or "How I learned to stop worrying and love the ATGATT"

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I'm a better motorcycle rider than I've ever been. I still have much to learn of course, but when one makes a point of threading their bike through the dense staccato chaos of urban traffic nearly every single day, well... you can't help but make significant strides in your riding skills. It's either that or winding up ass over elbows in a Mission Street pothole with a two-ton SUV bearing down on your suddenly all-too-frail limbs.

That's not to say I haven't had my share of mistakes, mishaps and near-misses: My bike and I have been down more times than I care to admit. (In my defense most of these misadventures have taken place off-road and far from the bustle and thrum of city traffic.) And yet even these are illuminating, mostly, imparting a rich set of otherwise unattainable insights through the miracle of somatic slo-mo, in endless replay; left knee dropped down two inches, weight shifted over, right hand backed off throttle quick - how quick? - too quick, too sudden, slower next time, foot went... where? off peg, slightly, tentatively, next time keep it on, trust the bike, trust gyroscopic stability... And so on.

And yet, even as I notice myself getting appreciably better, faster, and more confident (read: less fearful) on my bike, I've also gained a greater understanding of the risks and potential consequences of my choice to be a rider. The endlessly unfolding, myriad ways in which the giant flyswatter of cosmic misfortune can slam down unforgivingly upon your head: oblivious cagers on cellphones, a patch of wet gravel around a blind corner, mechanical failure, drunk drivers, cagers making sudden left turns, cagers driving the wrong way down one-way streets, sheets of flat steel covering road construction, wet with rain and slick like ice. The list grows every time I ride, every time I talk with a fellow rider, or read one of their stories. I try to store all of this information, to organize it in some useful fashion in my perceptual hierarchies. Try to make myself a quicker, smarter, more predictive and more adaptable rider.

I've also learned to love ATGATT.

ATGATT, for those of you unfamiliar with the acronym, stands for "All The Gear, All The Time". What this means varies from rider to rider, ranging from a bare minimum of a full face DOT-certified helmet, boots and riding gloves to full race leathers with body armor and bulletproof kevlar panty liners. I've always been an ATGATT rider, even before I knew of the term. It simply seemed like the smart thing to do. Maybe I'm squeamish. Maybe I'm vain. Maybe I just think that chicks dig guys in black leather.

Possibly it's because of my parents. When they were younger they both rode, and I grew up with a number of vivid stories of road rash and other ugly injuries sustained from falls with little or no gear to speak of. Perhaps it's because of my many rider friends, most all of whom are ATGATT and who have dropped at one time or another and have their gear to thank for keeping them among the young, pretty and living.

Whatever my initial reasons were though, I now have a million others. They're hard to forget when you see them anew every time you ride. I've also become more informed about the types of injuries riders can sustain, have learned the difference, for example, between blunt force trauma, point force trauma and abrasion. Have learned what types of protection are required to shield against each of those injuries.

It makes sense. The more you ride, the better you understand the specific risks involved and what you can do to protect against those risks. Which brings me to this:

As my riding skills have improved, I've begun to ride more and more aggressively. Also, since my acquisition last year of Rawhead, my beloved black BMW r1100GS, I've begun to ride offroad as well, an environment that presents an entirely different set of dangers and impact conditions than freeway cruising, or city streetfighting. As a result of these and other factors I have decided that it's time to up my personal ATGATT standard once again, this time to include body armor and a back protector.

Thus it was that I recently sprang for an Icon field armor vest. While it offers both spine and chest protection, as a vest it obviously has no shoulder or arm protection. After a little research I've decided that I what I really want is a pressure suit, such as one of these two items:

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll

Only problem is I can't decide which one to choose. So I thought I'd throw the question out to you, my esteemed band of Polyarmory misfits and weisenheimers.

If it helps any, this is the jacket I normally wear, and which I will be wearing this armor under.

www.motorcycleville.com/Hein_G...36.html


Thanks all!

- Slimpermeable