No ride vs No helmet

[prando]

My dilemma. Aged 68 and a keen road biker used to doing weekly + rides of 40 miles per journey on primarily quietish roads. (3000+ last year)
I had a procedure to remove a cancer from my bald head which became infected and is taking a while to heal. The dressing precludes me wearing a helmet. So, I have not cycled at all so far this year. It appears I am still a good way away from the wound allowing me to wear a helmet.
I would not have dreamt of considering cycling without a helmet, but now am forever noticing those who don’t and have read many supporters posting on here regarding the positives of no helmet.
I am on the verge of venturing out helmetless and maybe just looking for some words of support !

[mjr]

Unless you do something incredibly risky, cycling is probably going to be healthier than not. I'm not going to explain my reasons else we'll probably get shunted to the helmet or health boards.

That said, I find bare headed cycling a bit chilly in winter and I've still got some hair. Can you wear a warm soft hat over your dressing?

Good luck on your recovery and well done at looking for ways to exercise.

[Mick F]

Good luck on the healing, and best wishes from me.

I developed alopecia universalis a year or so ago and have lost ALL my hair. Not complaining at all, as I quite like it.

Up until then, I wore a helmet when cycling. Mind you, in a lifetime of cycling - I'm 65 now - I only wore one from 2004. If I was ok and countless millions of other cyclists were ok for a century or more, why are we thinking that helmets are a good idea?

Since losing my hair, my scalp is sensitive and a helmet is decidedly uncomfortable, so now I were a hat.

This will get moved to the Helmet Section in due course I would think.

[foxyrider]

Many of us here don't wear helmets, but certainly this time of year wear some sort of hat to keep warm!

Get yourself kitted up, ski cap on and go out, don't think about the lack of polystyrene. And enjoy yourself, I think you'll find it liberating.

[pwa]

If I were you I would get back on the bike, when the ice is gone, even without the helmet. The benefits of cycling outweigh the risks.

I wear a helmet for most of my cycling, only leaving it at home when I am doing a short trip within my village. I reckon a helmet gives me a useful bit of protection for certain sorts of fall. But the level of protection isn't that great, and chances of having an accident that a helmet would help with are low. Set against that the health benefits of cycling and you have your answer.

[Si]

My advise, from thinking back to when I gave up on one, is as follows....

..you are obviously concerned about riding without one as is evidenced by your post. Thus on your first couple of rides without one choose a nice quiet, easy, short route where you are not likely to meet much traffic or have any difficult situations to handle. This is because on that first ride the thing that you will have in your head is the worry that something may happen and you won't have a plastic hat on to save you...this may lead you to become tense and tentative, and thus adversely affect your bike control and decision making. However, once you have been going a short while you'll suddenly notice that you've forgotten all about the helmet and you are riding as normal again.

In reality, as others have said, avoiding regular exercise is a hell of a lot more dangerous, both physically and mentally, than any harm you'll experience, helmeted or not, on an average bike ride.

[Vorpal]

If it's icy, studded tyres are worth far more than a helmet!

I wish you a quick recovery, and enjoy your cycling.

If you are worried about it, just try a short ride the first few times. If you haven't been cycling in a while, you will want to increase gradually, anyway.

Your chances of living longer improve from riding your bike, even if you are helmetless.

[The utility cyclist]

Think back to when you were a child and the freedom of riding unencumbered, don't over analyse things, just go out and ride, do nothing different to what you normally do then bask in the glory of normal cycling
As the saying goes, once you've had black you'll never go back

[mjr]

Oh well, we've been shunted to the ghetto anyway, so...

This is because on that first ride the thing that you will have in your head is the worry that something may happen and you won't have a plastic hat on to save you...

It might be, or it might not be. I thought it would be, but actually the first thing in my mind was "oooh, this feels nice and familiar, like when I used to cycle" right up until the point a mile or so down the track when a small branch thwacked me! I think I mentioned it on here (but I didn't find it now in a search) and someone suggested wearing a cap and things continued from there...

[prando]

Thanks for the supportive good wishes and advice.
I do have a ‘cycling cap’ which I used to wear under the helmet (and barraclava) so I think I’m up for it (post ice)
Regards

PS (edit)
Apologies Si...hadn’t fully appreciated the helmet issue nor designated sub forum

[TrevA]

I wear a helmet because I have one and might as well use it. I also like to look like a pro bike rider (in my mind only, you don't get 18st pro's!). However, I rode around for 20 years without one and didn't come to any harm. If you do crash, it's usually your hands, arms, hips and legs that get damaged. So I would say if you can't wear a helmet, then don't let it put you off and carry on riding.

[Si]

If you do crash, it's usually your hands, arms, hips and legs that get damaged.

Yep, I only wear a helmet on the road when I'm paid to do it......but riding without gloves or mitts really does throw my confidence and ramp up the paranoia level to 11.

[Yossarian]

I wouldn't worry about it, how many times have you fallen on your head?

[andrew_s]

[but riding without gloves or mitts really does throw my confidence and ramp up the paranoia level to 11.

Gloves for protection are like helmets - if you do crash, you're probably better off wearing them, but crashes aren't common, and most of the time there wouldn't be any significant damage even if you did crash.
I hardly ever wear gloves other than to try to keep the cold off, and in the last 25 years I've got enough of a scrape to make handlebars a bit awkward twice (but not enough to stop me riding).

[Si]

Well, that's the thing....I've scraped my head before now and it hasn't stopped me riding, but I have had to stop because of taking skin off my palm....hence my paranoia!