Well, this is more "bike gear" for protection ... protecting one's hands and one's pride!

Yesterday, I went out on my little XTR - got to my destination - parked the bike - shut it off - side stand down ...

Simultaneously, through my full face helmet, I saw some pleasant scenery walking by, smiling at me . Yeah, I'm cool!

More background - I haven't ridden the XTR for a few months, and forgot about the vibration ... and how it puts one's legs to sleep.

Anyways, as I am enjoying the lovely smile at me, Mr Cool Biker, and in the process of dismounting the bike ...

Ooops, ooops, ooops ... my tingling half-asleep leg didn't clear the seat ... oh no! I can feel the notoriously poorly designed XTR side stand giving away ... over the bike goes, with me pinned underneath! Not cool.

BUT ... in my failed attempt to retain "cool composure" as the little XTR was collapsing, I also failed to remove my hand from the left hand grip, and the bike came down hard on my hand! No body parts broken, but my mirror and rear signal smashed. And my hand is clearly bruised and swollen. I think my armored gloves saved me from broken bones. And my armored pants / jacket saved me from any road rash & more bruises as I collapsed on the ground, bike on top of me. And my full face helmet saved me from displaying my embarrassed red face (I didn't remove it until I was far away).

Note to self - MOUNT THE DAMN HAND PROTECTORS! They serve a very useful purpose, besides looking cool. But they need to be mounted on the bike, not sitting in my storage area.

And a mishap can happen when you least expect it, or want it to. Scenery can be sooooo distracting!

Hand protectors - a good idea!