I don't get people's resistance to helmets!

[michelem]

This sounds like my husband (except, it's not a hair thing - he's hair deprived!). He REFUSES to wear a helmet - sounds like a little kid - "I don't wanna wear a helmet!" We are going on a bike tour this summer, and the rules say he must wear a helmet. I've bought him one to bring with us, but he says that he is going to try to see if he can sign a waiver when we get there so he doesn't have to wear it. Sigh . . . It's frustrating because I thought this would be a fun thing for us to do together, but, no, all of his training is going to have to happen at the gym on the stationary bike because a) he won't train outdoors without me (his philosophy is why ride outside when he can ride inside in the air conditioning with cable tv at the gym?) and b) I refuse to ride with him unless he has on his helmet. Grrrrr . . .

Maybe someday he'll change. He finally started wearing a seatbelt when we were dating and I said I wouldn't ride in a vehicle with him unless he wore his seatbelt (our first few dates were those where we drove separately - how romantic - ha ha). Sometimes he really drives me crazy, but I love him!

P.S. This is despite the fact that when he was in 6th grade he was hit by a car when riding his bike. The vehicle ran a red light and almost killed him - he was in ICU for a while and had to have surgery to repair the broken bones in his leg - still has some nasty scars to prove it.

[missymaya]

"Legitimate" or not, helmets are the smart way to go. You could have the best bike handling skills and be at the utmost caution and still not be able to predict what's comin your way. A lot of people just think it doesn't look cool to wear a helmet, but if it weren't for mine, I probably wouldn't be here . When I bought my first road bike, my parents helped me out a little by giving some outdoor jobs to make extra $ and they said they would buy the helmet (purdy grey Giro Atmos at that ). But, when they ride bikes, they don't wear helmets because "they go slow", according to them. All it takes is just one car or one fall.