[net.cycle] more on protection

kwlalonde@watmath.UUCP (07/10/84)

Subject: more on protection : net.cycle

  When i said i dont understand "encasing yourself in protective
   clothing at all times" i basically meant the following:
 
a) meet certain minimum standards, such as never wear shorts (unless
     you want to say "Look God, strike me down")
   I dont understand excessive UNDERdressing either.
 
b) dress/helmet/goggle according to weather, road conditions, speed,
   distance of travel, your state of rest/health (lets face it, people
   WILL drive when they are not up to par with sleep or maybe with
   some viral flu and loaded with decongestants) etc.

c) if you are the type who rides a sporty bike, likes to wheelie all the
   time, etc, i am not condemning the behaviour, but that becomes a
   CONDITION of your dressing -- ie: the riskier your driving habits
   the more sense it makes to be better protected.

d) novice riders also would be well advised to be better protected.
   novices naturally have less "skill" to maneuver in/out of situations,
   and also are more likely to have "extreme" panic reactions to new
   experiences, after your bizillionth wasp you just tend to act more
   controlled

I believe that its a matter of "weighing the risks" (just like almost
  anything else anyone does everyday)
(Do you actively encourage over-dressing to protect lives while
 smoking cigarettes....????   :-)  :-)   )

If you are good rider, alert, etc. you can enjoy a lot more
subtle experiences on a bike if you dress "appropriately" rather than
"encasing" yourself regardless.

                    - Ken Dykes
                      Software Development Group, University of Waterloo
                      Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.  N2L 3G1
                      watmath!watrose!watbun!kgdykes

ron@wjvax.UUCP (Ron Christian) (07/14/84)

Wjvax just got back on the net, (read net.announce), so if this
is an old article, apologies.

I agree with your points on how to dress given certain circumstances,
and the part about what the rider views as an accepted risk.  I'm a
free will man, myself, and think riders should have the RIGHT to wear
bathing suits and bare feet if they want to.  (shudder!)  However,
after 15 years of riding experiance, totalling 3 of the 12 bikes I've
owned, and coming away relitivly unscathed, I am convinced.  There has
to be a DAMN good reason for me not to wear the following whenever I
get on the bike:  Jeans, Leather boots, A good jacket, full coverage
helmet with visor DOWN, and leather gloves.  (I'm a musician, and not
willing to take the chance of screwing up my hands.)  If increased
risk is forseeable, a belt around the jacket to prevent it bunching
up during a slide.  If this means I'm not enjoying the subtleties of
riding, I'll live without it.

This brings to mind the time my cousin came home with a huge puffy yellow
bruise over one side of his face.  A butterfly.  'Course, he was doing
over 100 at the time...
-- 

	"Trivia is important."		Ron Christian
					Watkins-Johnson Co.
					San Jose, Calif.
					(...ios!wjvax!ron)