Ever been laughed at for "gearing up"??

[lmarti001]

I am in the Army, so you get comments if you do not gear up. Sure, it would be nice to ride without all the gear, but I would rather sweat than bleed. I personally do not care what people say, they will learn when they take a spill. I'd rather take what I have learned watching videos or hearing stories of accidents than learn the hard way in the hospital.

Happy riding everyone...Riding season is just about here!

Be safe out there!

 

[madmanmaigret]

I saw a big dude on a metallic orange 'Busa last night with his matching orange helmet hanging from the helmet lock. Over his head and face he had one of other skull face masks. Muscle shirt, shorts and sandels. My 7 year old son saw him and said, "Dad that man is stupid." I think having my son wear all the gear on our rides together has sunk in. He asked me why he had to wear all the stuff. I asked if he remembered the time he fell and cut his knee real bad and how hard he cried. He said, yes. I told him all the gear will stop him from getting hurt. He said, "Oh, okay."

thats my favorite, the matching helmet on the helmet lock

Thanks for teaching the youngins right, Top!

 

[keira]

When I get laughed at (rarely as I am a girl, and girls care about things like looks ), and i have time, I tell them the story of the time I got hit by a car on a bicycle - no helmet, short sleeves and jeans. Unconscious in the street, and missing all the skin on one arm, there is learning and thent here is LEARNING. Unfortunately, I was still an idiot on bikes for a while (read: squid). Maturity took over.

 

[keira]

Also, I have seen people riding in Mass. with helmets hooked ont heir arm, because there is no statement int he law saying WHERE they have to wear their helmet, just htat they have to wear one. How lame is that?

 

[redzag11]

Ok so im ready to leave work for home today, 85 degrees out. As im putting on my joe rocket textile mesh jacket, pants, full gloves, shoei helmet and boots one of the "cruiser guys" I work with comes up and just laughes at me "afraid of getting cold there"??? He wears jeans, tee shirt, tupperwear helmet (1/8" thick that says for novelity use only) and no gloves. I say "nah just being safe ya know" Then he says "oh dont be scared"

What an idiot.. This ever happen to anyone else??

Just tell him that you wear full gear because his wife likes it better when you do...

 

[hammerheadshadow]

IT IS YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE HERE RIGHT OR NOT? SO WHY WOULD YOU LISTEN TO AN IDIOT WHO IS STILL ALIVE (ONLY BECAUSE GOD TAKES CARE OF FOOLS AND KIDS : ). HELL THEY CAN LAUGH ALL THEY WANT TILL THEY FALL. Well next time refer a laughing idiot to Live to Ride - Ride to DIE. Let that sick ******* who runs the site straighten them out a little. :thumbup:

 

[OneTrack]

Well, all I can say is that I'd be in a lot better shape today if I had been wearing full gear when I had my falls/crashes in my early 20's, especially my knees and shoulders. I do have lower spine problems, but I doubt full gear would have helped there.
My son did have a chuckle at my expense the other day when I showed up wearing leather "racing" pants....He said I looked like Michael Flatley from RiverDance.
JOOC, what are the most comfortable knee and shin guards to wear under jeans? I tried wearing some MX units (Six-One-One), but they chafed like crazy behind my knees and were very uncomfortable....that's why I went to armoured leather pants.

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

OneTrack, I've got the Icon Knee Field Armor and love them. Your problem about the chafing behind the knees was my biggest concern when trying to figure out what kind of knee armor to get. I've worn knee braces (neoprene) when I was younger playing baseball and always had problems with the back of my knees getting raw.

These things, however, are absolutely fantastic! They've got 3 smaller straps on the lower leg (below the knee) and one strap above. The one above is very soft and sits above the soft skin on the back of the knee. I've found that once you strap the 3 lower straps down, these things aren't going anywhere...they're very secure. I put them on like this: Put the knee cup over your kneecap and the bottom of the brace over your shin. While holding it in place, reach around the back of your leg and grab the top strap on the bottom half of the guards. Strap that down willy-nilly (as you can fine tune them later). Then strap the bottom strap on the bottom half, and then the middle. Then I restrap the bottom straps one at a time. Now straighten your leg out and strap the top strap above the knee. I've found that the most comfortable way to strap the top strap is lightly. That way it doesn't cut off any circulation and you don't even notice it's there.

Yes, these do run down into the top of your boot (sport boots), but it's no different than having leathers in there. In fact, because they go into your boots, it helps hold them in place even better. With these on, you're protected from your feet to lower thigh. I never ride without them, now. In fact, it doesn't feel right when I don't have them on on the bike.

Sorry for the threadjack...hope this helps, though.

 

[jamesfz6]

Also, I have seen people riding in Mass. with helmets hooked ont heir arm, because there is no statement int he law saying WHERE they have to wear their helmet, just htat they have to wear one. How lame is that?

Thats got to be one of the dumbest ways to try and stick it to the man. I am sure they dont realize the helmet would do better on their head.

 

[poorwboy]

My comment to them is "I would rather sweat than bleed"
Thats the best one I have heard yet.

 

[jamesfz6]

I have been laughed at before..............

I was at cycle gear and i needed a new jacket because the liner on my old one wouldnt zip into it anymore. So i bought the best deal they had, it was a frank thomas kevlar jacket with all the armor and it was on sale for $250....the only problem was that it was a size too big. Of course i didnt think much of it at the time i just figured it just be alittle long in the arms and thats it. I tell you guys this jacket seemed like it was made with double the material as my old jacket. When i finally got home to test it out on the bike it was bunched up on the sides and it looked like i had a deformed belly hanging over my pants. Sure i got laughed at but it was a very warm jacket and it seemed to do its job.

One particular night it was about 70 degrees and my friend wanted to go for a night ride. I started suiting up and got the same remarks and snickers as before and he said it was too hot to wear a jacket so he rode in his t-shirt. The night was going great until we came up to a hard left. He was on the inside of the lane and i was following on the outside. He went around this turn and i saw him dodge something in the road, it was a chunk of concrete about 3 feet long and 6 inches high!!!!!!!!!


Needless to say i couldnt avoid it and it high sided me about 5 or 6 feet in the air and i slid 2 houses down from the bike. The bike landed sideways in the ditch. After finding one of my shoes and limping to the bike i rode it home even with the turnsignals hanging by the wires and the front fairing smashed.


Point of the story.......they dont pick on my anymore....that jacket saved me from some serious pain.

 

[vela]

Also, I have seen people riding in Mass. with helmets hooked ont heir arm, because there is no statement int he law saying WHERE they have to wear their helmet, just htat they have to wear one. How lame is that?

That's because they don't know how easy it is to hook up your handle bar into that helmet. And if that happens when traveling through traffic, things become very interesting... Ever played pinball? :Flash:

Over here you must wear your protective head gear on your head, the way it's ment to be worn. And it must be secured under your chin.
Almost everybody thinks you're stupid if they see you with no gear.

 

[Wolfman]

Saw a guy riding around on a Scooter the other day with shorts, sandals, and t-shirt! Am guessing he is taking the attitude, that it's a scooter, and not a "real" bike, so he does not need all the expensive gear, for his dirt cheap commuter.

Wont be too cheap, when they are picking bits of road out of his legs, etc, in the event of a crash.

I hit the road once in a highside at about 100km/h , and did a real good job of skidding along the road for a bit. Was wearing full gear, and apart from snapping my color- bone, when i landed on it from a great height, i did not have one other scratch or bruise!

Gear did it's job, period!

Only tools ride without gear! and i dont want good hospital beds taken up by irresponsible people, who cant do the right thing and take adequate precautions to protect themselves, and hopefully save themselves, and their families some grief when they do come acropper...

motocycling is dangerous enough, without making it more so, by being ignorant, or cheap.

Bottom line is ride safe, think of those around you, do the right thing, and let's face it, we dont ever want to see anyone crash, and hurt themselves.

 

[OkieDavid]

Came out of a store the other day and as I was putting on jacket, gloves,helmet a 16yo or so piped up and said "man if you're that afraid of it, maybe you should stop riding"....an old tatooed, bearded Harley rider in a wife beater shirt looked at the kid and said "he's wearing that stuff because he has MET the road...and she ain't friendly. He'll be back riding while you're still recovering"..Thought it was cool.

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

^^^ THAT, my friends, is absolutely AWESOME!

 

[Rocky01]

Came out of a store the other day and as I was putting on jacket, gloves,helmet a 16yo or so piped up and said "man if you're that afraid of it, maybe you should stop riding"....an old tatooed, bearded Harley rider in a wife beater shirt looked at the kid and said "he's wearing that stuff because he has MET the road...and she ain't friendly. He'll be back riding while you're still recovering"..Thought it was cool.

I was razzed by my own 'harley riding buddy and his wife' once while we were riding from NJ to Memphis. "Rocky isn't that leather jacket hot in the Sun?"
My Reply: "Only when we stop to gas up... otherwise it's cool". At the end of the day I had sunburn on my wrists where my gloves and jacket sleeves didn't meet... only a short band. The couple I rode with had bad sun burn on heads arms, etc.

Riders and non riders also forget that riding gear protects from sun burn and sometimes liquid sunshine!

I also had another harley biker raze ma in the fall when I put on layers under my leather jacket and a scarf for a 30 minute ride home. I was warm he wasn't!

Don't let anyone give you any crap about the gear YOU wear. Just hope they learn from you and not the hard way.

Ride Safe!:Sport:

Rocky

 

[wrightme43]

Meh

gear is for sissies.

 

[Scott]

Live to Ride - Ride to DIE

Thanks for scaring the **** out of me.

(no, really. Thanks... I think)

 

[Troubl]

Came out of a store the other day and as I was putting on jacket, gloves,helmet a 16yo or so piped up and said "man if you're that afraid of it, maybe you should stop riding"....an old tatooed, bearded Harley rider in a wife beater shirt looked at the kid and said "he's wearing that stuff because he has MET the road...and she ain't friendly. He'll be back riding while you're still recovering"..Thought it was cool.

Very cool. :thumbup: Love to hear things like that!

 

[Scott64a]

Yup, I wear a tourmaster mesh jacket, full face DOT helmet, gloves, jeans and boots MINIMUM every time I ride.

I had a friend say, "But what if you're just going to the store or for a quick ride? You don't need one then, do you?"

I told him that's when over 70% of all accidents happen, so it pays to have something on to at least protect your vitals. I made a good point with a 22 year old kid, and he will take that with him for life, so I'm glad we had that talk.

I had some hog riders, (and they're wives, what the hell is up with that? My wife isn't allowed...) who laughed at me for wearing a jacket in 95 degree weather, and I showed it to them and how it's really just mesh and pads, with removable rain and winter liners, and they were actually impressed. I told them I liked the use of my arms and spine and they nodded in agreement.
That's when the horror stories started coming out about people they knew who had bit the big one, so I asked them why they still wore skull buckets and flimsy leather vests.

Nobody had a good answer except, "comfort".

I gently reminded them that comfort isn't an option when you are scraped up over your torso and arms and have no mouth to bitch.

They laughed, but nervously. One of the wives mentioned a bike shop on the way they were going and said she wanted to look at the mesh jackets they had. She liked mine.

Side note: when I asked if they had a map, one of the guys said, "When you buy a big motorcycle, they GIVE you a map!"

I replied, "So if I pay $13,000 more I get a map? Cool."

Ha ha...