At the risk of inflaming the tone of the board, I have to agree here. That is, cycling w/out is a helmet is closely comparable to walking on a sidewalk near traffic without a helmet, riding in the back seat of car without a helmet, or backpacking without a helmet. Who here reacts with disgust seeing a backpacker on a steep trail without a helmet?

The hold that helmets have on the imagination of even many cyclists is weird. Cyclists are a freethinking lot, usually, particularly those who mix it up in traffic. Yet on this issue there's so much unthinking pro-helmet commentary it's puzzling.