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Why Road Cyclists Wear Helmets: Part 1,274,321,167

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My wife, on the fifth anniversary of her last Mother’s Day crash, went down yesterday. Before we go any further, she’s fine though a bit concussed – I went through the protocol last night with her – and very sore. She went down at speed, too.  20+ mph and if not for her helmet, God only knows what her condition would be today.  Interestingly, her helmet, a Kask Mojito, shows signs of sliding on the pavement but there were zero torsional injuries (a favorite reason the anti-helmet crowd sites to suggest they shouldn’t be worn – ask a neural surgeon, ER doc, nurse, ambulance tech, firefighter, or Sheriff’s deputy and they’ll have a different opinion, having spent time investigating, shoveling brain off the ground, or trying to put it back in someone’s melon).

There are a couple of competing theories as to what happened – I was up the road 50 yards, sprinting for a City Limits sign – but the important thing is, my wife wasn’t doing anything she hadn’t done several hundred times. When you’re riding at speed, shit just happens that you can’t avoid and can’t brace against. This is why we wear helmets.

Now, I wouldn’t want to piss off the anti-helmet nutters, so I’ll leave this carve out; as helmets go, you do what you want. If you want to ride like my grandma, by all means, feel free and enjoy yourself. If, however, you want to ride like we avid enthusiast roadies do, folks, there’s a reason we wear brain buckets.

They save lives and families.

Pay special attention to the cracks… my wife’s head didn’t split like that because she was wearing that helmet.


20 Comments

  1. Eliza says:

    I’m glad she’s okay….

  2. The Omil says:

    Very pleased it wasn’t worse – but keep an eye on hr for a day or two.

  3. Kecia says:

    I’m so glad she’s ok! Keep an eye on her. After Tim’s crash (with cracked helmet), the doctor said no sudden movements for 2 weeks as it can cause a delayed concussion or trigger an additional one.

    • bgddyjim says:

      Yeah, she’s not moving suddenly ANYWHERE for at least a few days! I’ll have a conversation with her about that later on, though. Thanks Kecia!

  4. Sheree says:

    I’m with you! Shit happens when you ride but it’s nowhere as serious as it could be because you were wearing a helmet.

  5. lampenj says:

    Scary stuff, Jim. Wow. I hate it when friends go down on rides. I can’t imagine the feeling of my wife going down hard like that. I’m thankful it wasn’t worse. I’ll be thinking and praying for you both that she recovers from the concussion quickly.

    • bgddyjim says:

      Thanks, Joe. The other lady riding with us is a PA and she swung into action like a champ. I just prayed and helped. Thanks for the prayers, brother. We’ll take all we can get!

  6. unironedman says:

    Urgh! Best wishes from Ireland on a speedy and complete recovery.

  7. Jeremy Alan says:

    Glad she’s OK!

  8. biking2work says:

    That’s some dent! Glad she’s OK Jim

  9. Wow! Glad the Mrs. is OK for the most part! Ride on!

  10. […] Why Road Cyclists Wear Helmets: Part 1,274,321,167 […]

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