You’re gonna love my nuts.

After Josh had his accident, our entire motley crew realized that things like that can (and statistically will) happen to anyone, no matter how good a rider you are. Even more sobering was the knowledge that had Josh not been wearing his gear, his injuries could have been a LOT worse – and in fact, the only reason he was hurt at all was because he wasn’t wearing all his gear as usual. It made us all hyper aware of the importance of owning good gear and actually WEARING it; something I am horribly guilty of not going. Since then, we’ve all been on a mission to get our asses as safe as possible, regardless of what we ride. It’s something we should have all done years ago, but it was just so easy to think that we’d never get hurt so why bother gearing up – I’m only going down the street/to work/for a quick ride; what could possibly happen? Heh.

Between the six of us, we’ve purchased 3 new armoured jackets (likely soon to be 5), two pairs of armoured pants, four new helmets, and a new motorcycle. Our group motto should likely be “Safety Eventually!”, but at least we’re now protected. I got my new jacket yesterday afternoon, and it’s impossibly awesome – my biggest complaint about armour has always been the incredible discomfort and the fact that women’s armour is not built for us zaftig dames. The two jackets I owned were basically men’s gear in girlie colours, sized up for fatties. Our bodies don’t work that way, and most manufacturers don’t care enough to figure out what we need because lol fatties put down the fork am I right (hint: no). Until now!

Enter Arlene Battishill, founder of GoGo Gear – protective riding clothes made for women who don’t want to have to choose between safety and not looking like crap. I first heard about her line a couple years ago, and was eagerly awaiting the day when I could try her stuff out for realz – while it’s not available locally yet (get on it, Vancouver), the website now has a store for internet buying times. After Josh’s accident, I realized I needed to get some protection that I would actually WEAR, unlike the two armoured jackets sitting in my closet collecting cat hair and dirty looks – so I opted to order myself up a little something something. It arrived ridiculously quickly, and holy crap it is FULL OF AWESOME.

I ended up with the black trench coat (my first option, the Military Jacket, isn’t in stock in my size), and it’s a perfect fit. It looks great, is shiny and reflective in all the right places, is LONG enough so I don’t feel like a goddamn sausage, and will be completely perfect to wear in Vancouver during the fall and winter riding season. Seriously, I’m totally thrilled with this coat – Arlene managed to do exactly as promised, and delivers a fantastic armoured jacket made to fit real women and just happens to be a joy to wear (while riding – I’m quickly learning that I need to disrobe when done, or I will MELT INTO SWEAT because it’s still summer).

The armoured trench will serve me well in the upcoming months, but I plan on getting the lighter Cafe Jacket for spring and summer riding. It’s an investment in my own ass – I’ve been riding for years without gear because it’s uncomfortable/too hot/I’m in a hurry/I don’t wanna, but it’s time to wake up and smell the fact that I can’t control what other drivers do so maybe I should protect myself any way possible. I can be smart (eventually) when I have to, and besides – what would the internet do without me?