I don't understand why a rider doing a group ride of that nature, or frankly any group ride, would not be wearing a helmet. Was that just his thing?

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Hello Pooks and All,

https://pvcycling.wordpress.com/...et-or-not-to-helmet/

Also http://www.bhsi.org/

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

I have raced with him many times & don't have an answer to that. The dude has been riding in excess of 250 miles, a week, every week, since disco was hip. I would imagine it is just complacency.

He has one of the best blogs around & I am certain, when he is back to health, he will answer that question.

As much as I'd love to see him race again, tactically it doesnt get much better, Steve's had a lot of injuries the last few years & I wouldn't be surprised if he was being urged strongly to hang it up.

& I know there are 2-3 Pearl Jam fans on here...Steve is TOTALLY Leatherman. Just read the last month of his blog, cyclocross racing to tarring roofs to swimming is desolate Wisconsin lakes to automobile repair to tackling cyclings doping endemic. Jack of all trades.

Cmon

Do you also think global warming isn't real? 9-11 was a hoax? The billy goat is the reason the Cubs haven't won a World Series?

Edit: I don't know a single person who has ever been in a wreck wearing a helmet say that they would've been more safe without.

I have a buddy that rides a lot. He used to be reasonably good locally in his youth (but not sure of his result). He's mid 40's now and has only just started wearing a helmet. His GF insisted, because she got sick of paying fines for not wearing his helmet, out of the grocery money.

Some people just have no clue. When you make something idiot-proof, they just come up with better idiots

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

I've mentioned this here before but worth repeating: when I hit my head in a crash the helmet cracked like a melon from above my left ear to the top. Thankfully no concussion but CAT scan technician saw my helmet and said "I can't tell you how many skulls I've seen that looked like this".

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

If this anti-helmet conspiracy was true, it would still be worth it to wear a helmet, right?

I've always worn one regardless.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

Yup! When I got hit a few years ago and cracked my helmet the EMTs were shocked I didn't have a concussion before the saw the helmet. Then when I showed it to them they said I was the luckiest person in a while. I just don't see who one wouldn't wear one nowadays. The helmets are so light...hell and they hold my sunglasses when it gets dark or rainy!

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Twitter - Instagram

for starters...I always wear a helmet. But, last year i was in a bad crash up. I landed on my face. The helmet did nothing for me. The helmet strap though nearly ripped my ear off! so there are certain head jarring accidents where the helmet does no good.

Hello mvenneta and All,

Please re read the posted link: http://www.bhsi.org/

and http://www.bhsi.org/shouldi.htm

Excerpts:

Who should you listen to?
On all sides you hear "studies have shown" followed by a mix of information, misinformation, fabrication and outright prevarication. Studies have indeed shown things, but some are much better than others, and sorting it all out is not easy.
Given that most of us have a bias, your best source of information is probably the real world. You can go to a meeting of a local cycling group who ride the way you do: recreational clubs, commuter organizations, urban riders, touring riders. Ask the people who ride a lot in your own area. Don't let anyone sneer at that "anecdotal" evidence. It's the real world, not somebody's take on what happens somewhere else with a different road culture or even a nationwide generalization using bingo numbers gathered on the telephone. The answers could be different for the riding you do, and might not agree with what "studies have shown" or what somebody in Copenhagen thinks.

Why does the injury prevention community advocate helmets? Why are emergency room doctors among the strongest advocates?
The doctors see the injuries, close up and personal. The injury prevention community believes helmets are the best short-term intervention for reducing cyclists' brain injuries while we are improving the safety of roads and other facilities.

Why are we not screaming at you to "just wear a helmet"?
Cyclists think for themselves (or they would not be cyclists!) and always debate things that seem settled. Over the years they have gone to the mat on both sides of eliptical chainwheels, solid tires, 26/27/700C/29" wheels and whether or not wheels stand on the lower spokes or hang from the upper ones.
Re-examining views on safety is always appropriate, even though the level of discussion on this topic is more heat than light, and not likely to produce progress. We are surprised that after examining the evidence people would consider riding without a helmet because somebody posting on a blog thinks it's not necessary, or somehow detrimental to cycling. But every rider is of course entitled to their opinion, so here we try to offer some food for thought, never pretending that we are not biased.
For studies

We think most of the anti-helmet arguments stem from either resentment about being told how to ride, the libertarian ethic or just the urge to oppose anything that the majority seems to be mindlessly going along with. The one valid concern would be if helmets discouraged cycling, but we have no indication of that in any US city or state where actual rider counts have been done. The success of shared bicycle programs, and their low rate of reported head injuries, may challenge that. Those programs will not attract as many casual users if helmets are required. And more recently there have been those who feel we are just not taking enough risks in our lives.

and what's the story on the billy goat? ..... for what it is worth I used to have a billy goat in my 4H project as a kid (human).

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

I wear a helmet when cycling -- road, tribike, cyclocross, or mountain bike.

I don't wear a helmet to bicycle -- ride my cruiser to hardware store, pharmacy, or grocery store.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

I was biking on a pretty popular trail over in Littleton, CO a few weeks ago. EMTs had just arrived, the guy was laying in a puddle of blood from what looked like cracking his head open. There is no way you can hit over 30 in that spot unless you are really pushing it. I think everyone knows a helmet isn't designed to protect from every injury. I can deal with all the other injuries, a cracked open skull is pretty tough to overcome though. I biked past there a week later, there was a memorial on the side of the road, he ended up dying from the crash. There is no reason I can possibly think of to go on an actual bike ride without a helmet on.

My rule is pretty close to yours. If I can run the speed I will be biking, I generally don't wear a helmet.

my dad is a neuroradiologist who has done a lot of research on traumatic brain injury. You would be amazed at how much trauma occurs from people literally just falling over or low speed injuries. But he always commented that bike helmets have little effect for high speed crashes.

This reminds me of marriage education in the Catholic Church 16 yrs ago. They taught us about a form of birth control called the rhythm method. To this day I am glad I ignored that piece of advice & chose the safety of a rubber.

Gary Busey? He led the charge here in CA to be able to not wear helmets on motorcycles. Karma's a bitch sometimes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Busey

I used to be a teammate with Steve and Bill That was just the way he had rolled since well he started riding. I remember him riding without a helmet a lot. He has raced longer than most of us have been alive and is a legend and hall of fame member in the sport of cycling. Sometimes old habits are tough to break Hoping they both have a speedy recovery.

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Hopefully he recovers.

He does have a connection to triathlon: http://stevetilford.com/...nd-gwen-are-married/

This quote is pretty hilarious: "I won’t try to engage in the debate (much), but what seems clear is that any safety benefit from wearing helmets is offset by the fact that it discourages riding, which is then associated with a whole host of risks resulting from a sedentary, cager-based lifestyle." Once someone is used to riding with a helmet, I find it hard to imagine it would continue to discourage them, i.e. they would ride less frequently.

The real problem with helmets is that they give a false sense of safety disproportionate to the protection they actually offer. I know I'm willing to ride significantly more aggressively with a helmet on than without--which feels extremely vulnerable--just as I'm willing to ski a lot more aggressively with a helmet on. And in neither case are the helmets likely to provide protection proportionate with the additional risk I assume when wearing them. Of course, I like being able to do what I do with helmets on, so it's definitely better to be wearing them than not, even if without the helmet I would be a lot more cautious (and have less fun).

The other problem with helmets, and other safety items like lights, is that there's some evidence drivers are willing to act in more risky ways, e.g. cut it closer, as a result.

Yes. He's not acting nutty. He *is* nutty because of an old head injury sustained in a crash without a helmet. If you want to see what normal Busey looks like watch Silver Bullet.

I don't know why bnealhe shows up in EVERY helmet topic, only that he does. Why would evangelizing about not wearing a helmet be so important to someone?

Hello Dilbert and All,

Something has gone wrong ... with your reading comprehension of the theme of items I referenced from the website of the Helmet Institute.... which espouses wearing a helmet whenever on a bicycle.

I have worn a helmet since my ride in the Dilbert Dunker and recommended that you do too.

Read the all of the URL posted for the Helmet Institute .... it is informative.

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

Do you not wear a seat belt on short drives?

I went on vacation and forgot my helmet once. That was a good reason to ride without one.