The Crow's Nest

On a trip to San Francisco and Oakland earlier this month, I used a friend’s bike to do my sightseeing.

Before I set out, she offered me her helmet. When I declined, she looked at me like I had three heads (all cycling without helmets).

I explained that I had never worn a bike helmet, and it would be like wearing a gasmask while cooking. She told me I was being stupid.

My friend’s helmet homily sounded like that old piece of wisdom non-smokers bestow on smokers: “You know that’s bad for you.” Never has a smoker responded, “It is?!” The advice will not enlighten a smoker to quit, just like a lecture of why I should wear a helmet won’t yield me putting that thing on my head.

As I rode around with wind and car exhaust running through my hair, I began pickling in my convictions. Was I being stupid? What if a car hit me in the next hour? What if I got brain damage from a headfirst fall? Would my obliteration be mocked by the precursor of a friend urging me to protect my dome?

Fall I did not. Clipped by a side-view mirror: not even!

The bay area of California has done its job of making it easy for cyclists to get around. The rapid transit has turnstile lanes for you and your bike and there’s room for your two-wheeled velocipede on the heavy-rail cars.

I did some research later that day to defend my choice, which I knew didn’t hold up in any kind of argument. I know that helmets save lives. But every time I’ve fallen off a bike or been gently rammed by a car, I was always hands-first into the asphalt, grating gravel into my palms.

To my surprise, I found some backing to my non-helmet-wearing mentality.

If you force or pressure people to wear helmets, you’re discouraging them from riding bicycles. Researchers and bike advocates say pushing helmet-use sends a message of danger. It makes a safe activity seem perilous.

“Statistically, if we wear helmets for cycling, maybe we should wear helmets when we climb ladders or get into a bath, because there are lots more injuries during those activities,” said Piet de Jong in a recent New York Time Article. Jong is a professor in the department of applied finance and actuarial studies at Macquarie University in Sydney.

In many places in Europe, bike-shares are common. Bike shares are much like public transportation: commuters pick up and drop off the bicycle at a station. This way, the general public doesn’t have to deal with bike-repairs, theft or upkeep. And most commuters don’t wear helmets.

I know roads in America aren’t as developed or safe for bike riders as they are in places like Berlin or Amsterdam. Many cities in America were built up when car was king, and squeezing in bike lanes has been difficult (or lackadaisical).

The sunshine state is no exception—Florida led the nation with bicyclists killed in 2008 with 125. In St. Petersburg, some may recall nine bicycle fatalities within a four-month span back in 2010.

Don’t be a bandit in the bike-lane: learn your turning and stopping signals. Use them. Motorists must respect bicyclists, and bicyclists must learn to communicate with motorists.

We have more bike racks and souped-up beach cruisers and fancy fixies on campus than ever before, and advice on bike safety probably shouldn’t come from the cyclist without a helmet.

I’m not encouraging you to go without a helmet. Wear a helmet; you’re probably smarter for it. But don’t be afraid to ride.

jmcinnis@mail.usf.edu