You could always look like count funkula.

Well put - short and to the point. And this is the very reason I wear my helmet.

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Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on us. -- T. L. Holdcroft

Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.-- S. R. Barr

It's really stupid not to wear one. It doesn't take much of a hit to the head to get messed up and it doesn't matter if your a safe rider. I ride to work in the summer and have had 2 crashes. On one I hit the pavement pretty hard on the side of my helmet and was really happy I had it on. I wasn't riding very fast, but the impact did crack my helmet. Only ride with one from now on.

When I was a kid, I used to do the whole "freestyle" stunt bike thing... you know, things like standing up and "surfing" on the top tube of the bike while careening down a massive hill. All without a helmet. While I did mess my face up pretty good once, luckily no head trauma. In other words, I was young and stupid. And lucky.

Now I'm an adult. And smart. I wear a helmet now. Mainly because I trust everyone else on the road alot less than I trust myself. If I were alone on a desert island, I'd probably go helmetless. However, here in the real world, people are trying to kill me (and you) whether they realize it or not.

Plus, you can fall over at a dead stand-still, 6 inches from your front doorstep, and if you hit your head, the force can be enough to kill you. So how far or short your rides are is irrelevant.

But, it's your decision.

__Jason

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Thanks to my LIVESTRONG Challenge donors! The rest of y'all are chumps.

Well, one thing I know- statistically, I'm at a much higher risk of being hurt in a car accident, every single time I get in a car, than I am at risk of getting hurt on a bike.
I've had my license for 28 years and drove a LOT for at least 20 of those- and never had an accident, mainly because I drove like I assumed everyone else around me was an idiot. (I will keep that assumption on a bike, as well.)

I'm just starting this bike thing again after 25 years of not riding one....
I would certainly have a higher risk on a bike if I rode it to/from a job or every day or for long rides, etc., but relatively speaking, I am lower than most, though, of course, it can happen to anyone.

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Ugh!.... sounds painful! But I bet the scars make for a butch appearance
I don't wear a helmet either with the bicycle. Just a baseball cap to keep the gnats out of my hair....lol

I've gone down a few times on the motorcycle though, once on State Road hitting a puddle, once at 16th & chestnut on a wet manhole cover, and once on wet leaves outside of the Bike Stop. (this was after a few Coronas ) But those times I always wore a motorcycle helmet, cause of the higher speeds involved.

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"Accept the fact that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue"

You know, I was just thinking...I've fallen down several times in the past couple of years either from the shoes I was wearing, the damn holes in the sidewalks in OC, or from sheer clumsiness. It's happened at home, too.

I should probably just wear a helmet all of the time, hmm?

__________________
~Sugarcoma
Now with more carbohydrates!
http://www.bethbrennan.blogspot.com/
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I didn't wear one for about a year. Then after hearing horror stories from my girlfriend I changed my tune. One day last summer, my bike tire slipped (it had just rained) and I felt my helmet hit the ground and bounce back off. I hit hard enough to get a really sore neck for the next week. If that'd been my head, it wouldn't have ended so well. All it takes is one freak accident--it doesn't even have to involve a car. Traumatic brain injury ain't pretty.

I wear one and started becuase I wanted my child to wear hers. She is 11 now and wears it without question, so that worked well. I never saw the need before her, but you know, my Parents also drove around with me in some deathtrap contraption that was strapped in between them in the front seat (you know, right in front of the motor and transmission) a prehysterical car seat so to say. So for all of those who say "we never needed bike helmets", remember that perhaps someone should have thought more about our safety?

Think of it this way... would you have unprotected sex and risk getting HIV or wear a condom?

Just that one time with unprotected sex can get you infected and just that one time without your helmet and a car hits you and you're dead or a vegetable.

Practicing safe sex is the same principle as wearing a helmet just one has been way more emphasized. Think of it as practicing safe biking