a friend and i were cutting new trails yeseterday, so we had all of the tools and saws out (so we didnt have helmets on seeing as how we would ride like 10 feet, cut a bunch of brush, then ride further down...etc etc)
well i had just pulled out a small tree off of a new hillwith my freinds honda 300, and i switched back to my quad.......tried the hill, and didnt make it (has a seriously nasty twist at the top) so of course i pulled clutch in, and rode the front brake...half way down i started sliding and somehow released the clutch....and well.... the tires locked and a few seconds later i was laying on my back with the quad on my face.. (this again is with no helmet...) and knew somthing was seriously wrong (the nose portion of my face was totally numb and i had blood going all over the place...) so i rolled it off me and moved around a bit to make sure nothing serious happened (back/neck etc etc) i was able to get up and started calling my freind over and he looked a bit shocked.... (nose was about twice its normal size, and pushed over toward my left eye....) so i spent a good part of last night in the E.R. (ended up being i fractured my nose bone in 3 different spots...)
Although it was complete rider error and a VERY good (but painful) lesson about helmets, i dont beleive ill ever ride again without a helmet and my chest protector on.... i was just so glad i didnt have a broken back or neck or the like.....

RIDE WITH HELMETS PEOPLE! ....i. know i learned my lesson the hard way....

but accelast now while i heal i get a chance to learn how to rejet my quad (was running very sluggish since i changed pipes)

ok im done with my story....

 

Well, Im glad to hear it wasnt someting more serious. Helmets are good (IMHO) if you are taking risks, or could be caught off guard. Most of the guys that know me and I am nearly deaf and rely on reading lips for comunication (no joke). What I can hear, I find is completely gone if I wear a helmet. So, for just normal riding - I don't wear a helmet, but If I start taking risks, I wear it. I can't begin to tell you how many accidents I have avoided by not wearing my helmet and avoided the other rider coming out of some other trail. In Oregon, I'm glad that they allow this 39 year old to make my own decisions on if I need to Wear it or not. For the younger folks, you need to wear it all the time! If the law changes, I'll probably wear full body armor to take the hits! Again, Im glad to hear you are ok. Did you have a bar pad?

Marky

 

yup the stock bar pad (03 baja)
im actually not positive if thats what clocked me in the face...but it seems logical.... it was that or the gas tank....
all i know is it freakin HURTS!

i think all the researchers for drugs should focus on ONE THING.....ADRENALINE! for the first 20 minutes i felt NOTHING.... except for blood running down my sinuses into my throat... lol

but instead of taking aspring or vikodin (cant complain about vikodin..) they could just inject PURE ADRENALINE!
now that i speak of it im pretty sure they do have somthing that acts like adrenaline.....

 

Hey...I hope you get better soon, Hopefully some people will learn from your experience. I see risk takers all the time that refuse to wear helments; there nuts! As you know it only takes one time!

 

A helmet has saved my head 4 times, now. I'll never ride without one again, not to mention, it's illegal here[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]