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THE VIEW FROM THE CD’S WINDSHIELD By: Lee Fortier, Chapter Director We have had four good rides since last edition, and La Pantera (my black GL-1800) is now just shy of 40,000 miles. I also participated in a short ride with the Blue Knights recently – a great way to add some miles to the bikes odometer, and Sandy and I are looking forward to this month’s dinner ride to Big Daddy’s. When I got up this morning and went outside, it felt cool. I thought I had opened the wrong door, but in fact it was only 64 degrees at 6:45 a.m. Could it be that the dog days of summer are over – in mid August?? I almost got the heated gear out of storage, but then realized that is months away. We still need to be aware of heat and its inherent dangers to motorcyclists. It was really, really hot on a recent ride. How hot was it? It was so hot that I took off my Joe Rocket armored jacket (which I very seldom ever do) and rode instead with a long sleeved wicking, fast drying polyester shirt and leather vest. General question: when was the last time you saw Lee without armor on? It is a rare occasion, and it needs to be above 90 degrees and sunny, but my rationale is that I am more likely to get hurt from heat exhaustion than road rash under those circumstances. 90 degrees or less, I have the jacket on. The current Wing World has an excellent article about a recent accident involving multiple motorcycles, and described the degree of personal injury received by each rider and how the more gear they had on the better they were protected. In one case, a rider was wearing an armored jacket and leather gloves. His only damage was to the wrist area “between” the jacket and the glove. N.C. law only mandates that we wear a helmet when we ride a motorcycle; the other (protective gear) options are up to us. I’m reminded of a phrase I used to use as your Rider Educator: “if there is a part of your body you want to use later on in life, cover it!” I think that is still very sound advice. Don’t forget our August social coming up the 4th Thursday, we hope to see many of you in attendance at the Golden Corral for a fine meal and some good fellowship. Lee & Sandy Fortier, Chapter Directors, NC-E2 |