Am I getting old?!

[LouSCannon]

Random discussion....

My missus was going through her online celeb gossip thing and saw the following picture:

Here (http://www.boomspeed.com/allhailme/blog/010308_ryancycles.jpg)

She pointed it out to me as she saw it was a Ducati....

Now, the first thing to come to mind wasn't "Ooo a Paul Smart, nice", it was "What an idiot, if he comes off dressed like that even at 10MPH he's f**ked"

That lead on to an interesting conversation of pretty much all Americans I see on bikes might as well be knackered... but does this mean I'm now getting old and boring?!

[Nonnie]

Well, if one pops across to the continent one will see all riders dressed like that.

Went to Italy a couple of years ago on a bike in full leathers and thought I was going to die. 36 degrees and I really thought my arse was on fire. Nobody wears protection whilst riding. My own parents lived in Thailand for a while, got a scooter, rode around without even helmets. I have to say they did eventually come off on a slow turn into their own driveway, bike skidded, Mum got trapped underneath, burned her leg and Dad ended up with a thousand pound hospital bill.

I think we mostly wear protection here because it's cold most of the time.

It's also partly down to personal choice. There was a time years ago when I didn't own any biking gear bar a helmet and used to pillion in jeans and a regular jacket. Then I got a boyfriend (now husband) who loved me enough to get me some proper gear. Now I have my own bike, I wouldn't jeans it. Maybe because I'm not confident enough in my own abilities to stay upright or maybe because I'm safety conscious but I always wear full gear.

I don't think it means you're old and boring, maybe older and facing your own mortality and thought about it a bit more.

[JerryXt]

I think if you're just going out a couple of miles for a coffee and maybe not doing more than 30 it's ok, but anything more than that is extending the risk past reasonable limits.

Remember in the States, they think protection is a leather vest and chaps. I found a great illustration, but I don't think it's appropriate for this site :chuckle:

[gremlin]

I'm ordering some Draggin jeans for summer cos my leathers are like a sauna, great for losing a bit off the bum and thighs but can't be very hygenic! I admit I'm an old fuddy duddy and I don't care!