You stated the idea to t "T" Quastdog. that is why I said, be as safe as you can. If a person can't afford to buy the expensive boots, pants, helmet, but still loves to travel, we surely can't sneer. If his safety level is not what the wealthier person has, well, as one other person said, maybe we could help as long as it doesn't harm his or her dignity, and if we can't or won't help, we are an eclectic group, so everyone is welcome. Nonetheless, safety should still be the highest priority simply because the safer we are, the more likely we are to survive an accident and no one wants anyone to die in a wreck. Agreed, keeping the government out of it is paramount. Remember the first seat belts? They were a luxury add on. Then the gov decided they should be in every car, then it became a law to wear them. Now, the fines for not doing so are so stiff and the LEO's are so diligent about spotting those not wearing belts, that most of us who drive a cage fasten them without consideration. Do we want that kind of interference? Not in this lifetime. Then the guy (or gal) who has minimal funds cannot ride. If he or she is willing to ride without any safety gear because the bucks are not there to get better stuff, then more power to them. Food is number one in my life. I buy the best available. I make sure the pantry is stocked to the brim. I can afford it. Growing up, there were too many days when there was zero food. Too many times when hunger made sleep hard. one of my older sisters died from malnutrition. Had someone in those starving times said "Well, why don't you just buy more food?" I would have thought him brain-dead. I DO NOT condemn nor chastize the person with little gear. I only believe each person should ride as well equipped as he can within his pocketbook, and not to impress but to survive, to live, to escape any possible injury.

I think i am a cheap rider...

I sleep at beaches, gas stations, parks, pansions, campings, police stations etc....(which is the a good option in some routes as you many very well know)

I buy my stuff from the market and make my own sandwich ..

I buy (or get granted) hot water and make my own coffee ..

I cover my needs the most ecomical way possible, in such a way that mostly it is not the best way that money can buy...

But when it gets to needs of my motorcycle... definetly the best the money can get under the cırcumstances ...

I said i am a cheap rider .... not a silly rider ....

yes, the combination of both is possible. we're of the school who believe that travelling with inexpensive gear saves you money which keeps you on the road longer. we rode for 44,000 kms. from Canada to Chile with hiking boots, soft panniers, no gps, cell phone or guidebook and were totally fine.
There's nothing worse than seeing some pompous rider with all the fanciest gadgets and gear with their head buried inside the pages of a lonely planet following the backpacker trail. this is why we travel without all that shit...to escape into the real pulse of the country and discover each place by surprise, with nobody making up our minds for us.
i understand the safety factor, and yes, tires and a poorly running bike should be taken care of, but i see no need to spend thousands of dollars in hard cases and kevlar gear.
go dirtbag and live the experience day by day!

and always keep 'yer knees in the breeze!
T&T

__________________
T&T
Todd Lawson & Christina Tottle
Whistler, BC, Canada

http://www.AgainstMalaria.com/motosagainstmalaria
http://www.sunfirefoto.com

I think I may be one of the cheap ones. My bike gets what it needs when it absolutely needs it and never ever before, because I don't like spending money that I don't have to. And.....

Controversially - and I fully expect indignant backlash....I quite often ride in jeans and leather jacket, or combats and leather jacket, with combat boots and some leather gloves. I always wear an Arai, but I know the no leather jeans look can be controversial. If it helps people in preparing their anti jeans/me arguments, I am also young and irresponsible.

As for books - Miller is great - he conveys what it is like to be a wannabe writer as convincingly as anyone but Fante and Bukowski. Cancer and Capricorn are both massively inspiring.
I always used to claim I didn't like American lit, but after meeting an American girl in Essouira last year who gave me a Bukowski poetry book I haven't looked back. Fante, Miller, Bukowski, Kerouac, Vonnegut, Thompson - just can't get enough of those damn Yanks recently.

As a Brit, I would recommend Glen Duncan and Irvine Welsh as the foremost purveyors of what it is to be British.

As a controversialist, I would recommend Charlie Boorman for his insistently beautiful prose style. Which isn't at all whingey or repetitive.

Happy riding.

I think we all wear jeans once in a while , if we are prepared to admit it .
Heavy jeans would be better like Carhartt [heavy cotton] or Wrangler Rigg [thick nylon] .That's what I wear for short trips .
Gloves are a necessity , I don't ever want to have gravel picked out of the palms of my hands .
I used to wear very strong 9" work boots on the bike [ never found any bike boots that I liked ] ,but now I have a pair of Sidi Discoverys and they are the dog's gonads . Short hiking boots ? No thanks ,I wouldn't want to have a footrest impale my ankle and I would like my foot to be pointing the right way after an "off".
I would rather spend money on the bike than myself as it returns that most cherished of gifts - RELIABILITY !

Poetry for me is well poured pint of ale ,served after a long ride by a buxom lass with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye .
But I might buy a Charley Boorman book ,if you can absolutely guarantee he is not whining .

__________________
Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Now you are reaching for the stars!

Pun, pun, pun!!

__________________
Dave

''Poetry for me is well poured pint of ale ,served after a long ride by a buxom lass with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye .
But I might buy a Charley Boorman book ,if you can absolutely guarantee he is not whining .''

OK OK! I collapse under the pressure, I just can't give you that guarentee! It would take a braver/more foolhardy man than me.

I like the simile, but overall I've never been a poetry fan, I've been all about the prose. I just love Bukowski because his poetry is like a badly poured pint of ale, served after a cold, wet, miserable ride, and thrown at you by a sour faced witch titted lass behind a greasy, ring stained bar.

That's life.

On the boot front, I like Lowa Combat Highs, good protection against twisting and impaling, but also good for walking and not looking like something from Battlestar Gallactica.

Happy Riding.

Just my dimes worth,
"Those that trade independance for security gain neither" Jefferson
I don't ride for safety, I ride for the fun of it.
I rode in Zululand & India in T-shirt & shorts, at night with no lights, just to feel the wind and see the stars.
I do mountain roads just for the fun of it.

It doesn't make me stupid, or wackey, I make judgement calls all my life.
It makes me who I am.


On the road I like to read.
Try BookCrossing - The World's Biggest Free Book Club - Catch and Release Used Books
to see if someone has dropped off a book near you.
I've left them all along the road.

or Main Page - Gutenberg for downloading lots of books.

Either lead or follow on behind, but get out of the way.

__________________
The Gypsy
Second star on the right.
Then straight on till morning.