Let me add my voice to the chorus regarding bar plugs. Put those in before you suffer a DIY massive biopsy puncture. Racers showing up without bar plugs get ejected from the race lineup by the safety marshal, for good reason.
I must admit that the safety concern never crossed my mind, but the above advice, and similar comments from other forum members, is very good, in my opinion. That said, there have been plenty of times when I have been riding sans bar end plugs, but not because I did not want them. The darn things simply fall out, from time to time, leaving the bar end(s) exposed.
It is because of the falling out bar plugs that I started using this Velox style. They look vintage, they are vintage and they work just great...
