Haven't been on here for ages but thought this pic of my gear might drive home the message and show the value in wearing good protective gear. Been a few too many threads on crashes and now the death of a new member (RIP Scott Carpenter).
Seems to be a lot of riders this summer in T-shirts and shorts. I have no prob doing that myself for a slow trip to the corner shop but I've seen riders on the open road dressed to be skinned to the bone.
Even skilled riders like Death Inc. I see have been caught out. Sorry to see that Death, hope the wounds are healing.
I went for a major slide in October and this pic doesn't do justice to the damage to the gear BUT it hung together long enough to save me. Have to say I was shocked by how long and how far I slid. Seemed to go on for ever and yes, crashing hurts. I already knew that but I guess I deserved a reminder.
I believe that I would have bled to death if I had been in jeans and light top. It was a while before anyone came along. My leather pants were ripped open up one leg and across the bum but they took the brunt and left me with nothing more than some gravel rash and bruises. The Tecknic cordura jacket was ripped up and during the slide both arm pads (elbows and one shoulder) came out but again by then they had taken the worse of the slide. The wear on one of the pads shows how I would have lost a lot of flesh. Can't figure out how but my gloves were off when I came to rest??
The big praise goes to the helmet. I had a backpack on and I think that kept flipping me back on to my front, face down into the road. My eyes were fixed on the stones in the roadseal zinging pass 1 inch from my eyeballs and I was shitting myself that the visor would shatter or open but it held. Ground away the helmet all over the front and sides. Too scary to think about what if it had been an open face.
I have replaced the gear with identical pants, helmet and another tecknic jacket- good on domestic insurance, thank you Tower.
Oh and thanks Sparky Bills for a great deal on the lid.
The bike was 11 days old. Bloody sad to see it wrecked and yes I am very disappointed in myself for what happened. Been lots of soul searching and such. With my Kids this really hit home hard and that's been the biggest hurdle for me to come to grips with.
Before anyone asks IT WAS TOTALLY MY FAULT I CRASHED - ENOUGH SAID, end of discussion, say no more, full stop, the end.
I'll post a pic of the replacement bike next.
So be careful. If you can't be careful wear a condon or something.
MD
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Originally Posted by DEATH_INC.
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