Safety
It can save your life.
Wear the helmet!
To realize the importance of wearing a helmet just see the following statistics. Of 10 riders who wore a helmet and fell down when lost control of the bike nobody had serious head injuries. 8 of 10 riders who didn’t wear a helmet got injuries of different severity levels. Though some sportsmen ride without any helmet it doesn’t mean that it is right. First, they are professional riders and can assess their own strength and complexity of the track; second, they are grown up and they are responsible for their actions. And the third, they have full medical insurance. In case of risk of falling down, street racing for example, unknown track etc., all sportsmen first of all think about their safety.
It’s up to everyone to decide whether to equip the bike with reflectors provided by the producer. But it is very dangerous to ride along dusty roads, at sunset, in the rain, at night and in other conditions of low visibility, because the rider is hardly seen to drivers of other vehicles. Reflectors increase the distance from which the bike rider can be visible, it reduces danger considerably.
If you ride in the evening or at nighttime reflectors are not enough, that’s why your bike should be equipped with a head light or a rear torch. You’ll see the road better and other road users will see you. You should have a white front head light and a red rear torch, or front and rear stroboscopic lights. There is a number of devices for bikes including lights, electric generator, holders, tumbler switch and cables.
These elementary things can save your life.
The concept of Freeriding
Freeriding, dirtjumping, downhill, slalom… Riders fly into the air, rush down, hop drops, fly over rocks and pits. Yes, it looks really cool. And they often don’t wear helmets.
But people watching these videos and photos in magazines don’t know about all difficulties and peculiarities of these sports. For example, they don’t understand that the level of training of these people is incredibly high, and in order to ride without a helmet they spend endless hours practicing and perfecting their skills, often gaining muscle pulls, concussions, fractures of bones (and bikes). And it is their job. Of course, there are some riders, daredevils, who ignore the risk. Can you say you’re stupid or haven’t got your own opinion, if you are ready to copy what you see in the Internet and in magazines, even if it doesn’t show a threat for your health? Should or shouldn’t they risk? If they should then for what? Naturally, extreme riding is a risk itself, but manufacturers also improve and every time create more and more perfect ways of your body’s protection.
Every time you're going to ride hard, please get ready for it, think about your protection. Always wear full face helmet, protection for the neck, back, arms and legs, and gloves with the fingers closed. Don’t be lazy to check your bike before each ride, make sure it is completely functional. It is advisable to learn skills of the first aid. But in any case, you should correctly estimate your possibilities every time you pass the speedway or do acrobatics. Train, control yourself and your bike, and expand limits of your opportunities step by step, but ride with the motto of “no limits”.
