Ride for Kids --------------------------------------------------------------------1
Get a Grip -----------------------------------------------------------------------2
Emergency Crews Struggle to Communicate with Deaf Motorcyclists -----3


August 2002 Issue PDF ** (.pdf) ** Please get free Acrobat Reader download from Adobe Acrobat Reader if you do not have one. With Acrobat Reader, you can read and print Adobe PDF files.

Hands are a pretty important part of the human body. They help us hold things, move things, write things, and for most members of this group, they are the primary means of communication. So we want to keep our hands comfortable and safe. When riding a motorcycle, gloves are the key way to accomplish this.

Gloves offer protection from many different dangers. How many riders have seen a small stone, or piece of debris get kicked up by a passing vehicle? If they hit the rider's hands while at 60 mph, it can hurt! Gloves help to protect from the blow. (Of course helmets, jackets, and long pants protect other parts of the body but those are subjects for another time). How bout the sun? If the rider's hands are exposed over a long period of time, the sunburn can be painful.

Think about a rider's reaction should he fall from the motorcycle, whether it is from a collision with another vehicle, slipping in the parking lot, or any other reason. What is the part of the body that hits the asphalt first? For most people it is the hands that instinctively go out to try to cushion the fall. Which lasts longer, bare flesh, or leather?

Another important application of gloves is what the title of this article suggests. After riding for a number of miles on a nice warm day, a rider's hands can begin to sweat. When that occurs, her grip on the handlebars, which controls the direction of travel, becomes less secure. The throttle can slip, so she has to hold on tighter to maintain control. This leads to a more tense and tiring ride. But when wearing gloves, her hands can sweat all they need to; the gloves will still keep a good grip on the handlebars.

There are countless types of gloves out there, each for different applications. Nobody would wear boxing gloves when skiing, nor a baseball glove when pulling weeds in the garden. Motorcycle gloves are made with the motorcyclist in mind. They have extra padding on the inside of the glove where the palms would contact the pavement. Most good gloves have curved fingers to make it easier for hands to grasp the handlebars. The seams in quality gloves are located in places where the hand will not press against them during a ride, as that would make it uncomfortable to the rider. Even in motorcycle gloves, there are a variety of styles. Some gloves are great during the summertime, allowing air to flow over the hands. Others are waterproof for riding during unexpected rain. Still others are designed for racers who can have a more traumatic spill from their bikes.

The most important features to check when trying on gloves are the comfort and fit. If a glove is not comfortable, a rider is not going to wear them. Likewise, if a glove is too tight or too loose, they will be distracting to the rider when he needs to focus most. When a rider tries on a pair of gloves, he should flex his fingers, try gripping an object, and in general, get a good feel or how the glove fits.

A good, comfortable pair of riding gloves will give hands the protection they need from a variety of riding factors. By keeping their hands safe and happy, our riders can enjoy a good conversation at the next rest stop.