Gyrobob
Serious Thumper
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Posers ain't motorcyclists
Posts: 2571
Newnan, GA
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Jerry Eichenberger wrote on 04/09/12 at 15:19:19:Hey, we old fighter jocks like to keep our heads on a swivel and look out all directions.
We were trained to some degree in how the human eye works. Believe it or not, you perceive the motion of a "target" with your peripheral vision more than looking straight ahead. Tunnel vision gets you killed when you don't see the bogey who is approaching from your rear quarter or quartering into you from ahead.
I'm almost afraid to say it for fear of jinxing myself, but pilots only have 10% the chance of being involved in a serious auto accident as does the general population because we are so cognizant of our spatial awareness all around us - left, right, up and down. At least that holds true for those of us who are still alive. Agree with all that, Jerry. Head on a swivel is a very important function, whether you are flying F-4s (did), gyrocopters (do now), or motorcycles (do now).
Let me plug the wheat-free thing here in connection with the head on a swivel. -- Once I got into my 50s, the swiveling became more and more a problem,... just a general stiffness, a reduced mobility, and actual pain if I tried to swivel too far. -- Turning 64 last year, I was reduced to turning my whole upper body to check for traffic, or to back up a car, etc. -- In Oct, I stopped eating all grains, including wheat. Within a few weeks I had neck-twisting capability that equalled what I had had two decades ago. A wonderful thing. Much safer now,.. and no pain anymore. All my joints now feel all loose and rubbery like they did a long time ago.
Pertaining to helmets, my first several helmets were soup-bowl style or "full" style, meaning no face protection. I started wearing helmets in 1960, though. Full face helmets were not available. A few years after they first came out, I bought my first full face helmet, a Bell something or other. I've worn only full-face helmets ever since.
Curiously, the two times I have had my life saved by a helmet, a full face helmet might not have made that much diff. -- At age 14, I high-sided a Lambretta motor scooter in the hills and ended up tumbling down the hill, hitting my head on a tree trunk. It caved in the top of the helmet. -- At age 22, I went off an off ramp at 60+ mph on a Honda CB350, and as I was torpedoing along the top of the ice plant that lined the freeways in Calif in 1969, my helmeted head went through a 2" diam iron sprinkler pipe, again caving in the top of the helmet.
The fact that I hit the top of the helmets on those obstacles was dumb luck. It could quite easily have been my face, so I am quite sold on full face helmets.
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