Passes & Canyons Blog

I was off with the OFMC this summer on our annual ride and saw something that made me shake my head. We were in the Black Hills and somewhere along the way I saw this guy on a motorcycle wearing a helmet that I can only describe as a hard yarmulke, or kepi. This thing would have provided exactly zero protection if he went down so why would he bother? I mean, heck, with just a chin strap it would probably just come right off in a fall.

But that line of thinking leads to a larger group of riders. People like Bill and Dennis, my riding companions. That’s Dennis in the photo.

Both of them have full-face helmets that they bring along but much of the time they wear these half-helmets. That seems pointless to me, too.

I used to ride without a helmet at all, much of the time, but at the point when I decided not to do that any more I just went the entire other direction. I mean, look at Dennis. His face is totally exposed. How much of his chin do you suppose would get scraped off in a fall? How much of his nose? At least that chin strap is a bit more secure than the one on that guy with the hard yarmulke.

I figure if I’m going to wear a helmet I want all the protection a helmet has to offer. I’ve heard of people losing half their teeth in serious crash, and having their jaws mangled. I want a helmet that will . . . wait for it . . . protect my head. All of my head.

I know, I know. There are people who would criticize me because I don’t wear my reinforced riding pants all the time. I just wear jeans most of the time in summer. That’s not ATGATT. So I probably shouldn’t roll my eyes too much at people who feel differently than me on these other things. And I don’t. I never say anything to Bill or Dennis but I do say things to myself. I guess we all get to choose our own version of stupid.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 36. We think leather bras are fine lingerie.

The best motorcycle protective gear does you no good at all if you don’t wear it. This is summed up in the term ATGATT: All The Gear, All The Time.

I’ve gotten better about this as the years have passed. I used to frequently ride without a helmet; I never do now. I didn’t always ride with a jacket; now it is seldom I ride without. And I almost never ride with my leather chaps on, even now. So I can hardly ever claim to ride with ALL the gear. But what I do wear I do wear almost all the time.

Friggs is another one who is about on a par with me. He always wears a helmet and almost always wears his jacket. I’m not sure he even owns chaps.

Friggs was not wearing his jacket when he crashed his bike in New Mexico. He was wearing his helmet. That made all the difference.

Take a look at his helmet. See all that scuffing above the visor, and how the top part of the visor is scraped up, too? That would have been his face. And you have to look a little harder but just below the visor, above the “Harley,” and also on the chin portion there is scuffing. That could have been a dislocated jaw, or worse.

This is why I always wear a helmet these days.

As for not wearing his jacket, Friggs got off lucky. His shirt was ripped up and his shoulder was bruised but he came out of it remarkably intact. But we all commented on how, gosh, Friggs almost always wears his jacket. What bad timing on his part to leave it off this particular day.

His pants were also torn up, which chaps would have limited, but hey, we don’t ride with that kind of gear most of the time. We’re just not true, to the core, ATGATT guys. But even more so than before, after seeing this, I will NEVER ride without my helmet.

Biker Quote for Today

A good friend knows all your best stories. A biker friend has lived them all with you.