2009-04-15
Safety Gear
I recently had a "get off" while practicing braking. In the fall I broke my thumb and got a good bit of road rash and stiff bruising on my knees. Thanks to some safety gear my shoulder, elbow, face, head, and feet were fine. A little stiff after a couple of days, but overall fine.
I'll start at the top which, in this case, mean my head. When I started out for the day I picked up my HJC 3/4 helmet and started to put it on when my inner voice said "wear your new full face." I listened. I even rode to Donnell's and bought a smoked face shield for it. In the fall I hit my head pretty hard and have scrapes on my then new face shield. Much better than my actual face.
That helmet has now been replaced with another HJC CL-SP (stick with what works) in a much more garish, silver metal flake and yellow, graphic.
I was wearing my Joe Rocket mesh jacket which explains the lack of upper body damage. I even had the back and shoulder protectors out. They are now back in their proper places. It has some minor abrasions but is still very usable.
At one point during the slide, the bike started to slide on my foot. I was able to kick it away preventing any major ankle injuries. I was wearing Docs instead of my normal Ariats. Luckily they took the sliding well. I'm glad there wasn't more pressure on my ankle though, as I know that the boots offer very little ankle protection.
My knee was the first thing that hurt. It burned and was immediately stiff. After sliding to a stop these things wen through my head:
- (Took a deep breath) I can breathe ... that's good.
- I can feel every part of my body ... that's good.
- Holy shit my knee hurts!
After stretching my leg with little fanfare, I stood up and when examining the bike realised that my thumb wasn't working quite correctly. And it was starting to hurt. Nick thought it looked swollen, but I showed him my other hand and we agreed that it looked normal. It wasn't, but it didn't look too bad then.
I don't know of anything that would have prevented the thumb injury but I have ordered some padded overpants. My knee, while not majorly injured, is still not right. It crackles and pops (well ... a little more than usual) and some movements are still a little tender.
I'm very thankful for the gear I had on and I have a new emphasis on dressing for the ride.
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