Hbrown

I crashed, and when I say I crashed, I crashed monumentally!!! I was riding on a local bike path just to stretch my legs. The day before I rode from Philly to the Buena Vista campground in Jersey. It was a Fund raiser for ACS. I rode the Century. Slept good that night! Next day My legs were buzzing so I suited up and hit the Norristown bike path. No helmet! Never wore one if I didn't have to! Only in events that it was required. I was doing around 28 mph just cleared the Norristown Transportation Center, Heading to the 202 Bridge, there is a nice downhill then a flat area that leads to an abrupt uphill that leads to the bridge. I increased my pedal because I like that feeling of G force when you first hit that uphill section, I didn't mention that it is also a uphill curve. I must have been doing 30 MPH when it happened! Just went into the turn, bike leaning, G force feeling , tire squeeling, Black walnut balls on the ground! Can you picture it? Front wheel hit the walnut, heard a loud pop! Front wheel stopped turning all at once, I went down as if I was body slammed! It was just Pow and Boom! No chance of getting the arms in front of me! My chest and shoulder hit first, did not slide, so it felt like my nipple was beeing ripped off! Then my shoulder caught on the road and I flipped and rolled to a stop! I felt like I was sliding forever before the flip and roll! I sat up and looked for my bike! Got up and made my way to it, did a quick look over it, straightened out the front wheel, half of the latex tube was out of the tire and wrapped around the fork, it was split in half, the tire was flipped inside out and wedged between the brake and rim. Its amazing what adrenaline will do, I didn't even look myself over ! The bike was totally inspected and doled over. Then I went to take a step to get myself and bike off of the path , and fell over in pain, arm stopped working, my knee was showing white stuff, no skin to be seen, Chest (nipple) was screaming! I laid there for a minute, then summoned up my strenght and got us off of the path. Called the wife, laid right there until she came and got me. when I got home I looked over the bike again, took some asprin and called off from work. That night I decided from now on "I WILL WEAR A HELMET)!!!!

LowCel 

I have a wife that I care about and a life that I want to continue living.

Nagrom_

I got on a bike.

GiantOCRC3

For me I got up to 41 MPH on this one road we ride. Looking out at the pavement and trees flying by, I figured I'd rather be safe than really sorry.

labas

"What" has not yet happened.

jdon

my fourth concussion

gsteinb

this is dangerously close to being a helmet thread.

longbeachgary

Bike or motorcycle a helmet's a must.

LowCel 

Over under on it being moved / deleted by page 2?

MegaTom

I finally got smart enough about it.... having a child kinda helps too.

Jeepnut22 

Rode/Raced BMX for years and only wore a helmet at races as it was required. 6' table tops at local jumps sans helmet for years... Speeding down paths, roads at stupid speeds sans helmet... Etc... Survived all my wrecks and dodged serious injury as well.

That was when I was 12,13,14,15 years old...

Started mountain biking at the age of 19 and the shop I frequented berated me into wearing a helmet and I never stopped after that.

JoelS

I wore one when I raced BMX. I wore one before that when I did a 4-day tour at 11yo. Didn't wear one for most riding until late in the 90's. A snowboard crash (of all things) cemented it. Caught an edge and went right down hard on my back and hit the back of my head. Blacked out for about 30 seconds. Went down the mountain and bought a helmet. After that, snowboarding and cycling, I always wear one. My kids wear them too.

I've crashed on my bike since and busted a helmet. My wife has busted 3. We wear helmets.

gsteinb

lol. since either of us can move it can't we inch the odds in our favor?

baj32161

I don't like tempting fate any more than I have to. Besides that, I am clumsy.

datlas 

****

Does that help??

I could mention gun control...

iamtim

I've never ridden road without one. However, after I was purposely slammed by an SUV and called my mom three times in a row to tell her what happened and that I was OK with NO knowledge I'd already called her, I figured it would have been MUCH worse had I been without a helmet. Especially since the helmet was cracked. Given that I'm alive today, it did its job and I'm thankful for it.

marqueemoon

I started riding bikes a lot, and faster.

Golfster

Common sense.

Cougrrcj

Back 35+ years ago when I was in college, my rider bike-riding roommate from Cinci always wore one of the original Bell shell 'mushroom' helmets when he rode. He said it probably saved his life six months earlier. He and some buddies were tear-assing down one of the hills. Jim was a bit behind the other guys. A car waited for the pack to pass by, then backed out of the drive - right in front of Jim. Bike slammed into the side of the car and stopped right there. Jim didn't. He hit the trunklid of the car on the way over with his chin (and lost a few teeth), then went sliding a hundred feet or so down the road. In addition to the mild 'bell-ringing' concussion, the helmet was worn through on the one side. That 'road rash' would have ground off his ear if he wasn't wearing a helmet.

Even at that, I never wore a helmet until my first organized Century when it was required. I had 'borrowed' a friends spare helmet - one of the original 'skid lids' for the warm-up organized rides that Spring, and my first TOSRV. But, most of the time I didn't wear one.

Now that I'm much older, and somewhat wiser, I must admit I still do not wear my helmet all the time. I don't wear it for a trip to the corner store (on my MTB/beater-bike, on the gravel shoulder), but any trip longer than a mile I do.

Machka 

What happened to make me finally wear a helmet?

Peer Pressure.

Rowan

The law made me do it. Been a legal requirement for riding on the road in Australia for decades now. It;s just second nature after 15 years of putting it on.

Commodus

I started dating a nurse.

Beneficial Ear

I have never ridden a bike with a helmet on my head.

Now that my speeds are going up, and I'm forced to ride mainstreets, AND I've already had a car door opened in my face with no option but to ram it shoulder first (JUST enough time to get my head to the side, milliseconds and inches from a faceplant into the edge of what is relatively similar to running into the corner of a brick wall...).

I'm getting a helmet within the week, possibly as soon as tomorrow. Plus I can't do any serious group rides (other than the serious bar hop rides) without a helmet.

Gatorfreak

About 25 years ago my Dad told me he'd get me a new mountain bike if I'd wear a helmet with it. Been wearing helmets ever since.

mprelaw

I wear one because no one has ever given me a good reason not to wear one.

My 86 year old uncle died of a subdural hematoma in a 0 mph fall in his bathtub. It's not how fast you're going. It's how far you fall, and what hits first.