[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n the LA metro area we have, what seems to me, some of the worst commuting conditions in the United States. Wide swaths of traffic, often five or six lanes wide, and in the summertime temperatures well in the triple digits for weeks at a time. Add the not-yet-legal but widely accepted practice of lane splitting, and it’s a recipe for needing the best protection possible.
My partner is one of the many who gets on a bike and weaves his way to work through interminable traffic at the peak commuting hours. Three months ago a driver executing an “improper lane change” (so her ticket said) ran into him, sending him flying across two lanes of traffic and into the back of another car. He climbed out of their shattered back window and was fine, save for a twisted knee and acres of bruising.
Motorcycle clothing is becoming the trendy chic apparel to wear in urban settings. Yesterday a friend of a friend was showing off his new riding apparel; fashionable jeans with a lot of funky off-center pockets and buttons. When I commented on the cotton material having zero abrasion resistance he said, “But it has armor!” Well, exactly how long is that cotton going to hold the armor in place when he needs it?
It’s such a great time to be a motorcyclist. Never before have we had so many choices of models, technological advances and apparel choices. The market is exploding, and that’s great. There are a lot of us pushing hard to get more people riding. These newbies, like most people drawn to a fashionable and sexy sport, simply don’t know what they don’t know yet, and I think we owe it to them to try to keep them protected as they learn and grow seasoned like ourselves.
My partner is a motorcycle apparel developer. He dresses every day for that one day like he had three months ago. And that is why he walked away after diving into the back window of a car at 35 mph. Luckily, he was wearing apparel he developed and a quality full-face helmet. The suit fit him correctly, had the proper armor, and had the proper material (leather) to hold it all together. He also wore a protective neck brace, which quite literally saved his neck. That’s how we learn – by the example of others. I am now going to ride in a neck brace. Hopefully the newbies will listen to us.
