All the gear, all the time...

[Comike14]

I finally laid 'er down hard. I was in a gravel parking lot, and gave it a little gas. I didn't try to turn or break, just some gas.

BAM! It happened so fast it was like I was up then just suddenly down. I wasn't going very fast, but the bike landed hard on my left foot. I had on ALL my gear... except my boots. Just work shoes. Ended up with a fracture and a sprain. On adrenaline, I got the bike home in second gear (couldn't shift up from there). Needless to say, no riding for me until my foot heals, which will be a while.

I had been getting cockier and cockier, too. Riding fast, scraping my pegs on every turn, etc. I wasn't being cocky in the parking lot, but it almost feels like God's way of telling me to shape up. If I had been wearing my boots, though, my foot would have been dandy, and the only damage would have been the little cosmetic damage to the bike, and the damage to my pride. Now I'm off crutches, but hobbling around on a cane, and will be for some time.

Always wear all your gear. Had I not had on jeans, my leg would have been torn apart (I still drew blood, but not bad). Had I not had on my gloves, my hands would have been shredded to the bone. Had I not had on my armored jacket, I would have definitely damaged my arm and shoulder (onto which I let the impact roll after my wrists bent back too far). And finally, my helmet slapped the ground hard enough to daze me. I got lucky. If only I had my boots on...

[patrick_777]

Glad to hear you're okay. Gravel is pretty unforgiving when it comes to traction...and skin.

[Sarris]

Sorry man, thats a bitch. Hope you get better soon.

Generally, I try and stay on SOLID pavement.

When you're over 50 like me, we have 3 basic rules.
#1. Don't fall off.
#2. Don't fall off
#3. Don't fall off

:oops:

[davtnn]

leather gloves and jackets at 98 degrees looks and sounds sort of foolish ... up and until you have a personal encounter with a roadway.. i would rather sweat a bit and have to buy a new jacket than spend time getting skin grafts good move with the ATGATT

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by davtnn

leather gloves and jackets at 98 degrees looks and sounds sort of foolish ... up and until you have a personal encounter with a roadway.. i would rather sweat a bit and have to buy a new jacket than spend time getting skin grafts good move with the ATGATT

My neighbour who rides lightly clad always snickers when I go ATGATT but I did mention I would rather sit in a pool of sweat than lay in a pool of my blood. Better summer gear(which I have now)will make the ride cooler and much more comfy. Even a low speed get off can leave lifetime marks and injuries. Ride Safe guys and gals.

[LilNinja77]

Glad to hear you're (relatively) ok after the fall. IMO boots are one of the most important parts of my gear, I'd rather not wear my leather jacket than not wear my boots.......but that's 'cause I've had a broken ankle and foot in the past and already know how aggrevating that can be; on that note, good luck with your healing, hopefully it will be speedy. Also, if you consider jeans to be riding gear, you may want to rethink a few things. I don't know if you've ever had a friend crash at speed while wearing jeans.....all I'll say is it isn't a pretty sight.

As for the gravel, that's one of those things that takes getting used to. My driveway (which puts out on to a 60mph road) is all gravel/loose rock so I pretty much had to get used to it quickly. Now I'm so used to it that I voluntarily take gravel roads for a fun time.....product of circumstance I suppose. I felt horrible one day, a couple of my Ninja buddies were leaving from my place and one of them dumped their bike in my driveway.........just gave it too much front brake. I try to warn everyone who rides to my house about the driveway, but somehow I still felt guilty somehow, even though I know it had nothing to do with me.

Good luck healing, get better
Ride safe

[Comike14]

Originally Posted by davtnn

leather gloves and jackets at 98 degrees looks and sounds sort of foolish ... up and until you have a personal encounter with a roadway.. i would rather sweat a bit and have to buy a new jacket than spend time getting skin grafts good move with the ATGATT

Quoted for absolute truth.

Originally Posted by LilNinja77

Glad to hear you're (relatively) ok after the fall. IMO boots are one of the most important parts of my gear, I'd rather not wear my leather jacket than not wear my boots.......but that's 'cause I've had a broken ankle and foot in the past and already know how aggrevating that can be; on that note, good luck with your healing, hopefully it will be speedy. Also, if you consider jeans to be riding gear, you may want to rethink a few things. I don't know if you've ever had a friend crash at speed while wearing jeans.....all I'll say is it isn't a pretty sight.

As for the gravel, that's one of those things that takes getting used to. My driveway (which puts out on to a 60mph road) is all gravel/loose rock so I pretty much had to get used to it quickly. Now I'm so used to it that I voluntarily take gravel roads for a fun time.....product of circumstance I suppose. I felt horrible one day, a couple of my Ninja buddies were leaving from my place and one of them dumped their bike in my driveway.........just gave it too much front brake. I try to warn everyone who rides to my house about the driveway, but somehow I still felt guilty somehow, even though I know it had nothing to do with me.

Good luck healing, get better
Ride safe

Actually, after the fall, I AM rethinking jeans. Better than shorts, no doubt, but I still scraped the skin down a bit on my knee, and damaged my leg pretty good even with the jeans on. I'm going to be looking at getting either a full armored suit, or at least some armored pants that match the jacket I have now. Something kevlar, like my gloves, would be nice. If I had been on the actual roadway at real speeds and gone down, I don't think jeans would have helped much.

And thanks for the good wishes. I just started hobbling around without the cane today. I should be back up and on the bike in a few weeks--much more humbled.

[davtnn]

Diamond Guset Jeans has a bikers pants selection that is reenforced in the possible slide areas and for the gents there is extra room where we need it most and youll never have to sing tenor ... (hence the diamond guset).. they have a web site if ya want to google them .. Best of all the pants are made in Tennessee (USA) of all USA materials ..

[LilNinja77]

Actually, after the fall, I AM rethinking jeans. Better than shorts, no doubt, but I still scraped the skin down a bit on my knee, and damaged my leg pretty good even with the jeans on. I'm going to be looking at getting either a full armored suit, or at least some armored pants that match the jacket I have now. Something kevlar, like my gloves, would be nice. If I had been on the actual roadway at real speeds and gone down, I don't think jeans would have helped much.

And thanks for the good wishes. I just started hobbling around without the cane today. I should be back up and on the bike in a few weeks--much more humbled.

Look on the bright side, you got to learn from a very mild accident that ultimately was pretty minor. Too many people have to learn the really hard way, which BTW, sucks. When looking for riding pants, remember that you're looking for two things: 1---abrasion resistance, and 2---impact protection. Either one alone is ok, but really you want to have both. Above all else though, just make sure whatever you get fits you well. It does no good if the knee or hip armor isn't even where it's supposed to be in the event of a fall.

And we all have those "stop screwing around on the bike" moments where we get payed back for acting like idiots. Luckily *knock on wood* I've escaped mine with no damage or soiled underwear as of yet, but I've also toned my riding WAY down in the recent months as well.

I've never had to use a cane, just many months on crutches and those air-cast-boots........fun times. Good luck.
Ride safe

[johnsandlin]

Since it's gotten warm in Georgia, I've been riding without my boots, but from what happened in your situation, I think I'll start wearing them again. Better to have sweaty feet than a broken ankle.

What I do wear all the time is armor shields that go under your jeans for your knees and shins. Mine are from Icon and they are pretty comfortable. You do need to make sure you have loose fit jeans to have the leg room, but once they are on, you really can't tell they are there. They also have perforations for air flow which keeps then cool.

Sorry to hear about your fall...have a speedy recovery.