Why All the Gear All the Time?

I like the persuader on his left thigh. Might not be able to do that in Arizona though. Maybe Texas...

Whoever said ATGATT wasn't cool never saw the above suit. Crysis?


Serious, I think the MC gear looks cool. Race leathers and helmet looks coolest, but its a bit hot and difficult to deal with.

Glad you are mostly OK.

Will you be getting a full face helmet now? Changing brands or getting anything else new?

When I was teaching MSF, I could only find one issue I didn't like about the course.
Students were taught in the classroom what to do if a front/rear tire skidded after their first day of riding.
During my 5 year stint, most of the crashes I witnessed were on the brakes. The students are typically braking from speeds of under 20MPH, and at those speeds, leaving the rear locked is safest for MSF purposes. Students do highside.

I would always make the students aware that for MSF we want them to leave the rear brake on during a skid, but in the real world at higher speeds, they need to be aware that chopping the throttle and releasing the brake while the back end is out of alignment can cause a highside. I would also tell them there are other options, but MSF isn't the place to explore them.
Trying to teach them how to release the brake in a rear tire slide is way more than the course has time to deal with.

I hear this all the time from the cruiser group I ride with from time to time.

Me: Why don't you wear any gear?
Them: I don't plan to crash!


Them: Why are you wearing that dorky Hi-Vis vest?
Me: It helps w/ people seeing me. It helps most as dusk and dawn!
Them: That's why I have chrome!

This is just 2 of millions of excuses I hear. It blows my mind.

My superviser at work wiped out the other day. He was making a quick trip to the store about a mile from his home and didn't bother to suit up. At the intersection a block from his home the bike slid out from under him as he swerved to avoid a car ( he hit a patch of loose gravel). He was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, tennis shoes, and a helmet. His forearm was peeled from the elbow to the wrist and from his hip to his ankle was also badly lacerated. A quick trip to the store cost him a week out of work, a lot of pain and medical bills. Not to mention damage to his bike, a new (3mos.) Honda CBR 600.

It just reinforced the whole ATGATT concept to me in a big way!

>"I like the persuader on his left thigh. Might not be able to do that in Arizona though."<

Not a problem here--so far.

ATGATT wont save you.
Only your riding will.

because deep road rash is about as painful as kidney stones,

I wear all my dirt gear, to include the chest protector, and MX boot and this is just going anywhere even on the street.. With my DS helmet and the black visor I get the " you look like Master Chief" it took me a while to understand what the gate guard ment by that.. Guys at work give me shit when ever I get suited up to leave work, (they also ride) They asume the flight suit, helmet and gloves are fine..

I beg to differ. Mad riding skills might have kept me from being in a situation where the gear could come into play, but since I apparently don't have those skills in a large enough measure, the gear is why I'm here typing this.

GA 400 is a motor speedway during morning rush hour...glad you survived. When three lanes are running fast, and chock-full-o-cages, I have to ride in the far right lane to keep my ass from crackin' walnuts. I don't think any amount of riding experience will make me comfortable to ride in that center lane in rush hour traffic -- but that's just me.

...this makes me wanna shop for pants. I've got a bad habit of riding in jeans...

There is always such a thing as a circumstance beyond your control.

Do it. A friend of mine has a left leg paralyzed from just below the knee down, thanks to a ride/crash in jeans. He always wears armored pants now, and it took him a year of physical therapy before he could ride again.

Not to argue against the benefits of armored pants, but I'm not so sure the armor in my pants would do much good in a crash, especially against a side force/impact. When I don my pants (and I do every ride) I feel I'm only defending myself against road rash, and little else. Can you wager a guess if armored pants would have done much for your friend?

"Why, is there shrinkage?" would have been accepted also.

Was out riding a few days ago with my black riding jacket and HIGH-VIZ Olympic vest over the jacket on my way to my National Guard Drill (have to wear protective gear by regulation). I was stopped at a red light and had some young girl pull up next to me and roll down her window. She stated that she seen me from a mile away becouse of the HIGH-VIZ vest I was wearing. I told her that I wouldn't need to wear it, if she would stop texting on her cell and just drive.



Only thing I got was a snotty look - but I am OK with that as the point was driven home...

Fabulous Idea... just too bad that the people who ride in their shorts and t-shirts do not attend these classes.

Wearing all the gear is a real pain in the ass down here in Puerto Vallarta in the summer time. If you are not moving and stuck in traffic it is hell x2!

But about 50 years ago on a 5 HP Vespa scooter I learned just how painful it is when skin meets the road. So I sweat up a lot of gear but, in my mind, there really is no alternative.

In his case, his leg got sliced open, cutting at least one nerve. So if he could have prevented that, he would have been better off. Yes, the compound fracture would have still happened, and his recovery time would have been similar. But there's a good possibility that he would still have feeling and motion in his ankle, had he been better protected.

Wish the HIPPA laws were not around.

Got called to the ER the other day to look at a guy that slid down the on ramp and was going to be transfered to the University or burn center for all the skin he lost. Yup riding in shorts, work boots, no shirt, no gloves, no helmet.

Guy looked like someone had taken a blow torch to his back/hip/leg/arm/back of his head. A camera would have been nice!

After a few past episodes of "Asphalt Surfing", I finally realized that the additional pain really sux. .
I made the decision to continue riding and to be AGATT, just in case I ever do survive the big one.