As a nurse with ED experience, I'm going to echo the "all the gear, all the time," advice. As a motorcycle rider, I'm also going to add that there are two kinds of riders -- those who've been down, and those who are going down. I joined the flying w club a few years ago, and ruined a helmet and about $300 worth of leather -- but I didn't have to have a skin graft, and I didn't get road rash on my face.