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If you’ve been riding for awhile and/or active on any biker forums you may already be familiar with the acronym ATGATT. It stands for “all the gear, all the time.” Most states don’t have any laws concerning safety gear other than a helmet and some states even leave that choice up to the individual rider. Motorcycle riding provides a sense of freedom you don’t get from other modes of transportation. There’s the saying, “Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul,” which I heartily subscribe to. So I’m not going to climb up on a soapbox and tell you that you should be wearing protective gear every time you ride. I’ve seen plenty of people riding in shorts and flip-flops, and if that’s you, it’s your right and I’m not here to try to change your mind. Personally, I choose to go with safety over comfort.
There’s another saying that goes, “You don’t dress for the ride, you dress for the slide,” to which I append, “and better the cowhide than my hide.” Yes, I wear leather chaps and a leather jacket in the colder months, but I also have textile gear and Kevlar lined jeans for warmer weather. Same principle applies. Along with over the ankle boots, leather gloves, and a helmet, I’m covered head to toe whenever I ride.
At one of the many bike rallies we went to, one of my riding buddies striped off his textile pants to reveal shorts underneath. I thought, “Hey, that’s pretty neat. You have the protection of the armor, but are cooler with shorts on underneath rather than jeans.” I had never thought to try this myself, but the next rally I went to solo and decided to try it out on the way back. There’s a cliché that says, “If you ride a motorcycle, it’s not a matter of if you’ll go down, it’s when.” Now I was pretty proud of the fact that I had ridden for years without ever having an accident. So what are the odds that the only time I decided to wear shorts under my textile pants, I’d regret it?
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I was in no hurry to get back home and I decided to scout some back roads for a potential future group ride on the way. I ended up on some narrow, two-lane twisty state road carving through the mountains, just perfect for riding. Without much traffic, I was able to really enjoy myself. As I carved my path through the curves, listening to tunes on the stereo with a big ol’ grin on my face, I noticed a car in the oncoming lane drifting over the center line as I neared the apex of the turn. I swung wide and the rear wheel dropped off the pavement. Now these roads didn’t have any shoulder to speak of, just a foot or so of gravel to the right of a fairly substantial drop in height from the pavement. To make a long story short, the bike stood straight up and I headed into the woods.
It was one of those situations where time slows down and you see everything happening in slow motion, but don’t have enough time to do anything about it. I remember thinking, “I’m going in right there!” as the bike slammed into the trees on the side of the road. I didn’t slide too far and my riding gear wasn’t even scuffed up. I was able to ride the bike home after the folks that came along behind me helped me pick her up. There was quite a bit of cosmetic damage (mirrors, fairing, etc.), but at least I didn’t need to call a tow truck. Off the side of this particular road wasn’t exactly the safest place to be anyway with the blind curve and all. At least it wasn’t a section where the side of the road was a drop off down the mountain-side.
Anyway, I got home without further incident and as I was stripping off my textile armored pants, I noticed a small blood stain on the shin a little larger than the size of a quarter.
After I got them off, I noticed the hole that a tree branch had punched into my leg below the knee. It required three stitches.
The next time I saw my buddy; I showed him my riding pants and told him what had happened. The branch wasn’t able to penetrate the armor; it just pushed the armor pant leg into my leg. I told him that I would never ride with just shorts on under my armor again. Granted, the armor ensured I didn’t get any more scraped up, but I feel that the branch wouldn’t have been able to punch both a layer of textile armor and a layer of jeans into my leg. He said he’d continue to choose comfort and keep wearing shorts. I said the same thing I said at the beginning of this article, “That’s your choice. I just wanted you to know what the potential consequences were.”
So yeah, I’m an “all the gear, all the time” guy. Good gear is worth the price. I’d rather have to replace some gear than some skin. You can keep riding in shorts and flip-flops if you want to; it’s just not for me. Ride safe and remember to keep the shiny side up.
