Have you ever hit your head? [Archive]

N_C

01-11-07, 12:53 PM

This thread is not meant to promote helmet usage or not, there is no agenda, hidden or otherwise. It purely to share information with one another, nothing more, nothing less. Please do not turn this into a pro/anti helmet debate.

This makes no differance if you wear a helmet or not or how long you've been riding or how good or poor your skills are. If you wish you can disclose if you wear a helmet or were wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

While riding & having an accident have you ever hit your head?

If you did & you do wear helmet did the helmet suffer any kind of visible damage? Did your head suffer any kind of injury? What kind, how bad? Did you replace the helmet?

If you hit your head on something or something hit your head & you do not wear a helmet what kind of injuries, if any did you suffer? What kind, how bad?

Whether or not you wear a helmet & if you suffered a head injury did you have to go through any kind of rehab. or therapy because the injury was severe enough to cause such damage?

If you wear a helmet & you hit your head & also had any kind of an injury aside from a head injury that required medical attention, like a trip to the ER. were you told by a medical professionalor in your opinion that had it not been for the helmet you would have been severly injured or killed?

If your injuries required medical attention & if you wear a helmet was there mention of the helmet in the what ever documentation that was written up for the medical treatment?

If you do not wear a helmet were you advised by a medical professional to start wearing one, especially if you suffered a head injury? What was your reaction or response to this?

GaryA

01-11-07, 01:05 PM

noisebeam

01-11-07, 01:06 PM

At an organized ride at the first water/candy stop I waked under the shade tent and just in the middle I whacked my helmet very hard on the center support beam that was 6" lower than the outer support beams and hard to see as it was 1" diameter and the same color as the tent material. It is not clear to me if I didn't have a helmet if my head would have just cleared the beam, but if it wouldn't have I am sure glad I had my helmet on.

Otherwise no.

Al

alanfleisig

01-11-07, 01:08 PM

Yes. (Which explains a lot :D )

1975. Long, modest downgrade into downtown Newport, RI. Peugeot UO8. Top gear. "Drafting" behind panel van.

Car in front of van stops short to make left turn (onto Bellevue Ave, from Spring Street (northbound), in front of St. Mary's, for you Newporters).

Helmets were for weenies (1975, remember?). Barely a chance to even touch the brakes. Over the bars into back of panel van. Slight body roll kept head from absorbing full impact. Still: more or less maintained consciousness, 22 stiches above left eye, minor fracture of eyesocket, 2 pints of blood lost on way to hospital, major bleeding into left eye, week in bed for blood vessels in eye to heal, 2 weeks with swollen face and that "Frankenstein" look. Never evaluated for neorological damage beyond "well, you have a concussion" diagnosis typical of the time.

Shortly after, gave up promising educational career in math and physics for one in literature and history. Not sure if this was related or not.

Don't ride to the end of the driveway without a helmet today (I know, not the point, but...)

Sprocket Man

01-11-07, 01:20 PM

I've never hit my head while cycling, but my wife did - twice - and I was there both times.

The first time, she was not wearing a helmet. She was riding directly behind me and our wheels crossed and she went down hard. She had a large bump on her head with a mild abrasion that ripped out some hair. She also had abrasions on her back, shoulders, arms and legs. She went to the ER to get examined and patched up. They determined that she had a mild concussion as evidenced by her behavior (memory loss and general confusion). No other follow-up care was deemed necessary, but we did have to monitor her behavior for 24 hours and they asked that I wake her up from her sleep a few times that evening to check on her condition.

The second time, she and I were riding on a loop and I was several hundred yards ahead of her. After I circled back, there were some kids asking me if I was riding with a lady. I told them I was, and they told me that she had an accident. Apparently, she had hit the mirror of a parked truck with her shoulder and she went down. She was wearing a helmet, but she was pretty dazed. We took her into emergency and the doctors said her head was fine (just a very mild concussion), but she had to get stitches on the gash on her shoulder. We threw away the helmet (the shell was damaged) and got her a new one.

None of the medical personnel said anything nor asked any questions about helmet use in either incident.

sggoodri

01-11-07, 01:27 PM

In a ~2001 fall over the handlebars (pothole and front brake combined with inattention) I somehow hit my face on the ground despite landing hands-first. I got a small abrasion on my cheekbone and eventually a slight black eye. I found a small abrasion on the helmet's surface near my ear, but no compression or cracking in the foam.

My left hand was fractured (ring finger bone was broken in two places between my wrist and knuckle). I also chipped bones in my wrist and elbow. I couldn't ride for about a month.

Cromulent

01-11-07, 01:33 PM

About twenty years ago, I was on a bike tour from Milwaukee to Door County and back. On the first day, I was looking around to see if there were any cyclists behind us. I promptly fell off my bike and landed smack on my head. I was not wearing a helmet. I blacked out, and the few hours after the accident were pretty fuzzy. I'm sure I had a concussion. Since then, I've always worn a helmet while cycling.

sbhikes

01-11-07, 01:44 PM

Before the motorcycle helmet law, I was about to ride my motorcycle around the block. I was only going a couple of blocks so I wasn't going to wear my helmet. But then I figured I would wear it because otherwise I would have to figure out how else to bring it with me. A couple of blocks later a lady in a van pulled out right in front of me. I hit the front of her van, flew over it completely and landed right on the top of my head, rolled over like a summersault and landed sitting up. I suffered no concussion or anything as far as I know. I wasn't treated because I felt ok.

On a bike, I flew over the bars once when the wheel reflector came loose and jammed my wheel. I broke the fall with my hands and landed on my knee and scraped it up pretty bad.

A friend of mine did hit his head when he collided with a car on his bicycle. He did have a helmet. He did have a head injury and carries around a PDA to help him remember things. He was always a little bit strange and now he's just a little bit more strange. The doctors told him that without the helmet it would have been much worse. He probably would not have survived at all.

ghettocruiser

01-11-07, 01:50 PM

Yes. Single-vehicle mishap in 1999, related to a mechanical issue and a generous helping of rider error.

Knocked myself completely out.

Literally woke up the next day in hospital to nurses lambasting me for not wearing a helmet. Except that I was wearing a helmet, as I quickly realized.

The storey then changed to "you're lucky you were wearing a helmet".

I thought I was just unlucky to to have smashed my head on the ground...

slowandsteady

01-11-07, 01:56 PM

While riding & having an accident have you ever hit your head?

Yes.

If you did & you do wear helmet did the helmet suffer any kind of visible damage? Did your head suffer any kind of injury? What kind, how bad? Did you replace the helmet?

Yes. It was dented and scratched up. No I was fine. I replaced the helmet. I was riding DH MTB, hit a rock, did an endo and landed on my head. Fortunately a large rock was there to break my fall. ;)

I always wear a helmet. I have also had a couple of 1mph clipless pedal "falls." Once my head bounced off of the pavement pretty hard. My helmet and my head was fine. I did not replace the helmet until recently but this was just to upgrade.

genec

01-11-07, 02:31 PM

Yes. I was hit by a car that had been waiting at a stop sign and took off just as I entered the intersection. There was very little, if any, room for escape. I plowed into the driver's side fender at full speed, going roughly 22MPH. (for the record, I was not in a BL and I swear the motorist was looking right at me... I was in the right tire track of the 4 laned road)

I did not wear a helmet at that time, as helmet technology was pretty much in the beginning stages (remember Skid Lids). This was in the early 80's.

My head hit and bounced off the hood pretty hard. I went unconscious and was taken to hospital. I was under observation for several hours and finally released late that night.

I had a headache for 2 weeks, and the only permenant damage was some facial scaring after some plastic surgery.

I wear a helmet know, nearly always. Why nearly... well, it depends on where I am riding... I occasionally ride with my wife on park paths and just don't see a need for the helmet there. I also occasionally ride my cruising bike around the local neighborhood, and again, any accident would be at very slow speeds.

bikebuddha

01-11-07, 02:55 PM

I wiped out on a curve due to pedal strike. I went down hard on my left side and my helmet hit the ground pretty hard and skidded a little ways. When the paramedics came they asked if I was wearing a helmet and I showed it to them. I would have been in a bad way without it.

ghettocruiser

01-11-07, 02:58 PM

I was riding DH MTB, hit a rock....

Oh. If we're counting DH crashes, I think a lot of guys in the MTB forum could write a book. I've had quite a few wacks on rocks, trees, and the bike itself while wearing a fibreglass DH lid, it's pretty beat up (multi-impact rated), but no head injuries of any kind. I'm not sure this info is too helpful for commuters and roadies though.

timmhaan

01-11-07, 03:01 PM

i have never hit my head. even despite getting hit by a car and flying off into a telephone pole and landing as a useless lump on the sidewalk i still managed somehow to protect my head. and, yeah, i was wearing a helmet, but it suffered no scratches or damage.

eubi

01-11-07, 03:10 PM

Once, during a triathlon.

I was trying to pass a couple other cyclists by taking an inside line on a turn. I hit something very slick and went down hard on my side. My head cracked the curb. I had my helmet on, so for some reason I was more worried that I may have broken my ankle.

The helmet was one of those early hard-shell Bell models, so there was no apparent damage to it.

As it turned out, all I got was an impressive road rash on hip. My brother came along soon after, picked me up and ran with me for the final leg.

Nothing that indicated to me that I damaged anything but my pride, so no visit to the Doc was neccesary.

Did I ever get hit in the head while playing hockey? Shoot, every game! Now my hockey helmet got some use!

I am a firm believer in appropriate protective equipment.

N_C

01-11-07, 03:19 PM

The last time I hit my head in an accident was about 10 years ago. A truck ran me off the road. Rather then let the truck hit me I rode into the ditch, could not stay up & did a cross between an endo & fall to the side. The ditch was shallow & the grass & weeds were not very tall. When I entered it I was going about 20 mph, the grass & weeds & shallowness of the ditch did little to slow me down.

I fell into a steel fence post on the other side of the ditch, head first. If anyone has ever seen these fence posts farmers use to hold the barb wire they are narrow & thin. Not a wide surface area which would allow for a flatter impact, but more of a sharper edge, from the top it looks like a cross shape.

I felt the helmet compress as the edge of the post impacted into the helmet. As a result I had a mild concussion & was a bit dazed, could hardly stand up but did recall every moment of the incident.

Another motorist saw what happened, stopped & called 911. I was taken to the ER. where my frantic wife was waiting, apparently someone called her too, guess I gave them her number. I was checked out & went home after a couople of hours observation. I was advised had it not been for the helmet I would have been killed.

Oh & the SOB that ran me off the road was caught, arrested & had to serve time in jail for hit & run, even though his vehicle never made contact with me & I took the ditch as the lesser of the evil's. Per court order he or his insurance company had to pay my medical bills & for the damage to my bike, provided I did not sue, I agreed. I found out later the judge is a cyclist. I think that is why his punishment was as severe as it was.

atbman

01-11-07, 03:33 PM

I have hit my head after being hit by a car and going over the hood. It was scuffed up pretty good so I replaced it.

I have also hit my head mountain biking many times, but usually not bad enough that it needs replacing.

In the USA, you can get replacement heads?!?

Awesome!

By the way, being English, that is the first time I have ever used that word in such a context. It is unlikely that I shall ever do so again

Az B

01-11-07, 04:47 PM

1970. I was flying down a hill on a busy four lane... on the wrong side of the road. A guy turning right into traffic t-bones me as I pass his grill. Bike pretty much stopped moving at that point, but I kept going. Landed on my head. No helmet, (I don't think they even existed back then) knocked out cold for about a minute, and I suffered a massive concussion.

Just to give you an idea how much times have changed... the guy that hit me not only stopped, but he took my bike to a bike shop and had it fixed. Even though I was clearly in the wrong by riding on the wrong side of the road. And he was a young guy too, maybe 20. Two girls also stopped and took me home where my mom the nurse took care of my injuries.

How many 20 year olds would even stop these days?

Oh, and I got in big trouble for riding where I wasn't supposed to be. Took my bike away for quite a while.

Az

genec

01-11-07, 04:51 PM

In the USA, you can get replacement heads?!?

Awesome!

Yeah, but they are probably Microsoft tm heads and require constant rebooting and regular updates.

Not really worth the hassle. :D

Helmet Head

01-11-07, 05:07 PM

I've never hit my head in a bike crash.

DataJunkie

01-11-07, 05:28 PM

Never hit my head on or near a bike unless you count while working on a car in the garage.

joejack951

01-11-07, 05:55 PM

Never hit my head in a bike crash but I have, like DataJunkie, smacked my head many, many times while working on a car. Nothing is more painful than the combination of wrenching on a bolt only to have it suddenly break loose slamming your knuckles/elbow into something (using sharp) then flinging your head back in anguish only to smack it on a jack stand (solid steel held in place by 3000 lbs. is very unforgiving).

ken cummings

01-11-07, 05:57 PM

At least 4 serious crashes where the head hit the ground. One, like GaryA was over the hood of a car. Of the 4 the one where I had a mild concussion produced a crack in the foam. Replaced that helmet. By the way in two of the four the frame was bent enough to require replacement. Basic lesson learned: tuck and roll.

scottmorrison99

01-11-07, 06:04 PM

I crashed hard last month mountainbiking. I landed full force on the back left part of my helmet on a rock. A perfect one point landing. I put a deep dent in the helmet and suffered a pretty bad concussion. Went to the ER, had a CT scan, made full recovery. Doctor said I likely would have suffered severe injuries and possible brain damage without the helmet. The rock was big enough to crack my helmet, my head probably isn't that resilient.

michaelalanjone

01-11-07, 07:21 PM

I was flying down the road on my old Schwinn Le Tour, about 18 years ago, and I accidently hit the rear shift lever with my hand, as I was pedalling around a corner in traffic. When I did, the rear derailleur derailed the chain all the way off. I flew right over the handlebars, and landed on my big stupid head, in large gravel.

This was the last time I rode without a helmet. I got a concussion, and a day-long headache. Since I didn't have health insurance at that time, I did nothing with it. But I bought a helmet the next day.

jwc

01-11-07, 07:31 PM

I hit my head when I was about six or seven, when my aunt panic stopped my grandfather's 1960 Rambler wagon. I was sitting in the very back and was catapulted forward, over the fold-down rear seat and slammed into a metal bar under the driver's seat. Large knot on my forehead for about a week.

I crashed into a tree when I was about ten or eleven on my bike. I hit my head, but the pain was diminished by the pain in my gonads since the 'boys' contacted the headset rather hard.

I crashed a motorcycle at 18, no helmet, no head injury. Just scrapes and bruises, despite being catapulted from the bike at 30+mph and landed about twenty feet away on a sidewalk. To this day, I remember seeing the picket fence that ran along the sidewalk as I flew past it.

I crashed my bike on El Camino Real in San Mateo when I tried to ride up a drive way and the front wheel got caught on a little two inch curb. No helmet, no head injury, but the incident brought joy to the sidewalk patrons that day. They had a good laugh.

Was broadsided in my VW by a Honda Prelude in 1998. Despite my head not hitting anything in the car, I suffered a serious concussion and spent a year in a brain injury study. I had to be convince to go to the doctor. Initially, my injury was dismissed because I showed no external injury. After several days of ringing in my ear, vomiting, and disorientation, I revisited the doctor and rushed to an ER. My specialist explained how brain injuries occur and how injury (and even death) can result with no impact. It was an eye opener to say the least.

Robert Gardner

01-11-07, 07:48 PM

I did hit my helmet in a fall and flaked off the outer cover of it. The spill I took would not be taken by any of you. I am a left below the knee amputee. I was trying out a knew leg. While climbing a hill my prosthesis came off. My good leg was clipped in but I really couldn't continue the climb, so I tried to make a U-turn and go back down hill. I fell short of the turn and hit a high curb on the other side of the street. I went over the handle bar hitting my head on a post of a street sign. I know my helmet saved me from serious life threatening ijuries.

powerhouse

01-11-07, 10:51 PM

I once hit my head during a mild bicycle accident. While riding through a town at a moderate speed, I observed that I was approaching a diagonal railroad crossing ahead. No problem, I thought, and raised myself off the seat. What I didn't see was the enormous pothole on my side of the railroad crossing. As you might expect, I lost control of my bicycle as it hit the pothole and I went over the handlebars. I fell headfirst onto the rails of the grade crossing. Due to the fact that I was wearing a sturdy helmet that day, the only injuries I'd incurred were minor cuts and a mild headache. At the end of the ride, I cleaned my wounds and bought a new helmet.

jwc

01-12-07, 01:28 AM

seeker333

01-12-07, 02:51 AM

I've crashed only twice in the past 9 years / 3,100 hours of riding - road rash and resulting scars were my only injury.

My most spectacular crash ocurred in 1992 on a quiet rural road from 25 mph. I lost control in a sharp curve on a medium downhill at a gravel wash. I involuntarily performed a somersault and landed flat on my back on a 30 degree slope sliding down a wet grassy embankment. As I was lying there I watched my bike sail over me in almost slow motion, then stopping at a barb wire fence on down the hill (i had been strapped into toe clips). I had grass stains on my butt, elbows and back. The back of my helmet collected grass from the slide down the hill, also had grass in my shorts and under my shirt. This event fortunately was witnessed only by a few cows.

I never hit my head in any of these crashes. I was wearing a helmet in all the crashes.

I've hit my head maybe a couple dozen times times on the job over the past 20 years - against piping, beams, framing, conduit. In nearly every case my view of nearby overhead objects was obstructed by my hardhat.

Sandwarrior

01-12-07, 06:17 AM

Despite being hit by three cars since 1988, I have only hit my head once. There was ice on the bike path and rather than ride over it (it was a large rough patch, drippings from the bridge I was riding under), I dismounted and walked. About half way across, both feet went out from under me. I hit my head and cracked the helmet. I was unconscious for about 5 minutes. The ER doc said I would have been dead without the brain bucket.

LittleBigMan

01-12-07, 06:42 AM

I have hit my head on several occasions, but I don't think I've sustained any permanent damage of any kind.

I have hit my head on several occasions, but I don't think I've sustained any permanent damage of any kind.

straightedge

01-12-07, 09:09 AM

I hit my head once trying to hop over something with my bmx bike back in early '99, so I was only 12 then. I've hit my head a few times skateboarding, and it was always doing simple things, just being careless. I did wreck my road bike last summer, I had a stick jump into my front spoke as I approached our place. Did a nice endo but didn't hit my head (and I wasn't wearing a helmet), just some rash and bruising on my right side. The bike hit me in the face though, so I had a small cut on the left side of my face. I had also started wearing gloves while cycling last spring, I think this was the only time I didn't have them on since I was going to the dentist office and didn't want to have a bunch of cycling stuff in my pockets. I had my lock around my waist, but I slid on my right side (the way I perfected when skateboarding, tuck and roll, or slide sometimes.), so it didn't bite me.

LittleBigMan

01-12-07, 09:40 AM

I have hit my head on several occasions, but I don't think I've sustained any permanent damage of any kind. :) Most recently, at the end of August 2001 I was stiff-armed by a pedestrian and fell on my head/face (I don't remember any of it, but the helmet damage, injuries to my face, and scraped glasses gave it away.)

When I went back to work, I was butt-ugly to look at. :)

SingingSabre

01-12-07, 10:43 AM

Twice. First time, hit a pole while avoiding an SUV. Sir Isaac Newton took over and connected me with the ground which broke my fall. Left elbow was skinned badly and my helmet was nicely marked. I'm glad it was my helmet which was marked up and not my head, as I'm donating my hair.

Second time, I was cutting through some construction (better than dealing with the traffic construction causes!) and went under a frame for a chain link fence (which someone other than me cut open over a year ago). The frame had deteriorated since the last time I had gone through it and I scraped the top of my helmet on it. Had I not been wearing my helmet I would have either skinned the top of my head or missed the top of the frame entirely. Either way, I'm not hung up about it, I'm just glad I had the lid on!

john bono

01-12-07, 12:21 PM

Yep. During my 2 week flirtation with a walmart mtn bike. My flirtation ended when the brakes failed on a sharp, steep downhill turn, and I went over the handlebars, and my world went white, then grey, then white, then grey, then I came to a rest with a mouthful of pebbles. The part of the helmet that covered the temple was completely wrecked, and I had road rash on the parts of my head which touched the internal padding of the helmet(in addition to my entire left side, through my sweats and shirt).

slowandsteady

01-12-07, 12:54 PM

Gurgus

01-12-07, 01:26 PM

Back when I was in Boyscouts, we were at camp in the winter. Toeboganing ensued, I was on the back of the toebogan. Huge hill, I fall off the sled, laughing, turned around and got knocked the f**k out by another sled that hit me in the left eye. I was out for about a minute. I looked like John Merrick for about a month. I'm just glad I wasn't wearing my glasses when it happened. My mom almost fainted and fell down the stairs when she saw me. This was about 20 years ago and I'd like to say nothing happened to my brain, but now that I think about it, it might explain why my grades went to crap after that and my life turned out the way it did. This whole time I just thought it was the onset of puberty that ruined me.

Wogsterca

01-12-07, 10:00 PM

Yes, I have, at the time I was getting something out from under the stairs, went to stand up, right under a 15cm square beam at the landing:eek:, man I saw stars after that one...... I also uttered every profanity I had ever come in contact with, and I rarely use one...

richardmasoner

01-12-07, 10:25 PM

Been hit by cars twice and been in several bike-only crashes. Never hit my head. I started wearing a helmet in the mid/late 80s -- the goofy and HOT white foam Bells with lycra cover.

I have hit my head after being hit by a car and going over the hood. It was scuffed up pretty good so I replaced it..

Given that the antecedent for "it" seems to be "my head": You had to replace your head??

RFM

jwc

01-12-07, 10:47 PM

Been hit by cars twice and been in several bike-only crashes. Never hit my head. I started wearing a helmet in the mid/late 80s -- the goofy and HOT white foam Bells with lycra cover.

Given that the antecedent for "it" seems to be "my head": You had to replace your head??

RFM

:D

Thanks for the laugh.

SSIndyRider

01-13-07, 07:02 PM

Yes, just last summer - hit from behind by pickup - had quite a roll side over side when I hit the ground. My head hit asphalt, I think; gravel shouler I know - at least twice. Helmet sustained at least a dozen impact deformations, some small, some sharp points, plus the foam in front cracked through. Did go trauma center, but no injury at all to head. They definitely asked about it, but the cops took it, instead of the parameds, so they (nor I) could appreciate the impact it took for me, though I certainly would have had head lacerations at the least. Yes, of course I replaced it.

ivegotabike

01-13-07, 07:12 PM

Ii hit my head during a bike accident when I was not wering a helmet, Im not sure what happened because I dont remember it, or anything else for 2 days afterwards. I was hospitalized for 3 days.

byte_speed

01-13-07, 07:33 PM

Broke a chain (sloppy self repair job) a couple of weeks ago crunching up a short but steep hill. I don't fully remember the incident, but I am pretty sure I went over the bars and hit my head on the pavement.

The first thing I really remember, I was laying in the road somewhat dazed. A lady in an SUV stopped and asked if I was OK. I assured her I was, and she drove off. As she was leaving, I remember thinking, other than not knowing my name nor what month it is, I'm just fine.

It seems a little odd now, but I was very concerned that I didn't know the month, but not knowing my name didn't bother me at all. Another odd angle, even though I didn't know my name, I did know which way was home. As I walked the 1 1/2 miles back to the house, my senses returned to their normal dull state and I am fine now.

When I got home, I examined my helmet, which was a little scuffed and had suffered a small crack. I wore it once or twice while waiting to find a replacement and the "small" crack turned out not to be all that small, as a sizable piece of the helmet fell out.

All told, I am very glad I had the helmet.

JohnBrooking

01-13-07, 08:10 PM

Not while riding. In 4+ years of commuting, I have had no collisions, and only one near collision where I have gone down. I went over the bars and landed on my side. Although I usually wear a helmet, I was not doing so at the time. :o

However, I have been glad to be wearing the helmet when I occasionally bump my head on the top of the shed's door frame putting the bike away! :D

N_C

01-13-07, 09:04 PM

bmclaughlin807

01-13-07, 09:53 PM

In over 20 years of riding, I've never hit my head in an accident. I have hit my head in 3 car accidents, hit my head numerous times while working, once when rock climbing, and 3 times my head was slammed into a wall hard enough to cause a concussion during school fights.

On my bike I've flipped over the handle bars three times, needed stitches in my left arm once, caused over $1000 damage to the front of a truck that hit me, ruined at least 3 pairs of pants, smashed on mp3 player, and put a bruise over 12" across on my thigh when I hit a chain at about 15 miles an hour.

N_C

01-13-07, 10:04 PM

jwc

01-13-07, 11:04 PM

I should have been more clear on this. When I asked if you have ever hit your head, I meant only while you were riding a bike. Whether you were moving on it or stopped & fell over. We have all probably bumped our heads on something non-cycling related in our lifetime. Lord knows I have. So when ever I do any sort of project on my house where there are things over head I can hit my head on I wear a hard hat.

In that respect, not really. When I hit the tree, I think my nuts absorbed most of the impact.

You're kidding about the hard hat around the house thing right? That's a little extreme.

bobsut

01-13-07, 11:36 PM

I've worn a helmet since the days of the Bell Biker - mid 70s?

In the early 90s I was riding a MUP in Worthington OH. As I approached a curve to the left, a woman came around the curve in the opposite direction. She didn't keep her bike on the inside of the curve. I dodged to the right to avoid her, onto wet grass. My front wheel slipped sideways to the right and I fell to the left. My shoulder landed in the muddy grass and my helmeted head hit the pavement. I was dazed badly enough that I walked my bike to the nearest trailhead, and used the pay phone (remember those?) to call my wife for a ride home. I didn't seek medical attention. The foam inside the helmet was cracked, so I replaced the helmet.

In December 2006 my son (13) braked to avoid a car turning left in front of him. My son lost control of the bike and fell. He had a broken collarbone and a mild concussion. The helmet's foam was depressed to leave a gap in an area under the outer skin. We replaced the helmet while his collarbone was healing.