Post by Deleted on May 24, 2015 9:12:50 GMT -5
On Saturday morning, we went again to the local Big Four dealer's accessories department, looking for ideas. The weather is becoming, as it will Summers in the mid-Atlantic, Cambodian. Very, very hot, and with the humidity of a shower stall. The unmoving, dead, wet air smells bad, stale; it is altogether like walking around inside the mouth of a large dog who's been eating burned gaskets.
The anodyne of course is to go out riding. If you live in an urban/suburban area, a lot of it, unfortunately, is not at enough sustained speed to keep you cool, what with traffic and lights and so forth. And if you are at all concerned for your bodily safety, you have at least some protective gear.
The more gear, however, in those atmospheric conditions, the greater the suffering. One's scalp sweats gouts of pickle brine which supersaturates foam helmet lining and pours down the neck; when not moving at speed, core temperature immediately spikes. While they do vent better than leather, mesh riding jackets with protective pads at elbows and shoulders and spine are a Big Fat Lie: they are hyperthermia blankets, and you see folks wearing them unzipped to the waist and open at the cuffs trying to move a little breeze.
Even though I have had but two 'offs' in forty-some years, I won't ride without gear. The first was a sub-20mph high-side in March, 1978, that got me ten and one-half months in the Medical Center and three surgeries. The second, equally slow, was a very recent low-side, a surprise upending while crossing a scree of sand and gravel at a shallow angle on new tires, a mild body-slam that nonetheless carried enough energy for internal chest contusions. It was difficult breathing or raising my arm for a week or so after. So. Gotta have gear. Feel free to yell out "Weenie!" if you see me armored on scoot or small cycle. I won't care.
The thought Saturday was to look at some tie-on plastic plates like the off-road guys wear. I will accept whatever abrasive skin/soft tissue injuries that stuff can't prevent: it's the orthopedic/major organ protection I'm thinking about.
Huddling with a like-minded staff member, he showed me what he personally wore - a kind of wide-mesh sleeved vest with elbow, shoulder, sternum, and upper-lower spine plates, all padded on the inside and hardshell out. Tried it on: the plates stay where they are and do not shift much. "This, and a t-shirt," he said, "is bliss." One hundred forty-nine bucks. I am tempted.
The model name/mfr have fallen out of my head, or I'd provide a link. Must say that whole thing is a lot lighter "in person" then the similar items appear out there on the web. Will go back in the a.m. for another look, but I'm thinking I'll bite (and buy it there, to support a local business).
What say you? I am indifferent to the cheap disdain offered by riders whose armor is a bandanna - sneer away, Guys. De gustibus, etc.
The anodyne of course is to go out riding. If you live in an urban/suburban area, a lot of it, unfortunately, is not at enough sustained speed to keep you cool, what with traffic and lights and so forth. And if you are at all concerned for your bodily safety, you have at least some protective gear.
The more gear, however, in those atmospheric conditions, the greater the suffering. One's scalp sweats gouts of pickle brine which supersaturates foam helmet lining and pours down the neck; when not moving at speed, core temperature immediately spikes. While they do vent better than leather, mesh riding jackets with protective pads at elbows and shoulders and spine are a Big Fat Lie: they are hyperthermia blankets, and you see folks wearing them unzipped to the waist and open at the cuffs trying to move a little breeze.
Even though I have had but two 'offs' in forty-some years, I won't ride without gear. The first was a sub-20mph high-side in March, 1978, that got me ten and one-half months in the Medical Center and three surgeries. The second, equally slow, was a very recent low-side, a surprise upending while crossing a scree of sand and gravel at a shallow angle on new tires, a mild body-slam that nonetheless carried enough energy for internal chest contusions. It was difficult breathing or raising my arm for a week or so after. So. Gotta have gear. Feel free to yell out "Weenie!" if you see me armored on scoot or small cycle. I won't care.
The thought Saturday was to look at some tie-on plastic plates like the off-road guys wear. I will accept whatever abrasive skin/soft tissue injuries that stuff can't prevent: it's the orthopedic/major organ protection I'm thinking about.
Huddling with a like-minded staff member, he showed me what he personally wore - a kind of wide-mesh sleeved vest with elbow, shoulder, sternum, and upper-lower spine plates, all padded on the inside and hardshell out. Tried it on: the plates stay where they are and do not shift much. "This, and a t-shirt," he said, "is bliss." One hundred forty-nine bucks. I am tempted.
The model name/mfr have fallen out of my head, or I'd provide a link. Must say that whole thing is a lot lighter "in person" then the similar items appear out there on the web. Will go back in the a.m. for another look, but I'm thinking I'll bite (and buy it there, to support a local business).
What say you? I am indifferent to the cheap disdain offered by riders whose armor is a bandanna - sneer away, Guys. De gustibus, etc.
