headbanger wrote:
drain bamaged wrote:On time I got clipped on the back wheel by a newbie. I hit my head on asphault. I thought I was going to die or be paralyzed it hit so hard.
Helmet was shattered in and I got a mild concussion with road rash and broken collarbone.
So here is an n=1 who is for helmets.
make that n=2
I never rode with a helmet as a kid but if you ride enough miles, chances are you are going to go down.
I ride to work daily. One day, i rode to a meeting on my bike in my work clothes. I was starting up after a stoplight and somehow went down on my head and ended up in the ER. I had a concussion and don't remember much from those hours but my helmet saved me. A witness said i went down so fast that the ER docs thought i had passed out and wanted to test me for all sorts of stuff.
i went back to the scene the following week and saw that the asphalt at the intersection had warped so that there was a lump that i didn't see causing the front tire to slip out when i stood up to pedal away.
what was so ironic is that on my long rides in the hills, i'm nervous on long descents where speeds can get up to 40mph. yet my worst crash i was going < 3mph.
make that n=3
I have always rode with a helmet even back before it was the norm. I had one instance where the helmet likely saved my life. I was mountain biking on a trail near my house and took a pretty bad spill. I landed on my head and was unconscious for 4 days. The helmet acted as it should have, absorbing the impact and preventing severe head injury. It was a long recovery but I did recover. I can't understand those that think avoiding the use of safety equipment makes sense. While the helmet is rarely necessary, when it is necessary it could mean the difference between life and death.