When I first started riding my bike to work a couple months ago, I had "gloves" written down on my list of things to acquire to be fully prepared. After a couple days of riding, however, I decided they might not be so necessary, after all.

Yesterday I learned the hard way about the deadly combination of roadside gravel and quick turns, and that gloves will, indeed, be a welcome accessory. Twenty-four hours later and my open wound still stings like mad. I was lucky that my road rash was the worst of my spill.