Near miss, saved by helmet.Lesson learned

[fast but dim]

I know it's a hot topic, and I sit (sat) on the fence about helmet wearing ( I'm actually led on the couch, unable to walk :oops: )

I wear one, maily because my wife goes mad if I don't , 90% of the time, always for my commute and club rides / training rides, but not for leisure rides.

I went out Weds for a 50 miler on the flat (part of route 91 in west lancs), and as I was only going to take it easy wasn't going to bother with a lid. It started to rain, so I put it on, mainly to keep my head dry!

20 miles in, I was riding non-handed eating, and got hit by a crosswind, and went over the bars at 16 mph, landing on my head and elbow. I was briefly knocked out, but managed to get to the side of the road, gather my thoughts, and get back on the bike after 5 mins. I made it home under my own steam (10 miles), whinging and moaning like a girl (sorry girls!) Luckily the bike only suffered a scuffed saddle an bar tape.

Without my helmet I would have been in a lot of trouble. I hit the ground hard with my head, hard enough to have suffered a serious injury without my helmet. As it stands I am resonably ok..... I've spent 24 hrs in hosptal due to a large (melon sized) Haematoma on my hip. Without the lid I'd still be on a ward.

I won't be riding again without a helmet. The only reasons not to are vanity / overheating / laziness, which in now way outweigh the pros.

[jags]

glad you here to tell the tale, helmets work

[Slammin Sammy]

Ouch! That sounds painful. There is definite value in the old brain bucket, that's for sure (although I often don't wear one for local spins down the beach in quiet streets).

I must say I've never perfected the art of no-handed riding. Sounds like a good thing? Helmet or no, I don't think I want to go down that hard! 

[Kuba]

I was riding non-handed eating

Sorry to hear about the accident but this is somewhat baffling. Perhaps the lesson is to keep your hands on handlebars? In such case you'd mos likely spend zero hours at the ward and you wouldn't need to sped on a new helmet now... In any case, get well soon!

[Andre Jute]

I reckon if the helmet does no more than save you some road rash on your face, it's a winner already. I'm so light skinned, I'd wear a hat or a cap anyway, so instead I wear the helmet and set a good example to the junior cyclists on the street.

[Audax hopeful]

I too generally wear a helmet. But I'm not sure you've got the right conclusion. I don't ride no handed - it only takes a pebble to knock you off line. And I stop to eat - much more enjoyable! It strikes me a bit like driving while on a mobile - asking for trouble!!

[Bill C]

no handed, eating, puff of wind and.............face plant, CLASSIC
lucky you didn't go under a car and ruin some poor innocent drivers day
can't see anything in your tale that makes me even think about doning a polystyrene sweat box
seems to me the lesson to be learnt wasn't wearing a helmet saved you it should of been keep control of your bike ride sensibly and safely and you wouldn't be where you are now,
5 min grub break vs 24 hospital stay easy choice in hindsight?
btw i came off the other day after losing it doing a wheelie, ripped the hell out of my knee and elbow,
my fault entirely i was being a jerk, lesson learnt to old for wheelies  being a jerk
hope you get over it soon and get out on the bike while there's still sun to be had

[JimK]

I ride no-handed quite a bit. Of course I wait for a quiet stretch of road to try to limit the down-side risk. But I like to stretch my arms periodically. I'll stretch them one at at time, but both at once is really nice.

It's one of the things I like about my Nomad, that it is very comfortable and stable no-handed. Little bumps or pebbles are no challenge at all. One curious thing that I have noticed is that it is a lot easier with my handlebar bag mounted. I almost always ride with that bag, but occasionally I will ride without it and then no-handed riding is more difficult.

The research on this stuff gets quite fascinating, e.g. http://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/bicycle-stability-everything-works-together/

[fast but dim]

Irrespective of the cause of my spill, I had considered going out without a helmet. Luckily for me, I had mine on.
I consider myself to have good bike handling skills ( but dont we all ) and regularly find the  need to ride non handed: accessing snacks,map,phone,adjusting clothing, if only for a couple seconds.

I don't really care if you wear a helmet, I prefer not to, but having experienced a heavy landing on my head irrespective of cause I'll be wearing one more regularly, just in case.

I'm intersted why people dont wear one? For me it's primarily a heat thing.

[geocycle]

I wear one 99% of the time. I only don't when popping to the shops. I don't notice I'm wearing it but it can be a pain when you are on and off the bike. I'm happy for others to make different decisions. I tend to think there is too much attention given to fatalities whereas the main benefit is likely to be reducing cuts and bruises. I'd worry that compulsion would be a deterrent to the image conscious.

[fast but dim]

I wear one 99% of the time. I only don't when popping to the shops. I don't notice I'm wearing it but it can be a pain when you are on and off the bike. I'm happy for others to make different decisions. I tend to think there is too much attention given to fatalities whereas the main benefit is likely to be reducing cuts and bruises. I'd worry that compulsion would be a deterrent to the image conscious.

Well put! I totally agree.

[Slammin Sammy]

As probably everyone knows, helmets are compulsory pretty much everywhere in Australia. It's evident from all surveys that this is a disincentive to many potential bike riders, so much so that the Heart Foundation has actually criticized the laws for having a negative net impact on community health!

It also makes bike share schemes difficult to implement and kludgey to use.

For me personally however, being folicley challenged (?), I will always wear a hat anyway, and my helmet is a mount for various lights, cameras and intercoms.

[Neil Jones]

Glad you are still here to tell the tale.
I have only just started to wear a helmet in the last couple of weeks mainly to keep my family happy. I hate wearing it to be honest and I usually take it off after about 15 miles as I prefer the feel of the wind on my scalp i . I think my reluctance to wear them was made worse by people constantly saying "where's your helmet?" I am gradually getting accustomed to it now though, I have been very lucky in the past having been knocked off a couple of times and landing on my head which fortunately were glancing blows although one rendered me unconscious. I'll still leave my helmet at home if mainly riding on cycle tracks though.

[JWestland]

I used to wear one...but I only commute and take 0 risks. Yes 0, as I planted my face thanks to a wet manhole cover in a corner, utterly worn down thanks to traffic...! Ever since it's been a moderate speed, watch everywhere commute strategy. The first time in 20 years I fall with my bike too 

I guess the safety compromise for me is to take a very aggressive primary position no-bo-dy gets past to prevent being swiped. I also assume everybody is legally blind and won't give way. That saved me 3 times already. And no honking at 25 mph either, due to braking distance. Cos I doubt a helmet much good when I get hit by a car, and that's my risk when going to work.

Didn't fall one moment on gravel roads in Scotland either...didn't like it, but was fine. But doing MTB on trails/downhilling, fast rides, no discussion I'd put on a helmet as the risk of hard falls is much higher.

Anyways hope the face heals up, tell people you got it in a glorious pub fight...

[il padrone]

I'd worry that compulsion would be a deterrent to the image conscious.

It is. And more than just them. The Australian experience has confirmed this.

Only now we are starting to see a 'bicycle boom', but really the percentage of commuting trips by bike are just getting back to what they were pre-1990, and this is almost exclusively adults; the teenage school cyclists have disappeared from the scene and I count this as a huge loss.