In Support of 60-year old Women Everywhere

[Roadtrip]

Humm.. I may be wrong, but it looks like she's riding a fixie too!!!

Gotta love spunk!

Shannon

[Crankin]

Honestly, I don't understand the reasoning for not wearing a helmet. I wouldn't mind at all if I was riding in "work" clothes or dress clothes and had my helmet on. It's a piece of safety equipment, and like GLC says, we need to get people to think it's "cool."
I know people don't wear helmets in other countries, but truthfully, when I rode a cruiser on the beach in Hilton Head a few years ago, DH had to convince me not to wear my helmet. We had brought them to go mountain biking. I didn't wear it, but I was worried the whole time I was going to crash and land on my head. I don't care if I was going 5 mph on sand; it's just that ingrained. Or maybe it's my Jewish mother neuroticism.

[marni]

I understand the philosophy and rationale of not wearing a helmet. I also understand the rationale of wearing a helmet, especially since I have hit my head in the two accidents I have had and each time I am convinced that the helmet saved me from a serious concussion and or major subdural hematoma / brain injury.

I think the most graphic example I can offer is the biking safety instructor who likened your brain to a raw egg and then had each of us drop an egg from eye level to the sidewalk.

It is a matter of choice and I try not to judge one way or the other.

[chicagogal]

I don't really think that wearing a helmet should be "a matter of choice". Consider the road hazards: pothole, squirrel, pedestrian, wet leaves, wet manhole cover, other cyclists, railroad tracks, etc. All of these could cause a cyclist to hit the pavement, but would not be much of a problem for the driver of a motor vehicle whose only real risk comes from other drivers.

Nonetheless, driving around the city at 25-30mph, drivers of cars consistently wear seat belts (and could be fined for not wearing one), yet cyclists traveling at 15-25mph consistently choose not to wear a helmet. Drivers wear seatbelts not because it looks cool or is the most comfortable, but because of a massive public safety campaign in which people were educated about the risks of not wearing one, and in the aftermath, car companies were required to install more and more safety devises (air bags, anti lock breaks, etc).

We need the same kind of public safety campaign for cyclists such that nobody would even think to get on their bikes without fastening their helmet, just like they don't think to drive their car without fastening their seat belt.

[Crankin]

Chicago Gal, you put that in a way that makes it easy to understand. But, until we have the cycling infrastructure to mount such a safety campaign, it's not going to happen.
And yes, I am judgmental about this issue.

[Melalvai]

We need the same kind of public safety campaign for cyclists such that nobody would even think to get on their bikes without fastening their helmet, just like they don't think to drive their car without fastening their seat belt.

More importantly we need public safety campaigns so cyclists will not run red lights & stop signs, ride the wrong way, fail to yield, ride on the sidewalk. These all have more potential for preventing the wreck in the first place. Not having the wreck prevents more than head injury, while head injury is the only thing helmets can prevent.

I think this thread has been thoroughly hijacked now!

[colorisnt]

I agree with all of the "go everyone!" posts. I love to see old and young people alike on bikes because it IS something everyone can do. It's a great way to get to and from places, a great way to stay healthy, and is a natural antidepressant! I can't see why you wouldn't bike *kicks little sister who is the only one in our family who won't*.

And with Melalvai, I agree that cyclists need education on bike safety. We need to be ambassadors for it. Which is why I love pednet and getabout here in Columbia. They are teaching kids how to ride properly and to be safe and aware of drivers. My parents taught me this stuff when I was a kid and I am so thankful, but I know a couple of my friends who had NO IDEA what they were doing and had no clue how to stay safe when I was a kid.

I think we should be teaching kids this from the start. The easiest way for them to learn is to ride with mom and/or dad or moms or dads to get some idea of how to stay safe. I was on the back of my Dad's bike when I was a kid all the time in a child seat. I learned to ride early and learned all the rules of the road.

[chicagogal]

More importantly we need public safety campaigns so cyclists will not run red lights & stop signs, ride the wrong way, fail to yield, ride on the sidewalk. These all have more potential for preventing the wreck in the first place. Not having the wreck prevents more than head injury, while head injury is the only thing helmets can prevent.

I completely agree! It is not just about helmets, but safety in general (but wearing a helmet is the easiest thing to do to improve our safety!).

Maybe a massive safety campaign with government involvement requires a critical mass of cyclists, but safety starts with us - people who ride bikes. It is up to us to educate the community, and to set an example. That is what bothers me so much about that community leader (sorry, I forgot his name) who doesn't wear a helmet. In my opinion, that is just setting a bad example.

What do we need to do? Talk to teammates, club members, folks at our respective shops, other people you ride with, and make sure that they understand the rules of the road and how to ride safely.

I always ride with my team jersey as a reminder to myself that when I am using the roads, I am representing not just myself but my club. However, we all need to remember that, in team kit or not, we are ALL representing ALL cyclists on the road whenever we are out there.

Obey the rules, be courteous, wear a helmet, PASS YOUR KNOWLEDGE FORWARD, and our roads will be safer for everyone.

[buffybike]

[QUOTE=BleeckerSt_Girl;542476]This resulted in the current situation where cycling is considered to be either a sport or recreation rather than simply a form of normal transportation.
The average civilian is afraid to ride a bicycle anywhere except on designated recreational 'paths'. Roads are not designed here to make bicycling safer, and aggressive drivers are not punished or educated to 'share the road'. Bicyclists get yelled and cursed at to 'get off the road' and to 'get off the sidewalk'.
Even small town or suburban kids and teens who used to typically ride their bikes to school are now driven to school even when it's 8 blocks away.

Hear, hear!! I know my neighbors think of me as "eclectic" for riding my bike with Wald baskets to the grocery store. People have even asked me if I'm riding my bike because I lost my license to drive! I ride on roads--even busy ones--just to make the point that it's do-able and drivers are just going to have to get used to me being there. The more of us they see out there, the more "normal" we'll become to them.

[PamNY]

Being a woman pushing toward the 60 mark, I take a little umbrage in the concept that bike planners use a 60-year old woman on a shopping trip as their target rider. Hey, I am not a fragile thing! Shouldn't they be thinking, a 40 year old pot-bellied male?

Thorn, I agree. The pot belly tells me a lot more about the rider than age or gender. But, I guess we have to get used to being perceived as old.

I do wonder about the author saying riding in such wind was "super fun." True, it can be, but in a storm of historic proportions, biking could be dangerous.

Still, it's a cool photo and I'm glad you posted it.

[Thorn]

Just reviving the thread to say, that "part II" of the blog posting features our own SusanO! Much to my surprise, yesterday morning's Milwaukee Bike blog sent me over to....Team Estrogen. Cool!

http://overthebarsinmilwaukee.wordpr...very-high-70s/

[Biciclista]

That lady isn't 60. I'm going to be 60 in November... I don't look like that!

[shootingstar]

She looks determined on that bike.

I'm a little tired of this helmet issue when some of those who don't wear helmets are particularily vociferous about the law, etc.

I haven't highlighted this yet but there was some criticism levelled at the marketing of Velo-city 2012 that in our video footage it was dominated by people wearing helmets (and cycling wear).

I'm not convinced we need to adapt cycling culture/habits in Europe , etc. that don't require helmet wear.

What is not highlighted is other parts of Europe that don't have Netherlands/Copenhagen-like cycling-safe environments and massive cycling mode share.

[Biciclista]

I think a lot of people in those places after coming HERE and seeing what we are up against would take to wearing helmets!

[TrekTheKaty]

I was going to ask how they knew she was 60. My sis is 65 and doesn't look like that.

I started wearing a helmet after reading a story about someone's chain locking up and throwing them over the handlebars at slow speed. I also believe in karma--if I'm not wearing my helmet or gloves, I'll fall for sure. I also don't trust OTHER PEOPLE to not wreck me.

What Bleeker said.