Are helmets the 'go faster stripes' of the EUC world?

[tihoa]

Stickers are the "go faster stripes" of the 21st century!

[TechShizzle]

This topic is a funny coincidence for me.

I’ve got several thousand kms on my V8 and V10F over the last 3.5 years of riding. I’ve never worn safety gear (much to the chagrin of my wife and neighbors, who-apparently-cringe whenever they see me riding around town sans helmet). Sure, I’ve crashed several times, but have never broken anything or would up with a serious injury (I ride pretty conservatively).

Then last week I went down on a quiet street. I was only going about 10mph, and I wound up with the usual scrapes and pretty deep soreness in my ribs-no big deal. But for the first time I can’t figure out why I went down, and that has me freaked out.

I have also realized that I’ve developed some bad habits (locked knees, etc.), mostly out of complacency. That combined with my age (almost 54), convinced me I better gear up and re-learn how to ride.

So in the last week I’ve gone from no safety equipment to generic knee/elbow/wrist guards for hot days and slow riding, as well as Dianese knee/shin and elbow guards for faster riding. I’ve added a Troy Lee Stage helmet for hot days, and a TSG Pass for cooler days. And since the TSG is black, I decided I want a white one, too, so that’s ordered. And full wrist guards can be pretty bulky, so I ordered up a pair of Flatland 3D Pro fingerless gloves. I’ve gone crazy with safety gear!

After gearing up today I did notice I was more likely to push it and go faster than I normally would, and take more chances. Mostly, though, with a preordered V11 inbound, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone a bit, and wearing safety gear makes it easier for me to ride more aggressively than I would otherwise.