Alpinestars Protects...ME!

It still amazes me how many people ride without the proper gear. I took my first ever trip to the dunes (Gordons Well) and noticed quite a number of people riding with inadequate protection. Even some of the guys in our group were riding with jeans and sneakers.

I'm extremely glad that I purchased a set of Alpinestars Tech 6 boots. I had my share of crashes during the trip and went over the bars a couple of times. One of those crashes led to the bike coming down on my leg. Fortunately the boot (and soft sand) made the impact minimal. It took me a minute or two to get my leg out from under the bike and get back to riding. The whole day went by with no problem. When we got back to our camp and were sitting down to relax I noticed something on my right boot. It looked like something sticky had collected sand across the top of my boot, so I cleared the sand away and realized my boot had been burned by the pipe when the bike fell on me. Here's a pic of the boot (after I cleaned it up a little):

 Had I been wearing jeans and sneakers, I'd be showing a picture of the burn on my foot and leg. It stinks that I damaged a great pair of boots, but it's not like I can't wear them anymore. Besides it gives them a little character.