How many of you do wear protective clothing, because........

[Defekticon]

Sorry for the delay, was out of town. I hit a four inch lip in a construction zone doing about 50. They had ground the old ashpault and left this lip in the lane of travel. It was going the direction of travel. It was similar to when you were a kid riding your bicycle and trying to hop onto a curb and you only get the front tire up. The back slid for a second till it cought and when it did it snapped the whole bike. I guess it would be considered a high side accident. I was thrown down the lane of travel and the bike nearly flipped all the way over. There were scratches on the top of the windscreen. I was kept in the hospital for a day and a half for lacerations on the liver checking for hemorrhaging but all was good. Today all is good except my left elbow will hurt if i set it on something hard the wrong way. New bike is at the dealer waiting for me to pick it up.

I've always wondered this, and I hope you don't mind me asking: Is there any liability here to the state or the contractor that does this work? 4 inches is enough to damage a car, this seems incredibly negligent. It's also how my grandmother died. My grandfather hit a similar ledge in a construction zone, she was thrown off the back of the bike and run over by the bike directly behind them and died right there.

 

[howier]

After the fact i thought the same thing. Unfortunately no one got pictures of the road but there were plenty of witnesses of the condition. I did try to contact a couple of law firms in that area but never got a reply. Since it was in a rural part of Canada I don't know how the laws are there. I would think here in the states I would have had lawyers lining up at my hospital bed waiting to get me money.

 

[SilverBullet]

ATGATT is a personal decision so no comment on that. But I can't imagine riding the Tenere in shorts though due to heat. Heck even in blue jeans I'm not comfortable as my left leg gets heat soaked.

_

 

[YamahaSuperTenere14]

30 years ago, you would't have caught me dead wearing any protective gear other than gloves (often finger-less), glasses, boots and a helmet; didn't matter if it was on dirt or on asphalt. Same for the "look" of the bike, windshield and bags were taboo stuff and "uncool". Don't blame me, don't judge me, I didn't think I was stupid or wrong; I was 20 and I was Superman; sounds familiar
Can't even say "I wish I had someone to advise me back then" because...not sure I would have listen; my motto was ::021::
A few wrecks, including a bad one (but got lucky), countless winters days freezing my butt on night rides, as I did not have bags, back then, to carry extra clothing (but I did look cool...I think...frozen but cool). Didn't matter where I was, Death Valley in August, in the snowy mountains in Spain, or in the rain in France, I was never wearing the right stuff, got too hot, too cold but for sure had a blast ::008::
Anyway, fast forward 30 years, still on 2 wheels, windshield, bags and protective gear are now given full attention and carefully selected. And if I get to talk to a kid about riding gear, I will do so, letting him know of my own experiences, good and bad, hoping it will make a difference, not if but when the day comes. Got older, a bit wiser and do not bounce back as well as before but for sure still enjoy our 2 wheels ::001::
Not very politically correct but damn true!

 

[hawk281]

FULL GEAR ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!! ::021::

 

[shrekonwheels]

I hit a four inch lip which was running parallel to my lane while riding through highway construction going 59ish as well. An iron grip and shithouse luck kept me upright. Miraculously I did not need to change my underwear.

I always wear high viz helmet and jacket as well as gloves, boots and usually pants as well.

I don't how I used to ride without a helmet, just the protection from bugs and rocks makes it worthwhile to me.

 

[Freebooter]

Yep. I used to ride in summer with tennis shoes, shorts and tee shirt, as most do around here (central Al). But after seeding people in pics, and some friends, torn up with road rash, and having people pull out in front of me all the time, I got me a Joestreetgear hi viz yellow mesh jacket and black ICON riding pants and a full coverage helmet. Now, I feel totally necked without it. I won't mount up until I am fully dressed. I might ride up to the store a 1/4 mile away without it, but that is about it.

 

[stomp347]

I wear it because I had road rash once when I was young. I never want to experience that again.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I pulled into the Sheetz at Romney for gas last weekend and across the parking lot was a big local Good-Ol-Boy who had gone down the night before in his T-shirt. His arm was bright red from the shoulder to wrist and still had flecks of black dirt or scab in numerous scratches. Said he was only doing 20 on his old Wing when gravel got him.


Nice guy with great humor but clearly in pain.

 

[oldbear]

I see these dudes in shorts, t-shirts and a do-rag and just shake my head. If they question why I just say, "try running across the parking lot and trip yourself and see if it hurts..." ,
I've been asked, "isn't it uncomfortable (on a HOT day)...."Yeah but not as uncomfortable as a skin graft.... ::015:: MANY years ago on my new Yamaha 305 Cross Country I got cleaned up to go on a date. New khaki pants and dress type shirt. About a half mile from home I went around a corner, hit gravel and went down. Had the pants literally shredded on the right side and I wasn't running but about 15 mph. THAT's why I'm ATGATT

 

[Defekticon]

I see these dudes in shorts, t-shirts and a do-rag and just shake my head. If they question why I just say, "try running across the parking lot and trip yourself and see if it hurts..." ,
I've been asked, "isn't it uncomfortable (on a HOT day)...."Yeah but not as uncomfortable as a skin graft.... ::015:: MANY years ago on my new Yamaha 305 Cross Country I got cleaned up to go on a date. New khaki pants and dress type shirt. About a half mile from home I went around a corner, hit gravel and went down. Had the pants literally shredded on the right side and I wasn't running but about 15 mph. THAT's why I'm ATGATT

You have to tell them that the cost of heirloom (hate that buzzword) type riding gear for a daily commuter is like paying for an insurance policy. Comfortable hot weather Gore-tex jackets and with mesh/Cordora AFT are a fraction of the deductible of a skin graft, debriding, etc after insurance. Buy the best money can buy up front. You will A: Be more likely to wear it if it's comfortable and B: amortize over a longer period of time. If you're not riding often, and are willing to put up with the trash-bag effect of non-goretex like waterproof textiles there is an entire market for that value.

 

[Will Rotten]

Not sure if this worked? Before I got my summer suit I was riding down the road to my neighborhood when a bug fell out of the tree above me and hit me in the chest. Not sure what it was but it hurt like hell and created a vagina on my chest. I ordered my summer suit the next day.

 

[Magdump]

All the gear MOST of the time.

I wear all the gear on significant trips. Gloves and helmet are it for the occassional short and slow ones (under a mile and not over 30 mph) usually. I feel like a retard when i dont have all my gear on and feel kinda ashamed and that a real rider would see me and decide i was a squid but some super brief and slow trips, well, it is just not worth the hassle for me.

While this is not a popular position to take among serious riders, a reasonableness balancing is my choice to make.

Full gear to drive a mile at slow speeds to and from the MARC train station during the week? The correct answer is of course yes but give me a break.

Overall then, wear it all when you can and when it is reasonable. We must each decide when the hassle is worth it. And it usually is.

 

[trikepilot]

Because... I work in the OR and see the results of not doing so.

 

[eemsreno]

We wear riding gear most of the time. When we ride to church in an hour I won't have on my riding gear but if we go on a ride after church we will.
Here is some pictures from how we traveled in the 80s.
Not anymore.

 

[True Grip]

What is Magnum P.I. doing standing next to Michelle with his arm around her?

 

[trikepilot]

Holy crap!!! That guy in the pic is seriously ripped!! His pecs will protect him in either a fall or dark alley.

 

[Freebooter]

Where I live, near Montgomery, Al, everyone and their brother has a bike it seems. This is cruiser country. I only see our types of bikes, BMWs, Ducatis, etc, once in a great while (have yet to see another SupTen). Anyway, 90% of these riders around here just wear jeans or shorts and tee shirts, many just tank tops, and their women too.

I wear "Hi-viz" yellow summer mesh padded jacket and summer mesh black, padded ICON riding pants. Even when it is warm it is not hot as one would think, as the wind blows right through.

 

[TheHelios]

I just moved to Dallas from Boca Raton and there seems to be way more daily bikers out here. In South Florida, there were tons of fair weather/weekend bikers but very, very few daily bikers. I'll attribute this to the death trap that is the roads down there.

Anyway, I'm ATGATT regardless of how damn hot it is and both Dallas and S. Florida got super hot. I wear a Scorpion 900x Hi Viz Helmet, Scorpion Yukon Jacket (was useful for the random rains in S. Florida but not really useful in Dallas), ARC Battle Born Pants (These say they're waterproof but they sure as hell ARE NOT), Sidi Adventure Rain Boots, and Held Air n Dry gloves. I'm just thankful that I get to use the blocked-off HOV lanes in TX so I'm not at a constant standstill during rush hour traffic.


My motto is that I'd rather sweat than get a skin graft

 

[Jbusch]

I recently purchased a olympia ag5 jacket, it has a zip out quilted liner, zip out rain jacket the can be worn under or over the jacket, and the jacket itself is Kevlar mesh. When everything is zipped out it breathes well. Dress for the slide is my motto. I can't imagine not wearing everything all the time. Even a 10mph slap to the pavement without a helmet will due damage to the brain. I have a young daughter and have every intention of playing with her everyday till I die at a ripe old age. Plus I'm in the fitness biz and need my body to function at 100% all the time

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