Sammyboy

I've a suspicion that this will sound stupid when I'm calmer, but I need to vent now.

I had a stupid looking helmet, and as a result, I didn't wear it often, mostly if I was riding with my son. I came to the conclusion that this was both stupid and hypocritical, so I bought a cooler helmet, a Bell Faction. Since then, I've been wearing it every time I ride. I live in England, and generally, people are great with cyclists - I don't get buzzed, I don't get yelled at, everything is fine. I've noticed, however, since I started wearing a helmet, that all sorts of people feel at liberty to say all sorts of things to me. I've had "Hahahaha - look at nob-head", I've had (whilst riding perfectly safely) "no wonder you wear a helmet if you ride like that!", and various others. Literally almost every time I've been out wearing it. I did get more aggro wearing my old helmet, but I was almost always on the tandem then as well, and I guess I put it down to that.

Today, I was riding home from the station, and pulled up to a set of lights, next to 3 chavvy teenagers (probably 18), two with faux-downhill mountain bikes. One of them pipes up "Oi, safety boy! Yeah, you, helmet head! Safety boy!". As soon as he was sure he'd got my attention, he said "Your mum. Yeah you. You're mum. I ****ed your mum". Now I'm a big bloke, 6'3, 240 lbs, shaved head, goatee beard; people just don't start on me in the street, but somehow, in my suit and helmet, he'd clearly decided I was a soft target. I'm also smart enough and in control enough not to get involved, but I wasn't going to put my head down and act like a scared kid. I met his eyes, and gave him a big grin, moving my shoulders as though I were laughing. That really sent him off, and by the time the lights changed, he was bug eyed, and screaming at me, still trying to get under my skin, and evidently unhappy that he hadn't.

Now, as you can tell, I'm grown up enough not to get into it with some street kid, and big enough not to be frightened, but despite the impression I gave, I WAS angry. All the way home I was on edge, and then at another set of lights, somebody lent out the window of their van and said something to me. I couldn't here what he said, but he didn't look angry - he was gesticulating, but not wildly or rudely, so I looked around, in case I'd dropped something, but there was nothing. I found myself wanting to chase the guy down and ask him what the hell he wanted, though he had done nothing. I also wanted to kick the door in on a car that pulled out from a little late, even though I had plenty of space to stop. This is not what cycling is like for me, and a) I didn't like it, and b) I didn't feel it was likely I was riding as safely or sensibly as normal, given all the adrenalin.

It's making me wonder whether I might not just stop wearing the helmet during daylight hours in Southampton. In London, I don't get any hassle, and I'd certainly keep wearing it at night, or when out riding country roads, but if the result of my wearing it in town is that I feel like tearing someone's throat out, I may think twice about that.....

Mr. Underbridge

Surely you're not considering stopping wearing a helmet simply because of what morons yell at you. I don't think I'd let provocations from teenagers change my behavior.

From your post, you mention that you wear the helmet to set a good example for your son - you don't want to tell him that Daddy stopped wearing a helmet because of peer pressure from teenagers, do you?

I'm 30, and stopped caring long ago what 15 year olds think.

Denny Koll

It's sounds funny the way you tell it.."Safety Boy"...LOL.

If it was me I might get a Safety Boy decal made for my helmet.

flipped4bikes

How old are you? How old are they? Moving on...

Sammyboy

I'm 35, they were probably 18, and when I calm down, I'll probably think about this differently. It's not a matter of their peer pressure though, it's a question of whether I'm more prone to an accident after getting wound up like that. I wouldn't like my helmet to increase my chances of death!

dynaryder

Just be glad you're not a ginger.....

Sammyboy

Hahahahahaha, ok, that's cheered me up significantly!

Tequila Joe

At 6'3" & 240 lbs, you need to ride your bike with a shirt like this... You will be left alone.

Ian Freeman

Wear the helmet if you like it. As mentioned, the jabbering of teenagers is little to be concerned about. As for the change in treatment on the road, here's a theory:

When you ride without a helmet, drivers and onlookers will see a risk-taker. The apparent danger you put yourself in by not wearing protective gear earns a sort of respect from people, because they would be fearful to do the same. WITH helmet, some people will interpret your responsible protection as a sign of weakness, that you are afraid of damaging yourself. For a few, this translates instantly into wimpy-ness, and people are compelled to make themselves feel superior by ridiculing your safety gear.

Sammyboy

I'm sure you're exactly right about this. I might try feeding the helmet to the next naysayer. I am going to customize it a little (lose the Bell sticker, and paint an eye on the elliptical gap it leaves, something like "Heads Up Lemmings" in reflective paint across the back), maybe that will help. I'm sure the suit and tie and old touring bike all go together with it to say "geography teacher", or something.

donnamb 

Dude, you're a grown-up. Do what you feel is best for you.

Sammyboy

I know Donna, and I will. But I needed to vent a bit first. Damn kids......

bmclaughlin807

I didn't care what 15 year olds thought when I was 15.

Artkansas 

I think we all have days like that, where a moron gets on our nerves. What can you do except to let it fade and at least remind yourself to let it drop and try to point your head back in the right direction.

aubinmg

Get yourself a tacky little eagle statuette like Sheldon's and strap it to your helmet. Your son will love it and it will infuriate the yahoos even more.

Ian Freeman

I agree that making your helmet unique will help. Wacky individualism garners respect in my experience. People would probably be more inclined to compliment your outrageous modifications to the helmet than make fun of it.

andrelam

I used to get cr@p like that when I was in high school back in the late 1980's and was the ONLY person riding a bike to school. I had to ride along a narrow road and had to contend with all the busses that were coming into and out of the school. I quickly decided that I didn't like the odds of what would happen if I got bumpled so I bought a Bell V1-Pro. Helmets were still very unusual back then.

There have been plenty of posts here by folks that have had simple slow speed falls from their bikes, and the pcitures of some of the head gashes are enough to ensure that I will keep on riding my bike. The gash may heal, but staples in my head are NOT cool.

Happy riding,
André

dynaryder

Nah. Put some antlers on it and tell 'em you're a druid!

donnamb 

Nothing wrong with that.

jmeier

I just ask how much someones brain is worth when I get random flack from strangers...

to the old "mom" jokes...
"dude, she's like 80 and fat....I feel sorry for ya" or something along those lines....usually works for me

mikepoole

+1

Or, perhaps a crest like a Roman centurion's helmet. Or both.

Sawtooth

Holy cow. I have never even thought that I might get crap about wearing a helmet...Maybe it is a cultural thing. I have never heard a word about it and almost every......hate to say this...."REAL"..... cyclist I see is wearing one. It is just what one wears when riding a bike any significant distance at all around here.

In an attempt to avoid a heated debate, my definition of a "real" cyclist is someone who either rides a lot or thinks about riding a lot. I would not call someone who runs from the store entrance to his car a "real" runner. Likewise, in my opinion, someone who occaisionally rides a bike around the neighborhood is not a "real" cyclist. The event or thoughts about the event have to be salient in the person's life in order to be considered an "enthusiast", IMO.

rankin116

Only thing I have been called so far is "Lance." Like "get off the road Lance." I'm only a tad smaller than the OP, so in no way do I resemble Lance.

edzo

dude it is not peer pressure because they are not your peers

anyhow...
you should rip off their arms and bust their domes with them

Sammyboy

I'm constantly amazed at the aggravation American cyclists get for riding on the road etc. I guess the UK is not immune from having it's own special problems......