Adults on bicycles

[Scott Loveless]

On 11/1/06, Mat Maessen <tomatoe333 at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 11/1/06, frank theriault <knarftheriault at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Then there's always the possibility that a cyclist may be completely
> > in the right, and that a car might be in the wrong and hit a cyclist.
> > Since cars have a mass of some 20 times that of a bicycle and rider,
> > physics tend to be on the side of the car in collisions.  I'll take
> > whatever protection I can, especially if it's unobtrusive and
> > inexpensive.
>
> There's a saying in the motorcycle community:
>
> "'I had the right of way' is a terrible epithet for your gravestone."
>
> I still have the scars on my arm from a bicycle accident I had when I
> was 14. The helmet saved my life in that accident by striking the
> stone wall and shattering into a million pieces. I still wear the
> helmet that I bought to replace that one.
>
That explains the shrunken head.  <g>

Kidding, Mat.

I don't recall ever wearing a helmet on a bicycle.  I also don't ever
recall riding a bicycle in the kind of traffic Frank rides in.  I
would definitely wear one were I commuting in an urban environment.

I used to ride motorcycles off-road.  I always wore a helmet.  I've
wrapped more than one bike around a tree, tumbled down very steep
inclines I had no business riding on, and on one occasion hit a ditch
with vertical sides that was wider and deeper than the tire's
diameter.  The bike stopped, I didn't.  Fortunately, I caught a knee
on the handlebars which sent my head straight for the ground.  I cut a
little trench in the dirt with my helmet that was nearly six feet
long.  Fun times!  Strangely enough, I've never broken any bones.

I tend to only wear a helmet riding on the street when the weather is
bad, the bugs are out, or the law requires it.  It's certainly a risk,
and I've had to rely on my reflexes and the bike's acceleration to get
me out of trouble more than once.  But it's a hell of a lot more fun
without that damned thing making my head all sweaty.

-- 
Scott Loveless
http://www.twosixteen.com
Shoot more film!