[apor]

i've had two accidents:
the infamous left run
i broadsided a van at 15-25 mph.

shoei rf1000- saved my head. i not only head-butted the van, but when i bounced back off it, i clearly remember my helmet bouncing hard off the pavement as i landed 5 ft back on my side.

joe rocket alter ego jacket- didn't do much, not much was asked of it, but the shoulder padding probably helped when i landed.

a* sp2 gloves- i broke my right wrist, but no glove will help that. the carbon armor on the right hand was dented in, and i lost the top few layers of skin on top of my hand and wrist from abrasion inside the glove, very minor. the glove armor probably save me from braking a few of my knuckles and more skin loss. i'm still wearing them today.

sneakers- had i been wearing my sidi on-road touring boots, i wouldn't have had a 1"x.5" hole in my right shin (from my frame slider). my shin bone was visible through the hole.

jeans- see above


my second accident
i hit gravel in canada on the highway because i wasn't paying enough attention to the road. i was on the highway doing somewhere between 60 and 70 mph, accelerating through an easy right turn. somehow got a tankslapper, went off the road, hit the roadside gravel, went down on left side.
shoei rf1000- did it's job. my head hit all kinds of stuff on the bike, the gravel and the weeds. it was scuffed all over, my neck was a little sore, but that's not what a helmet's for.

a* sp2 gloves- the same gloves i've had for a few years and that last mishap. they took a beating from sliding on the gravel, with numerous lacerations. the extra layers of leather in the important areas did it's job. no stitching came undone, and my hands were unmarked. i should probably replace these, they're pretty old, but they're still perfectly useable.

sidi on-road waterproof touring boots, about 16" tall- these are not race boots, but they support the ankle pretty well. my left ankle got all kinds of twisted toward the back of the bike as i went down, but i walked away. the front of the boot was badly mauled up, but the stitching's fine and i'm still gonna wear them. without these, i'd prolly have a broken ankle right now and no big toe on the left.

aerostich one-piece touring suit- a little (20ft or so?) sliding in pure gravel before i went into the weeds/gravel. abrasion marks on the shoulders and ass, abrasions all over the stitching in these areas. nothing came undone and the suit needs no repair. the armor protected me well, i just had a little skin missing from the side of my left knee, kinda like a rugburn. at close to $800 a pop, they better work. plus they're waterproof.

i'd say my gear helped quite a bit. as i always say, luck favors the prepared. but gear or no gear, had i hit the van perfectly prependicular, i prolly would've broken my neck.
had there been a guardrail by the side of that highway in canada, i'd be sliced meat.
yeah, i consider myself luck, and lately, always prepared.
apor