Full Body Armor?

[salsabike]

Maybe he has a medical reason?

[spokewench]

I've often thought about this issue lately; since I took up riding motorcycles and scooters. I don't think twice about wearing gear (jackets with elbow pads, back, and shoulder pads, a full face helmet). Long rides, I also wear pants with knee and hip pads and material made to withstand abrasion and at least ankle length substantial leather boots

I think back on the 20 or so years that I rode and raced both road bikes and mountain bikes and thought about the many times i have been going really fast downhill and what kind of injury I could have had say if a tire had blown, or I had hit something and not been able to save it. You know, mountain passes at somewhere around 50 mph or above at least once; or just around 40 toodling down the local mountain after a hillclimb on Thursday night. I am just wearing lycra shorts, jersey, short fingered gloves and of course a bitty bicycle helmet.

I think what we forget is that we as cyclist because of the reality of the heat and energy expended on a bike do not wear as much gear as perhaps we really should be for protective reasons.

Anyway, this gentleman may be a bit odd to you, but I don't see any problem if he feels more comfortable with more protective gear than the normal cyclist in the US. Actually, I can kind of understand it, but of course, I would get too hot and would probably never wear that gear on a bike either!

[Kiwi Stoker]

After my accident I was told I shouldn't ride for 6 months in case I fell on my shoulder again and would punch the metal plate through the bone. No way I was going to not ride my bike for that long.
I seriously considered getting some BMX/Downhilling protection gear just in case. Hey I got road rash on my chest/breast when I went over the handlebars!
In the end I didn't and they only time I did fall was due to DH trying to u-turn the tandem on a narrow road- I fell onto that side but caught myself on my knee. Really frightened me and DH got yelled at big time. But it was a slow-mo fall so not really so bad.

Also crashes are often not the rider's fault- someone else behind him could touch his wheel, drop a bottle in front. I would say he could be recovering from a serious break or simply is fed up with injuries. And yes that gear does work.

[Crankin]

Yea, I am pretty sure he has a reason; I only heard snitches of the conversation about "a crash," but I don't think the other person was asking him about why he was wearing the gear.
I am such a downhill weenie, that the thought has not crossed my mind. DH, on the other hand, routinely reaches 40 mph on local downhills and has hit 50+ on mountain passes in Europe. While he has superb handling skills, anything could happen. I guess we don't think about that stuff, or we would never ride.

[Aggie_Ama]

It is odd on a road ride. I know a lot of mountain bikers who were them on the trails around here. We don't have downhill courses but tons of rocks and those can bruise pretty dang bad. I know several mountain bikers riding with ribs still healing from crashes.