I'm...a;ready looking forward to next year. So much so that I'm thinking about how I'm going to reconcile my normal summer wardrobe with safety gear.

I don't do shorts so much, but I love me a pair of capris. And skirts.

I've been planning on getting a pair of Bohn leggings ever since one of you fantastic folks clued me in to them. And i know they have shorts, but i'm a lil paranoid about crashing and landing on my knees. But the other night I had an !

Buy a pair of the cool mesh Bohn leggings and have them cut and hemmed immediately below the knee/shin armor, effectively creating armored capri-length leggings! Presto! Armor for under capris and skirts! (If anyone here came up with this first, I totally missed it.)


Admittedly I'm a little ambivalent about having bare skin exposed at all. But let's face it...there will come the day that I cannot resist the urge to show some leg. Might as well be prepared and have gear ready, you know?



Thoughts, opinions, better ideas or product referrals?

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I have ridden in shorts about 2 - 3 times a year so far. Usually it is over 95 degrees and we are out on a long ride.

All I can say is "Windburn".

I think a layer of vaseline might help, but that will just make your legs fry.

Lotion, sun screen. And if a bug or a rock hits you! OW!

Just sayin'

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A Dragon can be unseen or visible, minute or huge, long or short. However,
always it is great. ~ Shuo Wen (ca. 100)
Visit my new scooter blog at -
http://saltyscooterstories.blogspot.com/

I used to wear these back when I was a newbie
(and gave them away, long ago):

See: http://www.motorcyclegear.com/street/ar ... uards.html

Belkwinith does a very different type of riding than I do (I don't do freeways).
It gets very hot & humid here, so my biggest challenge making sure I have enough ice water along.

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~~~~~ Linda ~~~~~

I ride with gear all year round. Once you have hit pavement it is enough to convince you. In the summer I just wear shorts underneath and a light top.

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Dar ~ I was born to ride!

my blog: Princess Scooterpie http://scootermayhem.blogspot.com/

I started wearing a pair of leather lagging. I started wearing them this summer while we rode our motorcycle that way I can wear capris and still keep my legs from burning. So I will be wearing them this year as soon as my husband gets the rollers on Bella changed out. The leathers start from the knee down and they really do make a differents. I also have chaps that I wear when it's cold.

keep on scooting

I agree with Turtle. Shin guards are the way to go. I was only wearing regular jeans and long johns when I crashed my scooter this week and my leg got pretty banged up, but no road rash. It's a risk and if you're willing to take it, at least protect those bones from breakage.

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littlepinkhope

-- Zoë

I agree 100% with you ID. Bare skin even shins and calves is just asking for trouble when you ride. I know comfort is important, but until you have experienced the joy of road rash (especially fun when you have to dig pieces of pavement out of raw flesh), you have no idea how really vulnerable bare flesh is when you ride.

Look for something you can wear while you ride, peel off, leave behind or stash in a luggage rack, and put on again when you saddle up. There are some really nice safety clothes out there that you can wear over street clothes, or better yet, if you are into skirts, take your skirt with you and change when you reach your destination. Don't leave your arms or calves bare.

Look for something with kevlar in it. We wear slip on sleeves and leg warmers reinforced with kevlar when we bicycle race. I have seen riders on low racers take minor falls and come away with palm sized rashes on their hips and hineys.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68950620/st ... r-leggings

We all want to look nice when we ride, but safety comes first even over comfort at times.

Remember there are two kinds of riders. Those who have crashed and those who haven't crashed yet.

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There are two types of people in this world, people who ride scooters and
people who wish they could ride scooters.

After having thought about it...you're all right, obvs. Bare calves is begging for scarred calves. Bohn leggings with skirts will just have to do in the hottest stretch of summer.

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Sometimes it isn't the road rash that hurts you when you hit, its the fact that you have no armor in the vulnerable areas i.e. knees, hips/thighs & hiney. At least with the armor it gives you the padding to absorb the impact. Impact generally means crush type/blunt force type injuries. There are all kinds of little nerves just under the surface of the skin that you can bugger up and then they end up making the area always feel sore.

Ravenlore - Glad you have changed your mind. I would rather you be a Diva with intact skin that one who is a hurting diva dealing with road rash and associated owies!

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Dar ~ I was born to ride!

my blog: Princess Scooterpie http://scootermayhem.blogspot.com/

My 2 cents:

When I first had Zumi the tires were pretty deflated. I thought I'd correct it by hitting the gas station. As I went to turn in, an elderly gent turned in front of me, so I had to turn suddenly. I also applied the brakes, which was stupid (never do that WHILE the wheel is bent, they said in the MSF class...). I went down, going @ 5mph. I bruised my knee and skinned my calf, through solid jeans. The kneecap remains bruised and I have a scar on the calf. The fall was right before Thanksgiving....

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Sorry to resurrect a necrothread, but I think I've finally settled upon the gear to address my need.

http://www.johnsonleather.com/forcefield_action_shorts.htm and

http://www.johnsonleather.com/strap_on_leg.htm


i suspect those will do the trick under skirts OR pants! Flexibility!!

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Ravenlore - Sweetie you are going to go to all those lengths to get protection, just buy a pair of pants and you can still have your skirt over top. You still have to protect the skin on your calves in the back and where the knee/shin guards end and the cordura nylon the pants are made out of protect you from friction whilst sliding down pavement. Those armoured 'boxers' aren't made of cordura nylon so they will abrade very quickly from friction on pavement. You can pick up a nice pair of pants look at the TourMaster ladies venture pants. I ended up buying the TourMaster Men's flex pants in a size small- I liked the features they had over the womens, it gave me a little more room in the hip and I could zip them down (front & back) to mesh in the summer. THESE PANTS ROCK MY WORLD! They are the most comfortable pants and aren't too long. If you are looking for minimal bulk look at the Joe Rocket Ballistics - but know this - they leak and there is no padding in the hip. When I slid the scoot back in the winter the pants saved my knee completely and my hip. They did their job and I am so glad I have them. I am an ATGATT girl even in summer. It was 80+ here and I had on my full gear right down to my motorcycle boots, better to be safe than sorry.

I think if you bought some pants you would be happy with them and they zip off really easy and you will love them. Check out Revzilla they have a plethora of pants. If you ever think chaps remember that they do nothing to protect you from impact or protect your hiney from the pavement. Good luck!

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Dar ~ I was born to ride!

my blog: Princess Scooterpie http://scootermayhem.blogspot.com/

ID, the only brand of pants that come in my size AT ALL-including the mens' range-is Joe Rocket. There is no such thing as womens' pants in my size by any manufacturer.

(I am an appley apple-almost normal human sized limbs with a torso that well exceeds "normal" sizing)

The FF shorts, however, DO go up to my size. And my legs are thin enough to just fall into the realm of normal sizing for men. FF does make an armored leg tube that is Cordura.

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Well, it would be hard with all the harsh wind that will come your way so it would be great to have a calf guard on. Though there are quite a lot of riders that do not wear them which will make you think about trying it as well. I would not be one of those who are willing though considering what pain a friend went through when he decided to pull that stunt together. Windburn can be such a pain, you know.