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Show her this thread, let her know that I've recovered fully (and have already ridden well over 10,000 miles this season, so it didn't slow me down at all) -- and that despite the severity of the accident, it was my jacket, boots, gloves, and sturdy pants that prevented me from having much of the skin scrubbed off my body. Yes, my leg was broken, and yes, many parts of me turned some very interesting shades of black and blue in the days following the accident, but that was it. The gear I was wearing prevented all the nasty surface injuries I could have received, and my helmet quite literally saved my life.
I'm walking proof that good gear is worth every penny, every second of inconvenience putting it on, and every drop of sweat on a hot day. Thanks to my gear, I've recovered from the accident fully, I still love riding as much as I did before, and I'm not even any uglier than I was before the crash.
--mark