Good evening, A recent experience has made me curious on everyones opinion of wearing helmets. To some, it seems against the standard Rivendell ethos to wear a helmet. In this case as in others (clipless pedals)I stray from the standard Rivendell line. I believe in them, I won't get on my bike without one for any meaningful ride. Last night, I had an experience that made me damn glad that I do. I was riding eastbound on Pescadero Road right at rush hour, Butano Creek has been flooding the road for some time now so when traffic coming from both directions approaches the flooded area both sides form a cue. I was riding faster than I normally do as it had just started to pour and I was headed home, as I followed a car across the flooded section because of the small wake, I couldn't see the fog line which I try to stay to the left of, also I was watching the cars much closer than I was where my front tire was going.Well as you probably guessed I crashed hard when my from tire hit the lip of a pothole at an angle that thru me sideways off the bike. My helmeted head hit the pavement hard, and while I didn't loose consciousness I wasn't able to stand on my own or get up for a minute or two despite laying in 4-5 inches of cold water. There's no question that I'd have been injured far worse than I was had I not had a helmet on. I ended up in a ambulance and was taken to the ER. Today, I'm a bit foggy, and my neck is killing me. I was concussed and have a whiplash, the doctor told me I was lucky I had a helmet on, I did not go over the handlebars but fell sideways and hit the side of my head. I guess my point is I think this accident could happen to anyone, I've been riding bikes since the early 1960's and I haven't crashed this hard in decades. I did make some errors, like not waiting for the traffic to pass, but I've crossed this spot many times this winter as well as turning around when there's too much water. I'm usually cautious as injuries heal slowly at my age. So my question is, helmet or no helmet, and if no helmet why?
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