Came a cropper last year in Spain on a push bike. Wearing only shorts aand sandals I prepared my self for a full on broadside on a gravel path to impress the wife, momentarily forgetting the brakes are switched in Europe to take in to consideration driving on the right. Knocked unconscious, gravel rash from head to toe and two black eyes was the result. Must have been traveling around 15 mph.
Base line for normal road riding .. Bike jacket - thick jeans - boots - helmet - gloves Anything more/better.. fair play for taking your personal safety seriously and hopefully reducing the chance of serious injury if the worst happens Anything less and you are a fookin reckless nutter Simple..
To incite a heated discussion and cause division amongst us. As a political tool to cause complete turmoil it seems quite effective...
If the roads were empty and made of duvets then wear shorts. But they're not, and your skin is no match for tarmac.
Agreed. The UK is the world's leader in Nanny States...wagging it's finger and telling others what to do and what is good or bad for them. Stand on the junction of the Diagonal and St Joan in Barcelona - the many bikers and scooterists pretty well dress in what they are comfortable in....no wagging fingers there. Same with cycling - stand outside Centraal Station in Amsterdam - thousands of cyclist, very few helmets, lycra or knee pads to be seen, no wagging fingers....French ski slopes.....helmets and goggles....but very little body armour required for falling with style down very steep and dangerous mountain sides....and no one gives a shit! German beer halls - drink till you fall over, start over again.....no Police, no fuss, Californian surf, pair of trunks and a board. That's it. No drama, no buoyancy aids, no oxygen tanks. Common theme here - no Nanny State culture. Only in the UK, my friends. This, and political correctness, will kill this country and take all sense of risk and adventure away.....with all that that entails from an evolutionary perspective.
Yeah I really couldn't care if helmets are or aren't the law. If you want to die because "the man" is holding you down and making you protect yourself, then it's Darwinism at it's very finest. I however, don't want to die, especially when it's so preventable.
...decision is very simple then, motorcycles are dangerous, the act of getting on one is far riskier than the choice of clothes worn whilst riding.......perspective is everything. ...safest option is to take the car....or walk....
..I've been riding for 41 years without injury or incident.......good roadcraft, common sense and self preservation have served me better than a truck load of protective gear.......and will continue to do so.
and during the majority of those 41 years.. did you wear a helmet. did you wear some sort of jacket.. did you wear boots ... did you wear gloves.. hardly a truck load..
See that’s clearly where I’m going wrong, I forgot it’s always the riders fault in an accident. Good roadcraft, common sense and self preservation aren’t going to stop you from getting knocked off by someone drunk, speeding, or just careless.
Yes to all of those.....for most of the time....bear in mind that many were next to useless - belstaff waxed cotton? Good for keeping you dry, crap for impacts or were "riskier" than others - full face helmet v flip front v open face (I use all three and accept the risks might be higher with an OF than a FF......but nothing compared to getting on the bike in the first place). the point I'm making is that those items are not the be all and end all of the story. What goes on in a riders head is more important.
and off at a tangent... you sure...... what about observation, anticipation, planning.........if and when i have an accident whatever the circumstances, i would always be thinking what could and should i of done to have avoided it..
If you get hit by someone else you are in the lap of the gods in terms of outcome, with or without protective gear. Really depends on what hit you and how big/fast. Which is why your first line of defence is to keep yourself out of danger in the first place. Avoidance is always better than cure. Develop these skills and trust helmets/boots/gloves less. All I can say is that I've covered 100's of thousands of miles in all seasons (and still do so) and have avoided anything more serious than dented pride (fell off on black ice in 1979, once learned, never repeated!). It might be as a result of good self preservation skills and experience gained over many years or it might be that I'm surrounded by an alien force field....who knows.
Of course they are, other than making it law that you have to wear gloves as well as a helmet, carry a spare pair of glasses when driving, cant drive a car in France in flip flops, have to have spodges of reflective tape on helmets. etc etc. The UK seems to me to be far less nanny state than France.
To be fair, a lot of the "extra" French regs seem to be geared towards your obligation to keep other users safe, rather than you. A fine distinction but a distinction nonetheless.
