Errrmmm kind've interesting as I am an A&S regular.. here, commuting, C&V and SS/FG are my main haunts.. so am I new here or one of the regular malcontents? And no, I don't open VC or this thread usually because I know what typically goes on in both of these areas.

And you can be middleground, before a recent accident I advocated anyone new or unsteady to get a helmet and wear it. If you had skills I didn't care because in my book gloves were the one true essential.. but even doing everything right and having skills didn't save me from superficial damage in my crash and how/where it happened any old helmet would have saved me from all but a 2" area of minor road rash and about a week of recuperating, and it would have also saved my favorite cycling cap! Now I'm heavily pro helmet.. regardless of skill etc.