KnollyBro, those of us in the motorcycle world, especially off road motorcycle, have a term called ATGATT...all the gear all the time. Your mention of pads and other protective gear is perfectly logical when the riding or any physical activity that can involve some relatively serious injury is considered. Now I'm not promoting full body armor for riding one's ebike down to the store to get a jug of milk, but there are times, right?
This concept of wearing an appropriate level of protective gear for the task at hand was something I found occasionally odd when I got into MTB. I mentioned to you about my Moab adventures in the past. A good friend and I would spend 2 weeks every year there riding our MTB's, and we both wore full coverage helmets...Specialized Deviant...knee/shin guards, and even Answer Products lightweight body armor that had front and back panels along with shoulder and elbow pads.
We were old guys then, but we really enjoyed sending it on some of the rougher sections of trail out there. We would frequently get odd looks or even comments sometimes from other cyclists about our gear. The fun part came when we would fly by them on our decently big hit bikes at full speed through rock sections, drops, and such. No...we weren't Simmons and Schley, but our gear and bike selection gave us confidence and a level of capability that we could take advantage of.
I will never forget one ride in particular on Porcupine Rim. We had stopped at that "High Anxiety" overlook of Castle Valley to eat a snack. This is a big stopping point for most riders doing the rim before the fast, rocky sections begin. A young lady in about her early 20's came up to us and asked why we were wearing so much protective gear. For one, we jokingly told her that we were older guys who wanted to keep riding instead of ending up in the nursing home. She laughed. For two, more seriously, we mentioned that we occasionally crash and the gear came in handy for that.
She was dressed like about 50% of the riders you usually see in Moab...lycra shorts, open face helmet, fingerless gloves, etc. Nothing wrong with that, and I'll defend anyone's choice to wear whatever they're comfortable with. So she and her small group of about 5 riders take off down the descent. My buddy and I look at each other and wonder how long it will take us to catch them...or maybe not. Anyway, we head off, and as we get to one of the very fast, chunky, rock sections, we see a small group of riders in a tight pack standing around someone on the ground. We stop briefly and sure enough, it is the same young lady laying on the ground. Her friends are attending to her, and she is conscious but just about out of it. You can tell she took a header face first into the rocks, and she is bloody and buggered up facially. I'd call concussion too, but I didn't stay in a Holiday the night before. We ask if they need any help, but they say they have it handled and thank us for asking. We make our way down to the Colorado River to the end of the ride, thankful we wear significant protection.
I don't relay that story to make fun of the young lady. I mention it because many bicyclists have some thoughts like her that protective gear isn't necessary. Sure, it comes down to where and maybe how you're riding, but I suggest wearing the amount and kind of gear that you feel comfortable with.
This concept of wearing an appropriate level of protective gear for the task at hand was something I found occasionally odd when I got into MTB. I mentioned to you about my Moab adventures in the past. A good friend and I would spend 2 weeks every year there riding our MTB's, and we both wore full coverage helmets...Specialized Deviant...knee/shin guards, and even Answer Products lightweight body armor that had front and back panels along with shoulder and elbow pads.
We were old guys then, but we really enjoyed sending it on some of the rougher sections of trail out there. We would frequently get odd looks or even comments sometimes from other cyclists about our gear. The fun part came when we would fly by them on our decently big hit bikes at full speed through rock sections, drops, and such. No...we weren't Simmons and Schley, but our gear and bike selection gave us confidence and a level of capability that we could take advantage of.
I will never forget one ride in particular on Porcupine Rim. We had stopped at that "High Anxiety" overlook of Castle Valley to eat a snack. This is a big stopping point for most riders doing the rim before the fast, rocky sections begin. A young lady in about her early 20's came up to us and asked why we were wearing so much protective gear. For one, we jokingly told her that we were older guys who wanted to keep riding instead of ending up in the nursing home. She laughed. For two, more seriously, we mentioned that we occasionally crash and the gear came in handy for that.
She was dressed like about 50% of the riders you usually see in Moab...lycra shorts, open face helmet, fingerless gloves, etc. Nothing wrong with that, and I'll defend anyone's choice to wear whatever they're comfortable with. So she and her small group of about 5 riders take off down the descent. My buddy and I look at each other and wonder how long it will take us to catch them...or maybe not. Anyway, we head off, and as we get to one of the very fast, chunky, rock sections, we see a small group of riders in a tight pack standing around someone on the ground. We stop briefly and sure enough, it is the same young lady laying on the ground. Her friends are attending to her, and she is conscious but just about out of it. You can tell she took a header face first into the rocks, and she is bloody and buggered up facially. I'd call concussion too, but I didn't stay in a Holiday the night before. We ask if they need any help, but they say they have it handled and thank us for asking. We make our way down to the Colorado River to the end of the ride, thankful we wear significant protection.
I don't relay that story to make fun of the young lady. I mention it because many bicyclists have some thoughts like her that protective gear isn't necessary. Sure, it comes down to where and maybe how you're riding, but I suggest wearing the amount and kind of gear that you feel comfortable with.
