AndrewDoesHair
Been Around the Block
I ask about this here because I'm new to having people ask me for bike advice, as I'm relatively new to bikes myself. Been on two wheels for the past 2 and a half years and watching friends pick it up now, too. But this one guy in particular worries me! On one hand, he's an adult and not my kid or anything, but on the other hand, he looked up to me for advice on the stuff up until I told him to get a safe helmet and jacket. The guy literally asked "why do people wear boots when they ride? I'm just gonna wear my vans..." And I just googled a picture of someone's foot without skin to show him. I even offered to pay for his MSF course because he was like "I'll probably do that eventually, after I'm riding for a while..."
I mostly ride with old guys, the ones who wear all the gear every time, and say things like "dress for the slide, not for the ride" and "I'd rather sweat than bleed!" When I got my first motorbike a few years ago I wanted to look cool, and didn't think about safety, but was lucky enough to have mentors pound that out of my head with these kinds of sayings, and then it really stuck after I laid the bike down the second time.
So this kid wants to buy a $25 spray painted 3/4 helmet off of Craig's list, and wear a denim vest with vans and sunglasses because he sees Instagram pics of guys on choppers doing that. If you were in my position would you continue to beat the dead safety horse, or just wait to hear about his first crash and say "I told you so" when he's the coolest looking guy in the hospital?
I mostly ride with old guys, the ones who wear all the gear every time, and say things like "dress for the slide, not for the ride" and "I'd rather sweat than bleed!" When I got my first motorbike a few years ago I wanted to look cool, and didn't think about safety, but was lucky enough to have mentors pound that out of my head with these kinds of sayings, and then it really stuck after I laid the bike down the second time.
So this kid wants to buy a $25 spray painted 3/4 helmet off of Craig's list, and wear a denim vest with vans and sunglasses because he sees Instagram pics of guys on choppers doing that. If you were in my position would you continue to beat the dead safety horse, or just wait to hear about his first crash and say "I told you so" when he's the coolest looking guy in the hospital?