I always wear gloves. That's a lot of skin to not lose on a long slide. That said, my mantra while racing was "don't let go of the handlebars until you hit the ground." In other words, don't break the fall with your hands. And I lived by that mantra. Lots of roadrash more than a few times but my hands stayed intact. 3 months after my last race, I went down on ice, forgot my mantra and broke my thumb.

Ben