Its Gorse of course....

**kro** · 14th March 2006, 17:18

Sweet mother of Mary, if I didn't just pull 14 individual gorse prickles out of my kneecaps today. I went riding in the Moutere forest 10 days ago, and must have picked them up then. Most of them were like 5mm long.

I feel like Chasey Lane.

**Ixion** · 14th March 2006, 17:27

It's the little short muvva only a mm or so long that are the real bastards. They break of flush with the skin, and you don't know they're there . Untill they start suppurating and you end up with all these little pus filled ulcers, and have to dig the buggers out with a needle.

**merv** · 14th March 2006, 17:43

Yep and being a dirt biker from way back I still wear leather moto-x trousers with nice big knee pads and the gorse will even penetrate those.

**kro** · 14th March 2006, 18:43

Thats what alerted me to the problem Ix', I had one that had got nasty looking, and I sat down at work today, and scraped it with my fingernail, and thought I could see something, and squeezed it, and it damn near shot out of my leg, and was all nasty underneath, then I discovered heaps more. They had all broken off under the skin too.

Thats starting to look like a good idea merv

**cheese** · 14th March 2006, 20:17

Oooh fuck that sounds NASTY!

**NordieBoy** · 15th March 2006, 09:18

Hand guards on the bike

Shin/knee guards under the pants

Learned this after my first Moutere ride :eyepoke:

One finger felt like the joint had arthritis for about 2 months and then a bit of gorse popped out...

**Motu** · 15th March 2006, 09:45

We used to ride on abandoned land,well it was a farm that was in contention,and a mate of mine did the fire breaks on it,and being a rider did it with us in mind.There was a hell of a lot of gorse,and most were just bowled over and stripped - so we had to ride ''with the flow'',go the other way around and a 2 meter bush might run up your forks and bars,that was scary shit at speed.We rode on it until the new growth was knee high standing on the pegs.

My old boots and steel caped lace up gumboots are still pimpled in gorse needles.I wore outside knee guards and a leather jacket and gloves - take a tumble on that stuff and you'd be picking out gorse for weeks...months even.

**Oscar** · 15th March 2006, 10:28

Speaking from years of experience, leave them a coupla days. After they've had time to get a bit pussey, they pop out a treat...

**Ixion** · 15th March 2006, 12:12

Originally Posted by Motu

..- take a tumble on that stuff and you'd be picking out gorse for weeks...months even.

I did . I was.

**kro** · 15th March 2006, 17:08

A theme is appearing here..... I need more fancy schmancy gear. I'm happy with this, you can never have too much gear.

**laRIKin** · 15th March 2006, 17:15

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

Hand guards on the bike

Shin/knee guards under the pants

Learned this after my first Moutere ride :eyepoke:

Yep sometimes you just have to learn about that the hard way.
That is to talk yourself into buying more or better gear. (I do as well)

**crazyxr250rider** · 15th March 2006, 17:51

Try taking a leap into a acre of the stuff

man it sucks how it breakes under your skin and gets all infected gezz....got heaps in my arms...

**Motu** · 15th March 2006, 19:29

Box thorn is pretty serious stuff to go into at speed,like getting 3in nails into your skin,but worst of all is blackberry - kinda like Steve McQueen hung up in the barbed wire.

Found some nettles at a trial one day - ''Stay away from those stinging nettles'' says some guy.''Oh,is that what they are...do they really sting?''

Yes,they do sting!

**IronicCapers** · 15th March 2006, 20:54

I thought that the gorse would simply and safely rot and break up in my skin quietly. Boy i was wrong arm got a lovely infection started!! Hurt lik hell but the older they are the easier they come out