Always. Not just for my own protection but for my two boys aswell. I can't tell them to wear one if I don't. Plus I'm a very active member in our local cycling club and it's rule #1 no helmet no ride. Plus it's just the right thing to do.

__________________
Best thing about cycling is when I'm at work I think cycling and when I'm cycling I'm thinking about cycling

99.5% of the time.

A few strolls in the park on hot summer days being the exception. Or remote mountain roads while going up, I'll pin it to the front of the bars. But only if it's really hot, like over 90.

My philosophy is, you often dont choose when you are going to crash, why should you choose when your going to wear ur helmet. I crashed in a club race about 2 months ago at around 45kmh, got up with only a scraped hip. They asked, did you hit your head, i said no not all, later on i find my helmet was cracked right through. Testament to the use of the helmet, didnt even know my head hit, now without i could say otherwise.

Agree. Personal choice. May help, will never hurt but I don't look down on anybody that doesn't wear a helmet. AND I have been hit by a car, from behind, while riding. NO helmet but no damage to my noggin that would have been prevented by a helmet. I wear one, don't like it(it IS a high end Giro), I really liked the feeling of riding w/o one. I wear one now, used to wear one anytime I was in a bunch but before my wife demanded I wear the thing, didn't wear one when alone. Don't care how whizbang they are, it's cooler w/o one on on a hot day.

But it's up to the rider. Whether or not the guy next to you wears one has no impact on you.

With all the passion for helmets I think another question to ask, "do you think helmet use should be mandated by law?"

I do not. It would be a 'nanny law', those laws to protect us from ourselves. Laws that protect us from others are spot on, like second hand smoke and not driving while yaking on a cellie but not helmets on bicycles. If that were to happen, better put motorcyclists in helmets first.

Probably already mentioned but...

Scenario: person not wearing a helmet falls and sustains a serious head injury requiring hospital stay and incurring significant medical costs. Serious injury could have been avoided by wearing a helmet. Person has no insurance to pay for costs. Who pays the bills? You and I (taxes, increased insurance rates, increased hospital costs to insured individuals to offset the uninsureds).

Helmet law doesn't only benefit the individual wearing the helmet. Same rationale is used for seat belt laws.

Agree, start with motorcyclists. BUT make it 'serious injury 'may' have been avoided by wearing a helmet'.

Why risk serious injury when you can just strap on a helmet, and take away most if not all the risk. Laws regarding that would be a good idea, just my opinion.

__________________
http://www.easyauctionz.com.au Easyauctionz Cycling Apparel - New Stock!

always wear it
especially after last years little accident that put me in the hosp. for a week

I live in atlanta and I see some people riding without their helmuts when the park. I had a nasty accident in a park about 4 months ago where I flipped over on my mountain bike. If I was not wearing my helmut I am pretty sure I would have suffered severe head trauma. Helmut was totalled. Better that then me

I always wear a helmet.I ride a lot of bike paths and people walking dogs with 20 foot leads are dangerous

Yep. I don't believe in God, but evidence shows that if he DOES exist he possesses a very nasty sense of humor.

Please. Do some research on how effective a bicycle helmet really is. 'Take away most if not all the risk' is poolyanna-ism. It 'may' help protect your head, some, depends on so much. It 'may' not help at all.

Most of the replies to this thread appear to be from riders in The United States where cycling is fairly new as a sport and would therefore have a different attitude to helmet wearing to those of us in Europe where cycling has been established for 100 years or so. I belong to a pre-helmet generation and raced from the late 1950's to the early 1970's, competing in road races and cyclo-cross. During that time, like the majority of my contemporaries I never wore a helmet. Apart from not being required to, most of us didnt have the inclination or feel the need. I still ride for pleasure and still dont feel the need for a helmet but then I dont go around head butting rocks and trees like so many of you guys seem to be doing. Wear a helmet if you wish by all means but please leave it a matter of personal choice for the rest of us.

I always wear my helmet - as soon as I get to the door and don't take it off until I get back home. I have reason to believe it does not do much - but it's a silly reason not to use the only physical protection we have.
Here in Israel almost all roadies use a helmet, the very few who don't will not be accepted by any group. However, many children and inexperienced cyclists avoid the helmet.

__________________
Kan Ya Ma Kan...