Post by magnumforce73 on Nov 10, 2014 19:50:29 GMT
Writing as someone who has thousands of miles of experience riding bicycles, and tens of thousands of miles of experience riding motorbikes, and the former I never do with gloves, and the latter I never do without gloves.
Having written that, I am talking about myself in twenty first century London, and what people were doing in California in the seventies, especially if it was off road, may have been quite different.
Neighborhood BMX / Bicyclists: no gloves... the random kid that might race amateur on the weekends might wear his gloves to show off (and protect his hands)
Pro/Am Cyclists: (E.g. Racing/Road bikes) Mostly wore fingerless mesh gloves
Early mountain biking: (E.g. Klunkers at Mt. Tam area) Hodgepodge of glove use from bare handed, to mesh fingerless MX style, to ranch style work gloves and anything in between.
Motocross: Mostly these guys wore industry specific full finger MX gloves or ranch/work gloves.
One thing I'd mention about the lay of the land, especially in his strike zones in Southern California: I'm more inclined to see him wearing "industry specific full-finger MX gloves" as sfbay informs on the motocross specifics because of the hilly, difficult nature of these coastal hills. There's always the possibility of him taking a nasty spill, and with foliage and greenbelts, lacerations, cuts, and bruises aren't out of the question--especially if he's hoofing it because he's got pursuing cops on his six.
Every time I think about this bloodied motocross glove, I think of the great chase sequence in Charles Bronson's 1972 masterpiece, The Mechanic, when his Arthur Bishop character is forced to pursue an assassination target on a motorbike, and both hunted and hunter slice the grains of the peaks and valleys tearing up the coastal hill areas of Southern California on their Husqvarnas. No forced entry was noted at the Cockleshell Drive residence, and we don't know for certain by what means he arrived to the Harringtons' doorstep--it's very possible he showed up to do this deed using not a car, but a motorbike which he could've hidden in any number of places. With the motorbike, he'd have greater speed but without sacrificing cornering/agility/evasive capabilities he'd already have with a conventional bicycle. The only thing he'd have to concern himself with is the real possibility of a wipe out--and he'd want something akin to a suit of armor to protect him. After all, all his risks are calculated very carefully.
mf73