Originally Posted by
jpietri
Imagine just standing where you are and hit the floor head first...with and without a helmet; exactly. God protect us all but if I were to be involved in a cycling accident, I prefer to have one in my bald head that hitting a tree or the pavement without one.
Yes, you could have numerous injuries to the rest of your body but at least you may not have an open skull.
That (the bolded part) is the crux of the matter and well said.
Regarding the first paragraph, there's something I always want to mention because it seems to me that the person might be unaware of it, a way to protect himself probably more effectively than the helmet. But it comes off as bragging or nagging.
For sure, if you throw your feet up and fall back from a standing position, and hit head first, you're going to have an injury. Possibly a fatal one, especially if your neck is tensed up. But in contrast, 6 or 7 years ago I was in a warehouse rushing to do something and stepped on a dolly. My feet flew out, I went down, and to a horrified co-worker it looked like a nasty fall on my back. She was ready to call an ambulance. From my perspective it was a perfect side-fall: no ill effects other than intense embarrassment. I wanted to do it again for practice.
I'm not a trained gymnast, black belt in anything, nor super-coordinated athlete. Just a bit of training. But I don't hit my head on a low-slide fall, or flying over the handlebars, or when knocked off the road by a car. I won't get much if any road rash. I can break something just like anyone else, if I mess up or the dice roll snake-eyes, but probably not. Anyone can learn those skills, and they're frankly easier to learn than some of the bicycle handling skills you probably take for granted. People don't know about this, or can't see themselves learning it - I can't see any other explanation for someone who is in fear of a head injury (not referring to you necessarily) and who don't
get to a dojo or tumbling class and learn how to fall.