My father recently suffered a stroke which led to some brain issues, and has lost a bit of his cognitive function. Ive taken him to the track with me a few times but he complains that he cant really follow me because he cant tell any differences between me and other riders. Im wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks to make it to where he can pick me out of a crowd. Ive tried a few different gear sets, ive put some high vis vinyl sticker material on my helmet, neither have seemed to help. With how wild gear and helmet paint is these days, im not really sure how to combat this.
Ive considered wearing a hi vis construction shirt, or ordering some sort of custom gear, but im not really sure what would help him spot me better.
Ive considered painting my helmet one solid bright color.
Ive considered getting a cardo system for my helmet so maybe we can talk while im on the track although ive never used one so not sure how well that would work especially with his lack luster speech skills at this time.
I ride a 26 yz450f , not sure if they make any wild plastic colors that may help.
If anyone has any advice or suggestions please feel free. Thanks!
One of those goofy helmet Mohawk things would work, or a hi-viz construction vest? Maybe just tape a 2 ft ribbon on your helmet?
Hope you find something that works, and keep your dad riding as long as he’s able. What a blessing for both of you!
Hot pink overalls would be hard to miss, even for Stevie Wonder. 😄
Honestly, all white gear from canvas and a white helmet sticks out more than even orange or bright yellow.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Ride a quad
Or wear a GoPro and watch the videos with him after the ride day?
Wear a colour that no one else is, even better if you change the colour of the bike too. Like all purple or teal or something like that.
This.
You could run LED's of some sort on the bike but on a bright day that won't be much use. White plastic may help if there aren't a bunch of Husky's out there.
Good idea. I dont necessarily want to look like a nick tomasunas wanna be- but i think it may help. Thanks for the advice
He is only able to spectate at this point. Hes just having a hard time picking out which rider is me on the track
Any involvement is awesome! My wife complains about the same thing, apparently there’s a lot of guys wearing mostly black on a KTM..
I bought some old school looking yellow gear, I’ll wear it at races so she can find me. Works great!
AOT Racing has an actual metric fuckton of bright colored gear (and some nice drab stuff too).
We love Us some high Vis
You want to cut the strongest silouette possible. Black would be it but there's a lot of riders and machines with some or all black and it's hot. One of the bright solids would probably also work for most people but we're talking a stroke victim here at a track full of fast moving bright colors. I still figure white is your best option.
A friend of mine used to ride with a bright yellow helmet. In a pack of 20 riders, you could always tell exactly where he was. Just look for the yellow. There are plenty of high-vis choices out there too: orange, yellow, helmets, boots, vests, riding gear. The real trick is finding something that fits you. good luck.
I have no suggestions but wanted to reply as my mum just got home on the 30th of July after nearly 3 months in hospital from a massive hemorrhagic stroke.
She was usually on filming duty for race days and I always had bright gear/helmets as it’s what I liked and dad too. It was always easy to find me if I wasn’t at the back of the pack.
It’s awesome that you are trying to make dad’s experience better/easier and I wish you and him all the best.
Monochrome is your best option, as multiple colors tend to mask themselves more. Especially from a distance, you want to present the largest total block of one color as possible. I'd try all yellow or hot pink.
My son started racing post covid in the 65 class and throughout the end of ‘20 and all ‘21 there was always 30-40 riders in the 65 class locally.
I tried every combo but hi-viz/flo yellow head to toe was always the easiest to spot from across the track. He’s 14 now and decided he doesn’t like fluorescent colors, which works fine because the 85/supermini class has tapered off to no more than about 15 riders locally on the weekend..
Have you tried Canvas? Leib seems like a nice enough dude and now that Loretta's is over he may have more time to chat and come up with a unique solution for you an your dad. I hope you guys find something that works, and your pop can enjoy a day at the track watching his boy race!
Pit Row
Match that yellow gear with this seat cover. Throttle Jockey makes them Very grippy & no seams/ I hate seams. Add any letter or word. 10 bucks extra. Bike ie dirty in pic
Waaay back in 1977 I went to Florida to do the winter series and met this kid in the neighborhood we stayed in and became friends. He was pretty good and taught me how to ride in the deep Florida sand. His dad made him ride with a plastic orange pennant taped to his helmet so he could find his son on the track. You might think it looked odd or funny but when you lead and win you can make anything look cool. He did good enough to have a street named after him at Loretta Lynn’s and was also a Rookie of the Year in pro mx. Some of you may have heard of Kevin Foley. Kevin if you are on Vital, hello and send me a dm.
I like the two feet of ribbon idea. Some kids used to run that in the mini classes to help them standout and be seen. The ribbon can easily be torn off in a fall, so shouldn’t be considered a safety hazard.
Valve stem lights on your tires really stand out, even in the day time. You might try it and see if it helps.
Take flo-spray paint to your bike - plastic is cheap....do whatever it takes to keep your Dad with you. Good stuff.
When my son switched from a bright orange Bell to a black/blue 6D, the wife and I realized quickly how spoiled we were with the hi viz color helmet. Way easier to keep track of him amongst everyone.
A stormtrooper / cue ball helmet is hard to miss.
Plain white head to toe. You'd be surprised how much is stands out.
Post a reply to: Higher visibility gear options