By RICK Burkey

BEST RIDING GEAR the best

We spent many hours trying to answer that question, and after being completely overwhelmed by all the options, we realized we weren’ t asking the right question.

Instead of asking just one question, we should have been asking a series of questions. First, what type of riding do we do most? Highway cruising, off-road adventure, dirt bike, dual sport …? Once

that is determined, then you need to ask what type of climate you will be riding in. Will it be a lot of rain, extreme heat, cold, or all of the above? Third, will it be long-distance riding or short trips with lots of stops? And finally, what is your budget for riding gear?

Once you have an answer to all of those questions, you will know exactly what you are looking for, and the search won’ t feel as overwhelming. The most important thing to keep in mind is to purchase the safest, best-quality gear that fits your budget.

For us, those answers helped us settle on a hot-weather airmesh riding jacket for summer and a poly-fabric riding jacket and over pants with a removable liner for the rest of the year. We also got leather gloves and a lightweight

full-face, modular helmet.

Quick Tips:

1) Purchase waterproof or waterresistant gear, and it can often do double duty as rain gear, removing one item you need to pack.

2) Keep a couple of plastic shopping bags in your bike. If you put them on over your boots, you can easily slide your feet into your riding pants, then remove the plastic bag. No more removing your boots to wrestle on rain gear on the side of the road! ** This trick also works over gloves for sliding into those riding jackets with liners. CMA

Rick and Mary Burkey oversee the Northeast Region as National Evangelist.

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