WORDS: Roger Moroney
PHOTO: Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool
Marquez goes down at the British
GP, but he’ll be right back up
again with barely a scratch...
AHH ‘TIS THE SEASON
OF SILLINESS AGAIN.
hen the heat rises so does the
apparent desire to take a few risks. For
many it is the season of taking risks...
as well as taking something off. For when
the air temperature touches on the high 20s
or early 30s it can really bite the nervous
system, not to mention the skin surfaces if
they are left uncovered for too long. But hey,
there’s one way of turning the heat down and
that’s to get on the motorcycle and go for a
cooling, soothing dash.
And over the past fortnight, with those
temperatures hovering around the 30C
mark, I’ve seen a fair old number of riders
doing that. Heads covered by the cushioning
helmet but arms open to the elements as
T-shirts are the preferred riding gear... and in
one case the guy who, on what appeared to
be a rather sweet 600, was happily setting off
from a Stop sign in his light shirt and... shorts.
82 KIWI RIDER
Ooh, just the sight of vulnerable knees being
aired at 50km/h gave me the shakes. But at
least he wasn’t like the teenager I spotted
on a scooter dashing through a shopping
centre just before Christmas. He was wearing
jandals to complement his singlet and shorts.
I just shrugged because at the end of the day
(and probably another sweltering day at that)
there’s only one way these under-dressed
riders will ever get the message, and that way
is a painful one.
The thing is, there are relatively lightweight
but protective items of riding clothing out
there. I have a jacket that has tiny ventilation
spots in the right places — places which
can be closed up during more inclement
weather by re-attaching the liner. There are
also lightweight leather gloves and jeans, and
ankle-shrouding sports shoes or light boots.