Crash Tested: Lessons learned on Portugal’s narrow streets

Even though 2023 March might seem like a long time ago to most of us, today’s hero Andreia will remember that date for many years to come. Anyone who has been to Portugal before knows the narrow streets that cover Portugal’s small towns and old towns. Therefore, these types of roads are dangerous to cars, but to motorcycles even more so. Of course, when you know them as well as the palm of your hand you don’t expect something to happen on your way home. Unfortunately, Andreia was a pawn of circumstance that day.

With 200 meters left to her home, Andreia started slowing down to 15 km/h since she knew the road would start to go downhill soon. While making a turn, she noticed a car coming up the hill towards her and decided to move more to the side. „My instinct was to brake and turn right to this little ramp so I could let the cars pass.“ – Andreia remembers. But, what Andreia didn’t see was the big pothole full of sand and gravel and she drove right into it. What are the odds?! The motorcycle slipped and, of course, so did Andreia. „As soon as I fell, I immediately hit my head on the ground and went sliding with the bike down the road.“ – says Andreia. Lucky for her, right after the first passing car was the ambulance, which quickly came to the rescue.

Because both Andreia and the car were going slowly and she didn’t collide with any of the cars, her fall caused just a fractured finger and some scraped knees only. Yes, only (it can always be worse). Her upper body was left untouched by the incident. „Because I had my helmet on, there was no damage to my head. Because I had my PANDO MOTO HUSKY jacket, I wasn’t hurt from the waist to top, except a fractured finger” – Andreia recalls. Sadly, the most affected parts were… the legs! Andreia was wearing casual joggers while riding that day. „My knee was the worst because I didn’t have any motorcycle pants.“ – Andreia explains.

According to Andreia, she was very lucky to have been wearing the HUSKY JACKET BLACK – Sherpa Trucker Motorcycle Jacket Unisex, which saved her from more serious damage. The jacket comes with integrated shoulder and elbow armor SAS-TEC TripleFlex CE and is certified with AA protection level.

However, later on, Andreia regrets not knowing about the PANDO MOTO Lifetime Warranty beforehand: “It’s a pity, I didn’t know about the warranty from Pando too.“ At this point, she should have contact Pando and receive the new jacket. That’s what happens when you share your crash story with us!

A lot of you are probably asking what happened to the motorcycle after the crash. Don’t worry, it’s (almost) as good as new. Only a couple of parts had to be changed, including the hand brake and the lighters. However, the fairing was left unchanged and now the scratches on it is a reminder to Andreia to never forget her motorcycle pants and other riding gear.

We are also very happy to share this sweet review from Andreia: „I love your brand, and would love to dress myself entirely with Pando Moto gear.“ She also shared about buying the new MILA CARGO BEIGE pants instantly after the accident, to not have any more scraped knees in the future.
The moral of the story – don’t forget to wear your special motorcycle gear and especially pants if you want to save your knees from a good road rash.