shelbyfv

Would not end well for one of us!

Bald Paul

On rides where members of the group are riding with headphones, listening to music while on a Zoom meeting on the phone, all the while riding no hands, I hang way off the back and draft the ambulance.

Broctoon

On my group ride yesterday, I saw it done correctly twice.

Three of us had split off from the rest and were drafting each other, going between 20 and 22 MPH on flat terrain. Besides me, there was a lady who is a very strong rider and also very steady/predictable, and a guy who is also very athletic but can be somewhat erratic. At one point, the guy had only been leading for a short time when he pulled out and gestured for us to move forward. I soon saw it's because he was getting a call that he deemed important enough to answer. He just hung a little behind and to the side of us while still keeping pace during the call, which lasted less than a minute. Then he caught up and got back in the rotation. Just a few minutes later, we were stopped for a red light when the lady noticed a call coming in. She answered it, said, "I'm in the middle of a ride, I can't talk," and then hung up, all before the light turned green.

It's because I see them respond in these ways, as well as lots of other little observations, that I trust these people and will ride just off their wheel, or let them ride just off mine. Oh, also, neither of them rides shirtless or without a helmet.

LarrySellerz

for what its worth I usually have a helmet on my bars in case I need it, my work requires helmets on site and some people in group rides get upset if I come without a helmet.

genejockey 

But your definition of "need" is "to prevent people yelling at me" not "to prevent getting my brain scrambled in a crash", which is the ACTUAL definition of "need" in this case. It's to protect your HEAD, not your HEADSET.

tomato coupe

So, when you're about to crash, you quickly cancel your zoom call and put your helmet on?

genejockey 

That's a two click thing, too - you click on "Leave" and it just opens another dialog box that says "Leave Meeting" and you have to click that, too.

Bald Paul

If he's riding with our groups with a helmet on his bars instead of his head, believe me, he's getting yelled at (and he's not riding with us, either.)
Somehow, I get the feeling he's crashed and landed on his head before he could get his helmet on in the past. Several times, probably.

genejockey 

I take a somewhat more charitable view - he has all the enthusiasm of youth, combined with all the ignorance of youth, and all the confidence of youth. Tempering the latter two would make the first less dangerous.

Broctoon

If you're carrying a hard hat while riding to your work site, technically, no one can say you didn't have a helmet.

The subtle nuances you're missing in all these suggestions that keep coming your way are that it should be a bike helmet, and you need to actually wear it on your head, correctly adjusted and strapped on. Those details can be remarkably important. But you have your freedom, so go ahead and keep doing what you do, if that's what makes you happy.

LarrySellerz

Ive crashed and destroyed a helmet, it might have saved my life. I ride enough that wearing a helmet whenever i ride my bike is a big hinderance

tomato coupe

So, wearing a helmet is a hinderance, but carrying it on your bars is not?

bruce19

I've gotten to the point that I avoid group rides unless it's a smaller group (5-6 riders) and they are wheels I trust, When I'm in a group like that it doesn't really matter where I ride. Unfortunately, my club rides are usually larger and with several riders who have no ideas how to ride in a group.

Bald Paul

Have them watch this GCN video, it may help.

LarrySellerz

lol gcn

Bald Paul

You should be strapped in a chair, with your eyelids taped open, and forced to watch it for a few days straight. Sort of like "A Clockwork Orange".

Jack Tone 

It seems there are two different people talking here.

bruce19

mpd?

koala logs

If you crash with the helmet on the bars, it can swing around with great violence, it goes for your mouth and smashes all your teeth.

genejockey 

Perhaps saving his life was not enough to recommend it as a regular thing.

bbattle

Well, since he can't very well flame up the herb in the middle of the pack, sitting on the back of all those cat 1's and former pros is the place to be. And you might as well enjoy yourself back there, so music it is.

the burning question is: what music is Larry listening to?