General Cycling Discussion - Why bring the helmet?

I have a question that I have been trying to figure out for about a month when I first saw this event. I saw a person riding without a helmet on. Now, this is not to rare in Boston. It might be 50% representation of the cyclists here. I even switch sides depending how much time I have before I leave. Yet the person had a helmet (full-size adult helmet) attached to their bag. I thought this was quite odd why have a helmet and not wear it. Then, I forgot about it until I saw a different person do the same thing ride without a helmet, yet had a helmet attached to his bag. Now, I would really like to know why ride with a helmet when you are not wearing it. It just does not make sense me. Thanks.

Sometimes if traffic is light, I am going slow, and it is very hot, I'll hang my helmet on my handlebars but then I am on a local MUT.

Maybe messengers whose boss demands they have a helmet? Or their mommy made them put it on before they left the house? Seems like the head would be a convenient place to carry a helmet, as long as you're carrying one.

Even odder are the people I sometimes see riding with a helmet on their heads, but the straps unfastened and hanging loose. What are they going to do, quickly buckle it on the way down? Or maybe they're wearing it just as protection from passing birds?

Another mystery of the stupid people.

i see it a lot here in l.a., but only from the higher echelon of local OCP. always done with the helmet attached to the bars like you see many pros do. it's pure poser points all the way, even more if you're cruising along talking on your cell phone. if you're speaking italian, you've pretty much got the OCP game won.

I know the people that don't wear their helmet and put it on their bag know the risk of getting a head injury and assume that the risk is low/not worth the comfort factor.

The people that don't strap on their helmet and just wear it on their head, just don't know how to use a helmet.

Is there a military base nearby? Many people here carry their helmet like that until they get to the gate, then put their helmet on (with it tilted way back like that thing the Jewish people wear).

yeah, i see that a lot too. the only time i've done that is when it was 100 degrees and 85% humidity and i was riding through a closed loop park road. felt good to get some air through my hair. i ended up putting it back on after 5 miles because it just didn't feel right.

Maybe the rider had an epiphany and decided he wanted the chance to re-learn the alphabet and switch to velcro sneakers.

Has it been hot in Boston lately? Probably they got hot and took the helmet off for a while.

I'll bet they didn't think twice about it, but here people from all over the world are chatting about it on the internet.

I guess since I do not find helmets uncomfortable, It just made no sense. I usually have no hair, so I do not feel a big difference between no helmet and helmet. In fact, I perfer the helmet since it stop the sun from beaming down on my head.

Anyway, the two days that I saw this it was not noticeably hotter than other days, but I guess it could be a reason. Thanks for informing me about the reason. I just figure if you have the helmet use it. It would be a real shame to be injuried when protection is nigh.

I strap my helmet to my pack for the climb on a local trail...at 2.4 mph I am not going to go over the bars or fall over and hit my head...people are walking faster then me up it and they arent wearing a helmet! The first few times I tried this climb was with my helmet and I sweat so much it was like a hose of sweat in my eyes and glasses so I decided to take it off...the helmet off made me 5 minutes faster to the top just becuase my head was cooler.

Once im to the top I strap it on...

Im a huge advocate of helmets and I get pissed when I bring freinds along and they dont have helmets.

I do this occasionally because one day I had a bad spill and I wasn't wearing my helmet so now my prents are making me ride with a helmet and I hate wearing it so I just put it in my bag once I cross the corner. I'm sorry if I sound ignorant or stupid but I just really detest my helmet and can not afford a new one.

Maybe he was headed to a more populated area and didn't wanna get a ticket (don't know the helmet laws in Boston, but sometimes my friend does that here. Idiot). You know, get downtown (or something), pull over, put the helmet on, and ride in. Then, leave, pull over, take the helmet off.

If I'm riding in an area where there's no hostile fire, I wouldn't wear one either. I'd like to keep my head cool as much as possible. Now after reaching the top I'll put my helmet on before screaming down that fire road...