I've historically been anti-helmet. Never wore one as a kid/teen (nor were required to wear one by law, parental direction, etc.... I vaguely recall at some point a law was passed requiring them for kids but maybe I'd aged out by then or something?) I also acknowledge I was just fortunate to not have any close calls or serious injuries riding all those years... aside from a few otherwise insignificant trail crashes due to youthful indiscretion at the local singletrack (Allaire State Park in NJ... which I haven't ridden in years but is more heavily ridden lately than when I grew up nearby... at least from what I could tell from the parking lot I occasionally pass en route to other destinations during the week. Makes me wonder what the trails are currently like and probably even more trails to explore than what I'd remember and hope to get out there again one of these days, but I digress.) Anyway, I eventually succumbed to helmet wearing mostly to allow participation in organized rides which generally required them back when my wife and I began riding longer distances more frequently and using these events to explore new areas. There was a point a few years ago I simply got burned out with all the travel/prep just to get to a ride on weekends and essentially began a self imposed moratorium on distant organized events (there are still a few local ones I've since enjoyed... one in particular I provide volunteer support annually... a 6 mile full moon night ride in our current local trail network/park which I get to ride to/from the event in addition to multiple loops throughout the night to lead groups of riders and provide emergency support.) This same local multiuse trail network has essentially become of 80-90% of my mileage with rides beginning and ending at my door. I'd flip flopped helmet/no helmet numerous times the past few years but ended up finding a simple one I like (Bern) with removable liner and that fits with several personal hats (unlike my prior helmet that never felt right) and that easily accepts a Velcro strapped headlamp (Princeton Tec Eos.) Between the good fit plus extra light for night time riding, and wanting to lead by example for my son who we also make wear a helmet at 2 years I've become pro-helmet, even if somewhat begrudgingly.
On Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 10:18:20 AM UTC-4, SeanMac wrote: > I certainly do not want to start (another) helmet war, however I recently > stumbled on an interesting article in the Washington Post about helmets and > cycling injuries > > Only 22 percent of bicyclists in severe accidents were wearing helmets. > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/the-big-number-only-22-percent-of-bicyclists-in-severe-accidents-were-wearing-helmets/2019/09/13/81046e72-d56a-11e9-86ac-0f250cc91758_story.html> > > The story is rather short, but this is the key line to me: > > "Bicyclists who were wearing helmets when accidents occurred generally had > less severe injuries, spent less time hospitalized, including shorter stays > in intensive care, and were less likely to have died as a result of the > accident, according to researchers’ analysis of the data > <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02699052.2019.1650201>, > published in the journal Brain Injury." > > Sean > Buffalo, NY > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/1e319993-23f8-48fa-9256-8b223f121a77%40googlegroups.com.
