Another reason to always wear the correct gear

Just wanted to share. It was a story like this that caused me to invest in middle of the road gear last summer. I spent a few years riding in various stages of gear, everything from a half helmet/jeans and tennis shoes to what I wear now, full leather overpants, 8" full leather boots, armored gloves, armored jacket and a full face helmet.

I was riding home from work the other day and while merging onto the interstate when I hit some gravel, drug a peg and ultimately ran out of on ramp while making the left hand turn. I tried to ride out the turn but it was not happening. I was able to miss all the signs/posts on the side of the road and take it to the ditch. Thankfully I missed basically all of the concrete (although the hard gravel shoulder prior to the grass was not much better). The front side took most of the damage.

Luckily I was able to walk away with nothing but a small scrape on my shin from the slide and some bruising all down my left side (basically my butt down to my ankle).

Bike is at the dealer now and I just hope it doesnt take the rest of the summer to get it back up and running.

Few pics for everyones viewing pleasure.