I don’t particularly like to wear helmets as I have thick hair, they’re not particularly fashionable and I certainly don’t like to wear any lycra stuff either.
So the thought of donning all that cycling gear is definitely not for me. The instructors gently mock the different boots that I’ve been wearing every week. But when I start to ride normally, that’s what I’ll be wearing, I told them.
Just my normal clothes. The contrast between myself and another learner is vast. Starting off just like me, she now she arrives in full cycling gear from head to toe. She’s another full convert. Whereas I still like to wear my normal clothes. She does look amazing, though! So we went after the lesson she took me to the cheap store Lidls where I brought lycra thermals with padding in all the right places to wear under my normal clothes as it was getting colder.
Looking for on the Whycycle website section ‘Safety and Security’. I learned it is not legal to wear a helmet but up to the individual’s discretion.
Brake.org seems to advocate children wearing helmets by law and preferably adults as well. This website cites success in other countries.
I found this great website and I couldn’t stop reading because it seems to be aimed just at me! A beginner. Anyway Cyclinginfo.co.uk states in Reasons to Wear a Cycle Helmet that:-
It is difficult to know how many lives would be saved from compulsory helmet wearing. It would probably be very small, because the number of cycling deaths resulting from head injuries is quite small. Also there is no guarantee that wearing a helmet would prevent all head injuries.
This is the view of my instructors who are, of course, required to wear helmets for insurance purposes of the Bikeability course but don’t wear it when not training.
So to helmet or not to helmet? Haven’t mind up my mind. Have to wear it whilst training but not sure about when I’m competent. What about you? Do you wear a helmet? Take the poll. Anyway I just love cycling.
Leave a comment