This is how I dressed yesterday, for our motorcycle ride to Laguna Beach. Below you can see how I dressed for a previous ride.

When I used to ride a two wheeled scooter, I always wore long pants, sturdy boots, an armored jacket, full fingered gloves, and usually a full, not a 3/4 helmet. Now I ride a three wheeled can-am spyder and I’ve been getting a little too relaxed about wearing safety gear. I started wearing tennis shoes instead of boots, and recently I wore board shorts instead of my jeans, thinking I looked very cool, when I was actually looking rather foolish, especially to seasoned riders. Just because I’m on three wheels, it doesn’t mean I can’t take a spill, or be hit by a stone fired in my direction. Hitting a large flying insect while traveling at fast speeds can also be quite unpleasant.

Here is my full helmet, full fingered gloves, and armored jacket to protect elbows and shoulders, just in case.

In the photo above I’m checking the pressure of my can-am tires, before our ride. Note my long pants and sturdy boots. Another draw back of wearing shorts on a motorcycle is the possibility of resting your bare leg next to the extremely hot tailpipe.This has happened to more than one rider, and I’ve seen some of the scars.
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Finally, a photo of my husband fueling our vehicles. As you can see, he’s dressed in safety gear as well.
Hopefully I haven’t nagged too much, but when I see people on scooters and motorcycles in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops, I cringe. I almost joined their ranks, but thankfully came to my senses. I’m hoping this post might just save someone from an unnecessary injury, or a bad case of road rash. Ride safe.