Clothing Nazis

Hot sunny day, popped in to town to get some paraffin to clean my bike chain, 3 mile round trip. Got paraffin, walking back to bike when a tall gentleman (in his late 60's) asked me if he could ask me some questions. Happy to help i said,,,,,

K. How can i help you?
Man. Do you realise what could happen to you riding in shorts, T-shirt and trainers if you come off?
K. Yes.
M. If you were to come off, the road could scrape of your skin to the bone.
K. Did you not understand my answer to your 1st Q?
M. I'm a retired Policeman and a motorcycle rider.
K. And.......

At this point he started to roll up his trouser leg and show me a scar that ran down his shin. Knowing where this is going i said to the gentleman,

K. Instead of blindly adopting what you have been told/trained without any question or independent thought and analysis on your behalf, have you ever dared to contemplate or ever actually enjoyed the feeling of the sun and wind against your skin as you ride slowly on a really hot day over a short distance?

Life (imo) should be about quality and peak experiences, not stunting your enjoyment and lessening fantastic experiences because of irrational percentage fears, anxiety or the expectation of ‘certain’ and ‘inevitable’ accident and subsequent pain the moment you get on a bike without full protection. After careful consideration of the conditions, speed of travel and your subsequent heightened awareness (all things considered) it is most likely that you will be fine and not crash or be knocked of and would have had an exhilarating slow speed experience not certain injury.

I'm not saying don't wear protection as 99% of the time i do and it encourages me to go faster because i feel safer. All i'm saying is, for me, it's a personal, educated choice I make and when I ride without protective armour etc, I ride much slower and I am far more aware of dangers. In the 36 years I have ridden i did once came of wearing shorts and T- shirt on a newly gravel/tarmac’d road. It fekin hurt, but no more than when I fell out a tree or came of my pushbike.

I have friends and acquaintances who advocate wearing full protection each and every time they get on a bike, for some it’s their job to do this. I would ask them to gather some stats and examine and compare the numbers of accidents involving experienced riders and what they wear, like power rangers (I like the look btw) with all the gear against those who ride in more comfortable clothing. I would guess those with all the armour and full protection will be a big majority when it comes to accidents simply because it gives a feeling of protection and security. (btw, im not talking about the young stereotype who has just jumped on a gixxer at 21 and attempt to ride like Rossi in shorts n T shirt).

This has long been my belief and as I said 99% of the time I wear armour. I have recently returned from Europe where the culture and quality of life is very different. When the weather is hot, most will wear clothing appropriate to the weather not appropriate according to the fear factors relating to an accident/incident that has’nt happened yet and in all probability, if they ride slowly, defensively and carefully will not happen. It is about individual choice so please don’t automatically preach the Health & Safety line. Weigh up the conditions, is the road busy, how long is my journey, do I feel confident, can I ride slower than I normally do, why am I doing this? I know what can happen if I get on a plane without a parachute, examining the dangers and percentages, I still do it.

Most i know will disagree with my opinion and that's fine, but you will never know the exhilarating feeling of riding a bike (in the manner I have outlined) on a baking hot day with the feel of the sun and wind on your skin.


Clothing Nazis – Kiss My Ass J

 

Yeah but, did he forget to mention riding a motorbike with bottle of paraffin is like riding a time bomb, tch tch

 

I admire your honesty and passion to exercise free will..........good for you

 

i wear what i want, i never tell others what to wear so what gives them the right to tell me, my usual comment to people who say what he said to you is "fuck off"
good for you mate

 

I agree completely, and well said.

 

Agreed..

re pic... That looks like your bike Leila!!!!!

Have you a story to tell?

 

I think that young man is being pretty disrespectful. No wonder the poor girl is covering her face.

 

Its all down to the individual...I saw a couple of bikes the other week on the m25 and one rider was in a t shirt and jeans. The other was in a vest and shorts and his pillion was the same. They were going at a fair pace, personally I thought they were mad despite it being 30 degrees outside. I wouldn't have done it but like I say their choice.

 

i always wear protection what ever the weather,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,god i wished i did 5 years ago then i be going on the track day tomorrow

 

after seeing the state of my leathers and helmet after my off which was not at warp factor i still think anyone without protection is a dumb arse.
as for its my choice so were helmets and seat belts in cars not so long ago. im happy to take my chance in textiles and hope they hold together long enough if i do come off.
but if brussels or the government state you have to wear it bet the prices will go up

 

At the end of the day it is personal choice and as an experienced rider you can weigh up the pros and cons. I used to advise young/new riders to wear the right gear and was usually told to fu%k off. But it's not just the rider that is affected, it's family and friends worrying if your umpteenth skin graft is going to take and it's not my choice, as a taxpayer to keep paying for hospital treatment for someone that wouldn't take basic precautions. I know this is true for most things where you decide to do your own thing and ignore the risks for the sake of short term comfort. But if you do end up scraping your skin off as you slide down the road, it is a long, painful recovery that affects more than just you ?

 

Zzzz...getting bored now. So we all agree this is personal choice. Why do we go on about it so?

 

Summat to talk about, you old git

 

Get out on your bike then before we get 6 months of rain then you be really Bored

 

Megawatt to be fair you have a good valid point, how other people could be effected etc. if someone was unfortunate enough to come unstuck riding their bike pretty well nakid, Still I suppose you cant ride around just thinking you will fall off, We seem to be more oppressed to it in UK, maybe our roads are different as in Europe their roads are like nice smooth shiny flat surfaces, instead of gravel covered roads with pot holes that you could disappear down.

 

Famous last words - bit like "doing Track Days are much safer than riding on the roads".

In full riding gear I came off and broke the fifth metacarpal bone (little finger) and did some minor damage - grit imbedded in the area around the knuckles of my hands. I had loads of scuffs on my clothing (Rukka).

I have been amazed by how much grief the grit around my knuckles caused - restricting movement in my hands for at least a year.

I cannot imagine the grief I would have suffered had I been riding in shorts etc.

We make our own choices and suffer the consequences - trouble is the NHS will pick up the tag for your rehabilitation.

 

Yes it's a personal choice but we all do things that will eventually drain the NHS. Smoke, drink, eat bad food, the list is endless.

Personally, wear what you like. I never think 'what a knob'. Just don't complain if you have an off, even if it wasn't your fault.