Someone at the office relayed a story to me last week. Decades ago, in another state, a young man and his wife and small child were on a family bicycle outing. Taking it easy, smell the roses ride. The road suddenly turned rough and the mother lost control, falling sideways and hitting her head directly. She had no helmet, and tragically was killed instantly. He allowed that he always wears a helmet, no exceptions, because he thinks of that story. I stumbled through some platitude about doing whatever we think we need, to stay safe.

But what it really reminded me of was our natural tendency to form a psychological dependency when we do things from habit. Let that go long enough, and we'll start to project unrealistic qualities onto the object in question. It had been awhile since I commuted without my helmet, so I resolved to do a week or two bare-headed to flush all of that out. I have to say, it makes the commute a fraction more pleasant, and incrementally more convenient, at the cost of an tiny increase in risk.