go riding- even worse when I go racing. So much so I don’t ride or race nearly as much as I should…

It’s a fear of getting hurt…healing takes longer and getting injured would really interfere with my life. 

That being said, now that winter is here I miss riding/racing more than ever..
 

Johnny O' used to say the only time he really got scared is when he's off the bike and thinking about things.

I used meditation with great success. There are even some great little meditation "tapes" you can listen to. The more you practice disciplining your mind, the easier it gets. I have a thing that I learned from meditation masters- when a negative intrusive thought occurs, flip it to something positive. It will never be perfect, but there are things you can do to control your mind. You can train your mind, just like your body. If you visualize positive things on the track, in those split-second moments it will literally help to have a positive outcome. Your mind is chasing the good, not the bad.

This! 

I was fine once I purchased enough disability insurance to not worry about finances if I wreck. 

Happens to me but I just try to block that shit out and have fun.  

Find a good woods/ cross country loop…. Much less stress and dam fun…..

When I used to race, nerves and doubt consumed me up until the gate dropped. Then it all went away. Wild

That’s for you to decide. It gets easier when you’re older because there are not many years left to save for so less concerns. 

I think this has a lot to do with the pre frontal cortex of the brain.  The world is a small place when you’re a teenager trying to be as fast as possible…in your late 20s self awareness becomes an ever increasing factor.

I worry about getting hurt all the time…but the only tool I have to combat it is to accept that it’s a possibility and worrying ahead of time won’t change that it can happen.

I feel like in our sport there are so many posts online about injury and surgery and that type of thing.  It makes it feel like it’s inevitable, but not everyone has serious injuries.  Mitigating risk is all we can really do 

Last time I rode I was thinking about it while in the air off a jump, "please don't lock up, please..  That can't be good.

Several races when I wasn’t really feeling it I would tell myself I’m just gonna let everyone go and try to work through the pack, it seemed to take the stress away. And every single time by the time the starter was headed towards the dog house those thoughts went out the window. 😀 

I’m in the same boat. New dad of 7 weeks. It’s winter here in Minnesota, but I’ve already been wondering if it’s worth the risk come spring time. 

Anyone have thoughts who have been dads for longer?

Yeah 3 year old and 5 month old, it helps a little that my 3 year old is taking a liking to it, try to bring the fam on practice days and my toddler rides is Stacyc/strider and gets very excited. But sometimes it feels irresponsible to be doing what I’m doing. I think I ride in my limits, stay hyperaware of what’s going on around me on the track, I know when to draw the line, for example tracks that are slightly muddy, when you gotta back it down 10% or so are my kryptonite, no go for me. It’s a balance

I'm having the same thoughts as Luke. Mostly it's the thoughts of should I be doing this. I sometimes feel irresponsible and it can take the fun out of it. I waited 3 months to ride and I've never been so nervous to get on a bike. Once I crank the bike I'm good.

On bright side, I rode 3 times last week.

Congratulations on becoming a Dad.

Everyone copes differently on this. I stopped for a couple years in the 80's. Tried to play golf instead. After that time my wife came to me and said " Go get a bike, you're a dick when you don't ride" Once we swing a leg over and get a bit serious, it's difficult to stop and be happy. As long as we try to be aware of the track and ride within a relatively comfortable pace, we have done all that we can. I know some that have other activities and have torn ligaments, broken bones. Existing is different than living. JMO

My 2 cents probably isn’t worth the 2 cents but here it is. The fact that the sport is so dangerous and can make you afraid is why we love it. The rush of sitting on that gate or hitting that jump that scared you cannot be replicated. Yeah there’s times we may be nervous headed out to ride but there’s a weird calmness and sense of survival afterwards that keeps me sane. Take calculated risks and live your life. Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone. 

When I am not mentally "in it", this is my routine as well. Sometimes I do let the boys go and work on my passing, which can be really fun. Other times though, the starter jogs for the doghouse, my brain tunes in, my clutch is in juuuuuuust the right spot and BOOM, holie-o! Quitting is not an option, so enjoyment needs to be the order on the day. Work on shaking off the anxiety and make sure that your prep game is on point.

I have 4 kids 8 6 3 and 1 (yes im an idiot) I still ride and race but have backed it down to once every month or two. You guys are both in the tough stage with them being the first and still so young so I get the second guessing but if moto is your passion it doesn’t just go away and for me when I don’t get that throttle therapy I start getting grouchy and snappy without realising and the wife says to go riding. I just be smarter about it now, first moto of the day either racing or practice I just back it down a hair till the rust goes away. I generally just race the vet class where it is more mellow and guys give you space even though I still ride at an A level(mostly) and if the track is really baked or there is a sketchy section I just back it down to a safe level, we’re not going to be signing any contracts. If you try to surpress your passion firstly it makes you miserable, I know this because I sold everything and quit when my second was about 12 months old and your kids pick up on your sub conscious vibes anyway! I actually ride better now because I truly appreciate the opportunity when I get out to ride and I’m a better person to be around when I come home. My kids get to witness and learn preparation, effort, work ethic and most importantly following their passions.

I actually started riding after I got family. Life was not easy at the time and other stressing things going on at the same time  This was the port I always wanted to have since teenager but always thought it's too risky.

Absolutely the best way to clear mind and keeps me sporting to stay in shape even at winter time which is too quite long at here.

As previous have said, don't push your limits - have fun. 

Pretty much this.  I'm 63 now and we raced enduro from '19-21.  Every race, I'd wake up around 3 am just paralyzed with fear. I'm gonna get hurt and it's going to be expensive and take a long time to heal (if it does!!!). I'll get chronic back pain, get hooked on opioids, and die on the street!!!  I should just quit and go home!!!  I'm NEVER gonna do this again, EVER!!!  The mind can really come up with stuff at 3 am. 

I'd calm myself down by figuring out how many guys in the enduro are gonna get actually carted off by an ambulance (usually "none"), tell myself that it's just a trail ride, and so forth. I'd get calmed down, get back to sleep, get up at 6, make my coffee, hit the pooper, and then go out and ride pretty much as hard as I could.  A fast trail ride!!!  Afterwards, there's the massive exhilaration of having cheated death, pulled off that gnarly uphill, survived 3-4 hours of racing, and sometimes.... WON!!! Load up, head home, tired, muscle sore, but successful. 

And repeat. 

I guess the only thing to do is face the fears. But they can darn sure be fearful. 

The mind is an interesting thing. I think there are “soundtracks” in our head that are worth deleting and some worth repeating. I’m in my 30s, married, with one kid. I have always felt excited leading up to riding or racing, then nervous and anxious as I pull into the track. I appreciate some fear and respect for the elements….keeps me level headed and making good judgments on the track. I know my limits. But some of that fear has to be disassembled because it’s either not true or it’s all hypothetical. These days I just breathe the experience in (or try to) and just have fun. I’m naturally competitive but how awesome that we get to live out our passion. 

Insomnia is the symptom.  The cause is anxiety.  It's more common than you think, but manifests in different ways for people.  I get it before every riding trip.

The advice from the guy mentioning ADV helped me a lot.  Have a solid plan in place complete with checklists.  Prep your bike after your previous ride so you're not scrambling the week of.  Start packing the week before you ride.  Load up your truck the night before.  Avoid stimulants late the night before.  Try and get a good night's sleep and ease into things in the morning.

Me, I'd lay in bed and worry about forgetting something or the bike not being ready.  Then I'd stay up and watch the clock and agonize over how much sleep I WASN'T getting and how much the drive was going to suck.  It would completely ruin the entire day.  I started on the above and it alleviated the stress quite a bit.  The purpose of going riding is to get away from that nonsense.

Sound advice. Thanks mate. Cheers to all the moto dads out there 

If I don’t feel it, I still pack up and go. Usually it’s just me mindfu(king myself and everything feels good when I’m unloading. But there’s been a handful of times where I decided last minute to skip a ride and never started the bike. I’m closing in on 50 years of riding, missing 6-8 rides over the years just isn’t a problem in my opinion. Listen to yourself..