It may be a source of amusement to some of you to learn that, whilst in the course of checking out some 2019 bonus locations, your Rallymaster has hit the deck and probably broken his collarbone. I say probably because I've done it before, I know what it feels like and I can't be bothered to spend a day in A&E waiting to be told what I already know, which is that there is nothing they can do about it.
The offending loose gravelly patch on a corner of a paved valley road induced a tank slapper which ended up with me sliding down the road on my right side. I was riding my Honda 125 step through at the time, so I was dressed, shall we say, less defensively: open face helmet, lightweight jacket, cordura trousers, hiking boots. The boots and cordura trousers (Stanley work trousers, 29.99 from Wickes) did a stirling job, not a scratch on me. The lightweight jacket did predictably less well, as my skinned elbow and shoulder can testify, and as for the open faced helmet! After my head hit the ground the visor pinged off and it was my cheek that was in contact with the tarmac as I slithered down the road.
So, there you have it, get offs on lightweight bikes still hurt, and open face helmets do exactly what that say, they leave your face open to being damaged. The final irony was that after I got up from the road I pulled my phone from my pocket, just to make sure that it was still working; a passing hiker saw me and shouted out 'no signal down here mate". I knew that.
The offending loose gravelly patch on a corner of a paved valley road induced a tank slapper which ended up with me sliding down the road on my right side. I was riding my Honda 125 step through at the time, so I was dressed, shall we say, less defensively: open face helmet, lightweight jacket, cordura trousers, hiking boots. The boots and cordura trousers (Stanley work trousers, 29.99 from Wickes) did a stirling job, not a scratch on me. The lightweight jacket did predictably less well, as my skinned elbow and shoulder can testify, and as for the open faced helmet! After my head hit the ground the visor pinged off and it was my cheek that was in contact with the tarmac as I slithered down the road.
So, there you have it, get offs on lightweight bikes still hurt, and open face helmets do exactly what that say, they leave your face open to being damaged. The final irony was that after I got up from the road I pulled my phone from my pocket, just to make sure that it was still working; a passing hiker saw me and shouted out 'no signal down here mate". I knew that.
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