Had a get off yesterday, it's been a while since I've had a really good one...... 4th gear, pinned, nice little section of ST that kinda G's-out between some trees and I was in the ETHER just ripping it....did not see the little roller at the bottom and forgot it was there, fork bottomed out, bar swapped and we are off the trail and into the trees..... WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Splat. Landed on some poof dirt with a thick covering of leaves. Left bar dug in up to the fork. I just missed a tree with my head. Got reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally lucky. Only thing that happend to me was a bruised foot from the bike landing on it. Bike didn't get a scratch. My jersey got shredded, elbow pads too. Chest protector took a nice biff, Helmet hit the bar as I G'd-out and my fingers poked out through the end of my left glove. Just around the corner, and pretty much everywhere in that section, are downed trees w/ pungy-sticks stuck all over them. Going off there w/o some gear would be fatal. Yet I still see guys riding w/o any armor. Esp these doofs in shorts and half/boots....have you ever seen anything more rediculous than half an Alpinestar motoboot? WTF is all that about? I know guys that flat wont wear knee cups/shin guards because they are too uncomfy. Or even a kidney belt- I've had the bike land on my back peg first.... if it were'nt for that kidney belt I'd have a nice hole in my spine. I wont go unless I'm covered in hard plastic and w/ a full face helmet. I don't have 'that kind' of luck. Wear the Gear.
I'm not sure why, but I seem to have more and worse crashes when I wear more armor, than when I don't. I don't think I ride any faster with it on, so maybe it just distracts me. I usually wear more of it on far away rides in technical terrain or fast desert and in large groups of people. The older I get the more I consider using it, though. I'd never go without long pants and knee guards and full height boots, for sure.
and how did that Leatt holdup???? just think if your head had hit that tree and whipped your body.... the Leatt would have kept your helmet from compressing you spine and/or breaking you neck.... probably would have kept a stick from punturing your aaorta as well.....sure hope that you were wearing one.....? I'm just busting on you because you rode straight past my house without a call...... wtf! T
Good Plan ! You never know when its gonna happen.....but it usually does... I had a guy on the track buzzing around behind me for a few(practice) laps on the track.....started to get under my skin..so I backed off and let him by....next thing you know....he really couldnt hold up the pace...so I repassed him after a few corners.....but he cross rutted in the same corner...and took me down.....I went down hard right over those deep corner ruts and took it right in the ribs....had my gear on..and brace.....funny thing was...he somehow kept himself up and kept going wear the gear....good advise !!!
I see lot of kids riding with just helmets and short sleeve shirts. All I can say is they obviously have never hit the ground hard yet. Even seeing motorcyclist on the road with muscle shirts and shorts on but it's OK, they are wearing their Helmet. Wear the Gear.
I struggle with this all the time. I ride better without a bunch of binding / heavy gear to distract me but do realise I pay the price if I crash.
If I may share a short story about the Leatt Brace followed by my review. These are about two years old but still relevant. Time: Appox. 2 P.M. Location: San Felipe Wash, Badlands, Ocotillo Wells, 10 miles SE of Ridersonline base camp Temp: 85-90 degrees Conditions: Calm and clear .....ok, there goes Jeff, passing me on the left. I gotta get of of his dust. I'll just back off a bit, no that's not working cause the wind isn't blowing. Bob, on the quad is leading to catch some clean air for a change. He's been at mid pack all afternoon. Paul is next followed by myself till Jeff passed a second ago. .....gas it...passing Jeff on the right, clean pass, all is good.....then it happened! Art, Art where does it hurt? urgh urgh wheeze wheeze..."chest"..... What can I do, says Jeff......"shade", I murmur. I lay there for what seemed like an eternity in absolute pain, motionless, face full of dirt and sand. "I'll be right back. I don't want the rest of the group to run you over", I hear from Jeff even though I could not see him. Next thing I know the rest of the group arrives and are shading me with their bodies as I lay there on my back like an turtle. I have no idea how much time has passed when I asked for help getting to my feet. I roll over on all fours to evaluate my condition. I'm gently helped to my feet by Jeff and ? and escorted to a shaded spot at the edge of the wash. "let see, everything is pointed in the right direction, no blood or broken bones"...good sign. But man I hurt! As best as I can recall, (and that's not saying much) I plowed the front wheel into the soft sand, figuratively speaking, after making the pass on Jeff. I believe the front wheel became aloft as I accelerated and came down exactly the wrong place. I swapped twice, once to the right then back to the left. According to my body, head and helmet, I fell with full impact on my chest followed by my head and right shoulder. I was wearing the Leatt Brace and quite sure the much of the impact of my head was absorbed by the brace and redirected downwards to my upper body. As you can see by the photo, my helmet received a good blow. Damage done, besides my body were: hairline crack of Renthal ProTaper bars, busted helmet visor and tweaked front end. I got off pretty lucky considering the speed I was carrying. ....."I'm good enough to ride out", I say to the group. Jeff says "take off, were right behind you". I begin to slowly navigate the twisty wash. Darn, I'm all over the place. Bike is tweaked badly and I'm still shaken up. I finally catch up to Bob and the washes end. I do not want to stop but think it's best. The rest of the group arrives shortly. "You ok, Art?" asks Jeff, "uh huh, don't wanna stop and get cold". "Ok, take off" he says. I look back at see Paul watching me like a hawk. Thank you Paul. we get to the hwy and stop. Paul instructs me to stay put. "I going back a 1/4 mile or so to flag the upcoming group". I nod yes. Shortly he returns and says it's a go to take the hwy back to base. "See you there" and off I go. Moral of story? Take your Leatt Brace and good buddies riding with you. Both are invaluable! Art Leatt Brace Review by Riding the Metro Leatt Moto GPX Club Brace Review By Art Jurado Protective gear is the normal attire for any serious trail riders or racer. Everyone should be wearing sturdy boots, gloves, helmet, chest protector and goggles at the minimum. Having the opportunity to ride and demo these units, the following is my unbiased review of the Leatt brace. Upon opening the box, you will find the Leatt Brace, users manual, Thoracic member with strut, additional Thoracic strut, total of three sets of pins, SM / MED / LG, positioning Strap and 3mm allen wrench. Fitting the brace took about twenty minutes and most of time spent was looking for allen wrench which did not come in this particular box. The quality is first rate as is the hardware used throughout. What stood out was the low profile when positioned with my chest protector. My chest protector is the Acerbis zoom and it fit perfectly once I managed to slide the rear upper member outside the chest protector and Thoracic member under, same for the front. I choose not to use the optional straps as the brace was snugly held in place. With my Bell helmet on, I felt no restriction in side to side movement, a good thing. The up and down was restricted for obvious reasons. A nice feature not mentioned in the product brochure is how modular the system is. For example, the padding may be removed for cleaning and are held in place with heavy duty Velcro fasteners. Also the brace may be removed easily by simply disengaging the two side locking mechanisms. Every component is replaceable should one or move parts wear out or become damaged. Ok, time to ride. My initial impression was how unrestricted the Leatt felt. By the end of my 150 miles of the CA. desert I almost completely forgot I was wearing it. I did however feel the rear Thoracic member rubbing on my back a few times but was easily fixed with a short trailside adjustment. After four days of riding and one high speed get-off with the brace, I am completely satisfied with this product and recommend it to any rider of any age. I feel the Leatt Brace should be included as your standard safety equipment
Leatt neck brace is next. I need one. And when did you move up north? I thought ya'll lived down south?
Gear can save the day, even sometimes when you least expect it to. On a ride last Sunday, we had a incident happen that no one saw coming.......we had been cutting out a couple downed trees as we rode, then came to one, we thought we would just go over. Placed an old cut section as a ramp to help us over, couple guys go and almost endo off the back, so made others rethink this (nasty landing if you didn't clean it) and they decide to get off and lift/roll bikes over. Well, next bike was a Christini AWD w/Rekluse....it was idling.....someone accidentally bumped the throttle while rolling it onto the log, it engaged and I can tell you that AWD bike hooks up damn quick. It literally launched over the logs and caught another rider in the chest knocking him back into old cut logs behind. Helmet, chest protector (& a backpack) saved what could have been very ugly. Made for some good (nervous) laughs later, but really pretty scary and quite the education on AWD/Rekluse combo. We cut it out on the way back.
Excellent point. Parents- make sure you kids are supervised and propperly equipped. I did back-country SAR on my bike for over 10 years. Did a lot of rescues and such....in the main park and camping areas I've seen some ugly stuff....usually involves unsupervised kids whipping around camps and running into things w/o the Gear. Broke my heart setting bones and stuff or waiting for a chopper while dad or mom freaked out with beer in hand. I felt like shoving a popped smoke charge down some 'parents' throats sometimes..... My friends bag on me for being a Saftey Nazi, then, when Jr. wads and all that got derfed was the bike they change thier tune.
When I used to run a repair and accessory store back in the eighties, parents would come in to buy their kids clothes and then complain because riding gear ain't cheap and their anklebiters would outgrow the stuff in less than a year. I would remind them that a good 500 dollars spent an outfit would often mean the difference between just getting some bruised body parts and ego, or having a few thousand dollars trip to the emergency room or worse.
Nope... I'm in Corona right off of Ontario Avenue...give me a call next time you head up the mountain...... .. T
Copy that! And- you told me last week you was busy this weekend past, or did I get my notes mixed up.... Sorry big brother... my bad if I did. Call ya Friday with my plans for THIS weekend. -kev.
After the Kyalami Regis Laconi incident and after speaking at length with Karl "Muggers", I am also hoping to see some sort of neck restraint used in the moto road race arena as well. There is also alot of helmet and helmet retraint R&D going on right now to minimize the spike type forces from "bullet head" type impacts as well. Its got to keep on being fast and exciting (racing and riding) but somehow with maximum safety. Yes wear your gear!!! I tell everyone to always wear it, and when you do crash, mostly you can get back up and continue to enjoy your weekend.
I will be adding a new knee brace (http://www.braceshop.com/productcart/pc/Ossur-CTi-Knee-Brace-42p495.htm) to my gear in the next couple of days. Tore my ACL in my right knee on 5/17 this year during our club DS ride. I just got it diagnosed today. So much for getting muddy this summer.
Wearing helmet/gloves/goggles or safety glasses/boots and the Rockgardn Flak Jacket. That jacket is amazing! Makes you look like a football player but it really takes a lickin so you don't! I fall a lot and have taken big hits from rocks and roots/stumps on the fore-arm, elbow, shoulder and chest with nothing but bruises or soreness thanks to that jacket. I just upgraded from the older/hotter spandex based version to the mesh based version and noticed how many scars the old one has on the arm and shoulder armor plates. Thorough and comfortable to wear. Haven't had a hit on the huge spine protector yet but it's there waiting! There is a point where too much gear can become a distraction. I know this well from my military experience. It can cause you to become a heat casualty or impinge your range of motion so much it's actually safer not to use it. Knee guards are like that for me. Each unto their own I suppose. PV, glad you came out of that get off in as good of shape as you did. Good wake up thread for all of us.
My one friend gave me a hard time about protection until he crashed in a mud pool and need a few stitches in his forearm. Not a big deal except the hospital Dr. did not clean it out that well and that night his arm swelled up from infection. Now he wears elbow/forearm protection and everything else. Does not take a big crash to cause a lot of problems.
