My first helmet, purchased in 1990, was a slab of black Styrofoam reinforced internally with metal bars. I found it uncomfortable, but I understood how easily accidents happen -- I had slipped on wet leaves a few years earlier and broke a bone in my hand. I was lucky that time. The fall happened in less than a second, not enough time to do anything to protect one's head.

After 26 years, I don't even notice I'm wearing a helmet anymore. Donning it is automatic/second nature. I'm more likely to forget my house keys!

In Holland three years ago, I saw thousands of cyclists. Maybe two or three wore helmets. I rented a bike to toodle around the city of Tilburg, and felt naked and vulnerable without a helmet, despite the exquisite cycling infrastructure. I guess I'm habituated to helmet wearing.

The only person I know who got a traumatic brain injury from a bicycle accident is from Holland. I met him several years post-TBI, and he still had not fully recovered.