What My Eyes See

[wlotus]

A while back I took a wicked fall off Twyla after a sneak attack by a pothole. My helmet saved me from a nasty head injury, if the hefty crack in the padding was any indication. Until then Ms. T insisted she didn't need a bike helmet. Seeing me take that fall and walk away from it changed her mind.

Comments

[musesing]

I am glad she changed her mind. My mom took a tumble off our scooter (obviously not going as fast as you can on a motorcycle) this week. Helmet was a really good thing.

[wlotus]

I would feel nervous about riding my bicycle without a helmet, especially since most of our riding around here has to be done in traffic. I was nervous watching T ride her bicycle without a helmet. I feel much better, now!

[purlypuss]

I love this post and agree with it 100%. Whenever I see people riding around in traffic with no helmet, especially when I am driving and I can see that they have not taken care of visibility to motorists, I scream at them (silently natch): WEAR A HELMET!!

[wlotus]

I feel the same way! I have fussed with Ms. T ever since we first went riding together that she needs a helmet. None of my fussing made an impact, but seeing me fly off that bike sure did.

[scream4noreason]

See, youre a most excellent girlfriend being concerned with her safety like that.

[wlotus]

To me that comes with the territory. Who wouldn't be concerned about their partner's safety?

Never mind: don't answer that. I'll just get mad. :-)

[rockbirthedme]

Remember the niece whose wedding I just attended? The one who was in a bad accident? She was hit by a car while riding her bike. My SIL had bought the kids bike helmets because she thought they were "cute," and my niece was wearing one. You should have seen the mess that helmet was in after the accident. My niece had a cut on her forehead, but all the rest of the damage was to the leg. The leg was bad, but if she hadn't been wearing a helmet for the sake of "cute," she'd probably be dead.

My SIL is a major supporter of helmets now -- I think she donated the wrecked helmet to the local police department to use in their bike safety program. It makes her really angry to see kids without helmets. It goes without saying that our kids have worn helmets from the moment they first climbed onto a Big Wheel, no exceptions.

[wlotus]

I like it when I see little kids on scooters and Big Wheels wearing helmets. If you get them into the habit from the beginning, they will find it normal to wear helmets the rest of their lives.

It makes me angry to see adults riding bikes without helmets, particularly on the busy, congested streets of NYC. I don't know what they think will happen, if they hit the ground.

[rockbirthedme]

That's why we started helmets when we started Big Wheels, all right. The bandar log automatically grab for helmets first. Once or twice, when someone has outgrown a helmet and it hasn't been replaced right away, we get major crabbiness from them. It's not because they think we're being unreasonable about keeping them off their bikes. It's because they don't want to be on a bike without a helmet. They do their part by grounding themselves, and as far as they're concerned, *we* are being irresponsible by not getting them a proper helmet. They are quite correct.

Not many of us are willing to think about what will happen when we hit the ground, and in a much larger sense than just bicycles. We convince ourselves that we won't hit the ground in the first place. "It can't happen to me." Some of us get rude awakenings in that department, but in general, we tend to sail along, thinking that we are the exception. I know I do it.

[acoustics1220]

That's a brilliant smile T has! :D

(And I'm glad to hear you're okay, and that you'll both be sporting helmets from now on)