Slowtwitch Forums: The Womens: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks?

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Slowtwitch Forums: The Womens:
riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks?

kittycat

Jun 6, 08 18:51

Post #1 of 24 (1042 views)

riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks?	Can't Post

hi all, i am going to try commuting to my studio via bike. it's less than a 2 mile trip (maybe 1 mile?) so, obviously riding a bike is no brainer.

i am considering putting more of a "hybrid" type of tire on my mountain bike. yes, the bike is overkill for the job, but what the hell.

do you feel it is necessary to wear a helmet with riding on the sidewalk, at very low speed, for about 1 mile?

Jagerstar

Jun 6, 08 19:02

Post #2 of 24 (1039 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I don't see why not, wear the helmet.

(This post was edited by Jagerstar on Jun 6, 08 19:02)

Jodi

Jun 6, 08 19:10

Post #3 of 24 (1037 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Sidewalk riding is the most dangerous riding there is, IMO. People backing out of driveways and pulling out of stores generally will back up past the sidewalk before looking both ways. I avoid them at all costs. But if I HAVE to ride on them you better believe I'm going to have a helmet on.

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LovePugs

Jun 6, 08 19:46

Post #4 of 24 (1026 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [Jodi] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Wear the helmet.
Better safe than sorry!

Khai

Jun 6, 08 20:39

Post #5 of 24 (1019 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I strongly recommend wearing a lid but also staying the hell off of the sidewalks! IMO that's the most dangerous place to be, bar none.

Ride in the road, wearing your lid.

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trackie clm

Jun 6, 08 21:37

Post #6 of 24 (1011 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

One of the worst crashes I've had was across the street from my house going about 5 mph.

Yes on the helmet.

clm

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kittycat

Jun 6, 08 21:39

Post #7 of 24 (1011 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [Jagerstar] [In reply to]	Can't Post

well, i'd be going like 10. it will be sidewalk; i'd rather ride there, then be on the road with cars going 40. when it's cooler i will walk. but in 100 degree heat...

deee

Jun 6, 08 21:45

Post #8 of 24 (1009 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

It's actually illegal to ride on the sidewalks here. Not sure if that's the reason it drives me crazy when people do, or if it's because they are often not careful around pedestrians.

Wear a helmet!!
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csb

Jun 7, 08 6:06

Post #9 of 24 (971 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Ditto what everyone said about not riding on the sidewalks. Not only do people back out of driveways and pull out of parking lots without looking, people turning onto sidestreets often can't/don't see you.

Helmet ... yeah, you should wear it. (Though I'm sometimes guilty of not wearing one when I'm just going a little ways on my just-riding-around bike to go out to eat or something. I mean, who wants to wear a helmet with a cute sundress and sandals?!? I wonder if there's a market out there for cute helmets that don't destroy your hair. In that respect, the Atmos just doesn't cut it!)

alaina1

Jun 7, 08 7:27

Post #10 of 24 (961 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I understand having to ride on the sidewalk. Some places it is illegal, like San Diego, but where I live now, you basically can't ride in the road in a lot of places around town. Check the traffic laws first.

As far as a helmet, this town is obsessed with not wearing helmets. The thing I don't understand is, what is the advantage to NOT wearing one? You fall down one time, and it could potentially kill you, regardless of your speed or if you're on the sidewalk. I think not wearing one is just another form of natural selection....

QRgirl

Jun 7, 08 7:48

Post #11 of 24 (957 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I get tempted to not wear mine when I'm on my cruiser, BUT I always do. I would feel like a total idiot if something happened and I wasn't wearing it. Think of how much shit you wold get on ST if word got out that you were injured because you weren't wearing a lid. It's just not worth the risk in my book. :-)

karma

Jun 7, 08 8:12

Post #12 of 24 (948 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I worked alongside the director of the Helmet crash test lab at USC in grad school. After what I have seen, I wear a helmet test riding my bike after I tune it up around the neighborhood. Wear the helmet, please.

Dave

_______________________________________________
"For those people who just refuse to be likeable, I'll accommodate them by not liking them" - Slowman

kittycat

Jun 7, 08 8:21

Post #13 of 24 (945 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [csb] [In reply to]	Can't Post

exactly, i know it sounds trite, but i don't want to ride to work and have stupid hair all day. selling womens garments, that would not be a good thing.

Wingnut

Jun 7, 08 8:36

Post #14 of 24 (940 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Helmet, helmet, helmet. That's my vote. Especially on the sidewalks (if that is where you choose to ride). Ride safe.

dreaming~big

Jun 8, 08 5:18

Post #15 of 24 (868 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

so i'm sitting in Panera and here come two relatively normal-looking people, a couple, mid-40s, on two cruisers, riding through a mega-parking-lot with no helmets on, and i'm thinking wtf? wear the helmet. you've never crashed, kitty? after i hit a coupling on a lift-bridge about 20 years ago and went head-first over end, there's no longer a question about helmets. it was shattered, my head was (relatively) intact.

(This post was edited by dreaming~big on Jun 8, 08 5:19)

mmrocker13

Jun 8, 08 11:29

Post #16 of 24 (842 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I cracked a helmet and gave myself a concussion when I tipped over at a STOPLIGHT. I.e. when I wasn't moving. A woman my parents knew at their gym skidded on her hybrid on the bike path, going about7 mph, hit her head and was a vegetable. No helmet.

It's not the speed that's the problem...it's your bare melon bouncing off the pavement.

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SaraJean

Jun 9, 08 14:14

Post #17 of 24 (773 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

exactly, i know it sounds trite, but i don't want to ride to work and have stupid hair all day. selling womens garments, that would not be a good thing.

Have you considered a hairstyle that can be put back together after being crushed by a helmet? I'd rather have a crushed hairstyle than a crushed head.

"Real winners aren't content with yesterday's victories"

kittycat

Jun 11, 08 6:14

Post #18 of 24 (720 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [mmrocker13] [In reply to]	Can't Post

ok, ok, i get it. bouncing heads, vegetables, and the like. i will not ride my bike without a helmet.

and honestly, that is an exercise in futility anyway seeing how i cannot even sit on my bike without a helmet. what was i thinking there is no way i could go without a helmet. my good girlfriend calls me "Safety JoAnne" for pete's sakes!

fasterthanTIM

Jun 13, 08 18:28

Post #19 of 24 (629 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Wear the helmet. Most accidents happen close to home. After wrecking and cracking my helmet, I wear my helmet just to take the bike for a spin around the neighborhood to check gearing.
Lisa Walser-Anderson, ATC,CSCS

Griffen_Gal

Jun 16, 08 10:20

Post #20 of 24 (508 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [fasterthanTIM] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Wear a helment. Don't jeprodize your upcoming races. You never know what could happen and many bike accidents happen close to home and when you are just tooling around. It is simply appalling when I see people riding without a helment and when adults having children in tow in one of those carrier things and the kids aren't wearing helments! Maybe it is darwinism....
Can you hear me now?

tri-it

Jun 17, 08 13:27

Post #21 of 24 (465 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [Griffen_Gal] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Please wear a helmet..a friend went down last year, she was wearing a helmet, had she not I would of been at her funeral. The paramedic at the scene said she wouldn't of made it if she wasn't wearing one. She wasn't going fast. Hat head or not, a mile probably won't ruin your hair too much.

Tri-it

P2SLowry

Jun 18, 08 7:44

Post #22 of 24 (432 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Quote

exactly, i know it sounds trite, but i don't want to ride to work and have stupid hair all day. selling womens garments, that would not be a good thing.

Worried about your hair? Get one of these!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=R0rGoWtF-hs

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newbz

Jun 18, 08 21:53

Post #23 of 24 (404 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

and you yelled at me about an ipod on country roads...........
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whitneyjune

Jul 8, 08 12:48

Post #24 of 24 (239 views)

Re: riding my bike to work, wear a helmet for the sidewalks? [kittycat] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Please wear the helmet -- everywhere, anywhere, all the time. I have worked rehab as a speech therapist and I'll say from first hand observation that you don't want to experience the permanent and life changing results of a traumatic brain injury. I'll give up looking cute or being cool every time compared with a lifetime of feeding tubes, wheelchairs, adult diapers, etc.