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Maybe we should just be required to wear helmets any time we leave the house

CNF2002 wrote:Maybe we should just be required to wear helmets any time we leave the house

... you mean you guys aren't?

Yes you can get hurt "that bad" while cycling. Buddy of mine took a bee to the chest at around 20 mph which ended up knocking him off balance and he crashed. He got a great case of road rash, ripped his hand up really good (still doesn't have full use back a year later) and messed up his ankle. That was out in the middle of nowhere and he was really lucky a passing motorist stopped and helped him.

For those riding around me on a daily basis (Somerville/Cambridge/Greater Boston Area in general) the traffic will get you if the potholes and crappy roads don't.

If I were to take up cycling again I'd definitely wear a helmet. It's the rest of their gear that makes me think they're nuts though - what help is spandex going to give you??

Spandex totally stops the chaffing. And it holds this nice gel or foam pad there to protect your...

Seriously though, there's not much you could wear to greatly minimize bike accident injuries after the helmet. The rest is mostly road rash and bike typically don't go that fast.

I always wear a helmet when I ride a bicycle. I had a friend whose dad crashed and hit his head on a curb. He had a helmet on and was fine. If he didn't have a helmet on who knows what could have happened.

If you are riding down a pretty big hill it is pretty easy to pick up alot of speed. I know of one hill by my parents house I got up to 45 or 50MPH one time. If I crashed at that speed I definately would want to be wearing a helmet.

never wore a helment growing up. and i dodged coal trucks. wrecked off the sides of mountains. actually caught my brakes on fire on my first 10 speed

course this once again wasnt near anything as sophisticated as curbs. streetlights, or a town. and generally included directions such as turn off the paved road.

i live in and have ridden through many hilly areas. i consistently go 35-50 mph down hill. i'd want a helmet at that speed. depending on which style bike i'm riding (wedgie or recumbent) i wear a helmet.
However, if I was required by the state to wear a helmet, i'd be pissed.

[quote="-Holiday"] i consistently go 35-50 mpg down hill.quote]

that's pretty shitty gas mileage on a bicycle holiday!

Big B wrote:

-Holiday wrote: i consistently go 35-50 mpg down hill.quote]

that's pretty shitty gas mileage on a bicycle holiday!

i tend to eat a lot of mexican food prior to riding

CNF2002 wrote:Is bicycling really that dangerous? I can understand helmets for the little kids and the professional racers but...hmm...I never wore a helmet on a bike. In my pre-teens and early teens I don't remember anyone wearing a helmet, and just about all the kids in the neighborhood rode to school. Not one of them had a head injury from falling. Falling off your bike resulted in skinned elbows and palms, not cracked skulls.

Of course we never rode around on major streets with crazy traffic except on the weekends.

I used to have to ride a pedal bike to work everyday (this was in january) and I got hit by a car while riding the bike, while not wearing a helmet, and ended up with a bad concussion, which could have easily been a cracked skull if my head had hit the curb, and not just the pavement.

And it might sound stupid, but I think that the fact that I have long, puffy hair, and was wearing a hoodie with the hood up, actually helped protect my head a little, lol.