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Path: utzoo!watmath!kwlalonde
From: kwlalonde@watmath.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.cycle
Subject: more on protection
Message-ID: <8281@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 9-Jul-84 20:53:18 EDT
Article-I.D.: watmath.8281
Posted: Mon Jul  9 20:53:18 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 10-Jul-84 02:42:03 EDT
Sender: kwlalonde@watmath.UUCP
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 40

Subject: more on protection : net.cycle

  When i said i dont understand "encasing yourself in protective
   clothing at all times" i basically meant the following:
 
a) meet certain minimum standards, such as never wear shorts (unless
     you want to say "Look God, strike me down")
   I dont understand excessive UNDERdressing either.
 
b) dress/helmet/goggle according to weather, road conditions, speed,
   distance of travel, your state of rest/health (lets face it, people
   WILL drive when they are not up to par with sleep or maybe with
   some viral flu and loaded with decongestants) etc.

c) if you are the type who rides a sporty bike, likes to wheelie all the
   time, etc, i am not condemning the behaviour, but that becomes a
   CONDITION of your dressing -- ie: the riskier your driving habits
   the more sense it makes to be better protected.

d) novice riders also would be well advised to be better protected.
   novices naturally have less "skill" to maneuver in/out of situations,
   and also are more likely to have "extreme" panic reactions to new
   experiences, after your bizillionth wasp you just tend to act more
   controlled

I believe that its a matter of "weighing the risks" (just like almost
  anything else anyone does everyday)
(Do you actively encourage over-dressing to protect lives while
 smoking cigarettes....????   :-)  :-)   )

If you are good rider, alert, etc. you can enjoy a lot more
subtle experiences on a bike if you dress "appropriately" rather than
"encasing" yourself regardless.

                    - Ken Dykes
                      Software Development Group, University of Waterloo
                      Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.  N2L 3G1
                      watmath!watrose!watbun!kgdykes