Helmets ... Again ..!!

[LANDSURFER74]

I was out for an hour this morning, a brisk ride up the TPT from Wath to Barnsley and back . No one in site, frozen puddles everywhere; A thought struck me ... if i fall and break an arm (again) i will be able to cope until i get assistance, if i break my leg (again) i will be able to stabilise myself, and wait or call for help.
But if i fall and recieve a head injury ( yes, again) of the same magnitude, i'm in real trouble!
I am generaly not in favour of helmets for cycling, it's a risk compensation thing, but at 0800hrs this morning, at minus 4, and barely light i reconsidered my situation.
I will purchase a helmet ...
Won't always wear it ... but on the VERY rare occasion when my self preservation gene kicks in .. i will.

And i will always campaign against compulsory helmet wearing .. but this morning, crossing Silkstone Common, with not a soul passed or in site .... mmm hardly in the wilderness, but all alone!!

[PW]

You're lucky the TPT's ridable in your area. I tried the Killamarsh-Chesterfield section out of curiosity t'other day, long stretches were still unridable due to half frozen soggy snow, up to 6" deep. A 50 minute journey took 3 hours.

[Wildduck]

I fell over walking on a footpath across a field today.

With a group fortunately but could have been on my own. Yep, I agree, I must get a helmet for when I'm walking...

[hubgearfreak]

i slipped in the bath.

must ask mrs. hgf to apply oily products to herself elsewhere

[Cunobelin]

I cycled to the Post Office and back this morning in similar conditions and didn't fall off... recumbent trikes are far more of a safety item in this weather than a helmet.

[meic]

I was out for an hour this morning, a brisk ride up the TPT from Wath to Barnsley and back . No one in site, frozen puddles everywhere; A thought struck me ... if i fall and break an arm (again) i will be able to cope until i get assistance, if i break my leg (again) i will be able to stabilise myself, and wait or call for help.
But if i fall and recieve a head injury ( yes, again) of the same magnitude, i'm in real trouble!
I am generaly not in favour of helmets for cycling, it's a risk compensation thing, but at 0800hrs this morning, at minus 4, and barely light i reconsidered my situation.
I will purchase a helmet ...
Won't always wear it ... but on the VERY rare occasion when my self preservation gene kicks in .. i will.

And i will always campaign against compulsory helmet wearing .. but this morning, crossing Silkstone Common, with not a soul passed or in site .... mmm hardly in the wilderness, but all alone!!

Funnily enough I have similar thoughts myself here in Brechfa Forest which makes Silkstone Common look quite crowded. Although I was wearing a full face helmet at the time and my worries were falling victim to hypothermia while being unable to get to any help and it being unlikely that anybody would pass that way for another 8 hours or more.

[irc]

So because you have a helmet risking a broken arm or hip is now OK?

[gilesjuk]

So because you have a helmet risking a broken arm or hip is now OK?

They can be easily repaired with surgery, but the brain isn't so easily repaired.

[meic]

He who risks nothing, gains nothing.

I have broken my arm a few times before, sometimes cycling sometimes not.
You soon get over it.

and I didnt bother with a helmet whenever I was breaking my arm.

[LANDSURFER74]

Interesting responses...
Maybe it's about experiance based risk..
Rather than 'jargon' and 'bravado' which seems to be in evidence here.
It's not a 'broken bones ' compitition, rather learning from your life experiances , the ability to understand risk.
I have climbed high mountains, been shot at on a professional basis, cycled across Altnahara in a blizzard with only deer for company, not alone, i have lived a life.
Shallow sniping brings the writer no kudos; there is a time in all our lives when having done the deed you wish to just enjoy.
Helmets on bikes is a watershed decision for me, for others an oppertunity to scorn.
Have fun, stay safe.

Sad Bladerunner moment; "one day all this will be gone, like tears in rain".

Anyway up, off from Wath to Sprotbrough Lock and back in the morning, without a helmet

[irc]

So because you have a helmet risking a broken arm or hip is now OK?

They can be easily repaired with surgery, but the brain isn't so easily repaired.

True. But surely the logical response to the risk of falling on ice is winter tyres to prevent falls rather than protecting one part of the body?

And while broken bones can be repaired a bad break can give trouble for many years.

[BigTim]

I had a fall of my own this morning in sub-zero temperatures and hadn't even left the village where I live.

I hit a patch of black ice and as the bike went out from under me just managed to leap clear. Struggling to stay on my feet I did a bizarre staggering/slithering dance across the road (think of an Ostrich trying to ice skate) before collapsing in a heap. At this point one local wit shouted, in the style of Len Goodman..."SEVEN!!!!"

[LANDSURFER74]

Winter tyres are a marketing con , they are the 'Emporers new clothes' of cycling at this time of year, i have ridden fixed on ice covered roads .. on tubs, it's not the tyres its how you ride ..( yes, i fell off eventually, without a helmet, and yes, no injury ) ... these ' winter tyres have spikes i assume ...! studs, mayhap chains?? Otherwise it's the sales and marketing department at it again, see Cycling Active this month for a feast of treadless nonesense paraded as 'Winter Tyres' ... allegledy! lol lol

[meic]

There is no bravado or scorn involved here. It is merely a risk assessment and it is the opinion of many here that the risk of cycling without a helmet is not enough to really get worried about and our replies are trying to put it in perspective.

Also I in particular consider the "helmets" sold to cyclists to be totally inadequate and if I thought that there was a significant threat I would wear a proper (motorcycle) helmet.

As you point out with your list of heroic exploits, cycling without a lid is hardly living on the wild side, look at all those Danish women and children doing exactly the same thing every day.

[drossall]

A helmet will only provide protection if it works. That has been the sticking point for me - convincing myself that it would.