I just don't care that much about germs or worry about stray infections. Maybe someday I'll die from catching e. coli of the salad tongs at Sweet Tomatoes but so far it is working fine for me.

HomeTown Buffet (or the sister restaurant Old Country Buffet) is a place I haven't been to in many years but it does have sentimental attachment from when I was a kid.

Dilemma: Get the bike helmet that is both more stylish AND offers the most head protection? Or the one that is dorkier, but is half the weight and has way more vents making it far more comfortable. Grrrr.

Which of the two would result in better helmet hair once it's off your head?

Go for the safest one. It won't matter what it looks like or how hot or cool you are if it doesn't protect your head when bonk it.

(said from the viewpoint of a Mom whose son has had 2 bike injuries - one without a helmet that resulted in a trip to the ER via ambulance and once with a helmet that knocked out several front teeth.)

Both awful, not a factor.

The "less safe" one is still probably perfectly safe. Especially since the biggest safety gain from the "more safe" one is the back of the head. Seeing as I'm not planning on doing many backflips on my road bike, the odds of a back of the head impact are vanishingly low. So really, it's style vs. comfort. The "safer" factor is just a convenient justification for favoring style.

My helmet philosophy was:

1. Wear one when I'm sharing space with cars.
2. If I'm not sharing space with cars I probably am not wearing one, but I accept that this decision could kill me.

Generally this is followed a few weeks later by

3. "Why do I always forget how much I hate riding bikes and think I'll start doing so. I'll just walk and wear a helmet."

Most of my commute is on a dedicated bike trail, but ~30% is still on streets, much of which without even a painted bike lane. Plus any local riding I do at lunch time is all streets.

I consider myself a skilled, and aware, rider. I've never worn a helmet, even as a kid, and I used to ride daily, often on streets. Never come close to injuring myself. But I can't control the drivers and I've already had to test my brakes a couple times as idiots have turned right in front of me, so I'm reluctantly admitting that my risk exposure is great enough to warrant a helmet. And there's the whole responsible-for-another-human-being thing to consider.

I'm leaning towards style. A helmet does me no good if I'm unwilling to wear it. The 1/2 lbs weight difference hardly seems relevant, and a few vents aren't going to keep me from sweating.

ETA: Oh, and I absolutely love biking, always have. It's been a month and not for a moment have I wanted to get back in a car, or even a bus, instead. The day I learned that a bike commute was a real possibility was a glorious day in my life.

I often think back to my childhood where I rode my bike everywhere and without a helmet. And yet, I am alive today (which, upon hearing some of the stories of my youth, Susan wonders how that is possible).

And therein lies the rub: it is not because of your actions that you need a helmet, it is for the drivers out on the highway that you need to defend yourself from. The fact that you had the right-of-way doesn't mean much when you are lying on the pavement with your head split open.

I think most of us have how did we ever survive our childhood moments. Especially these days when so many things we used to do are now illegal.

We used to ride in the bed of a pick up truck with a camper shell playing monopoly from HB to LA and lay down in the back of a station wagon on camping trips. My friend used to ride on the "shelf" in her moms Corvette because there wasn't enough room for everyone. Then there's the time we did donuts in the mall parking lot after taking her 8 y/o brother to see Boyz in the Hood (we were 14, friend's bf was 16). A cop stopped us, asked what we were doing then told us to go home. Bikes with no helmets, skates with no pads.

Great song (spoiled for post length).

Yes. Indeed, there is.

My father rode motorcycles for most of his life and I daresay he is very skilled at it. One day he was cruising slowly down a side street and dog jumped out from behind a car. He broke his collarbone and it's given him issues for the rest of his life. If he hadn't been wearing a helmet he would have cracked his head open.

It doesn't have to be a busy street to be dangerous.

As for "well I didn't die", yeah, it's quite possible to not die from not wearing a helmet. It is also quite possible to die. Odds are pretty good that you'll be ok, but not THAT good, and as was said above, you're at the mercy of other people, unpredictable elements that they are.



I have to say - I find it so sad that people can actually wax poetic about being beaten with a belt. As someone who was actually hit until my teen years, threatened with more than that, and witnessed a belt beating on my brother, I cannot understand it. What a sad legacy to pass on to your children.