When I was younger, in the 1970s-'80s, I mostly rode without a helmet. The Bell was too expensive for my tiny budget and was the only proper bike helmet available then. I tried a padded vinyl replica of the leather hairnet but could tell immediately it wouldn't do any good. And I tried to improvise with a field hockey helmet -- hot and ridiculous looking. So I went bareheaded.

Even when I crashed or was struck by vehicles (always slow speed, usually at residential neighborhood stop sign intersections), I never struck my head.

But nowadays I wouldn't ride without a helmet, for various reasons.

A 2001 car wreck broke my back and neck in several places. Even now the C2 crunches and grinds and I can't bend my neck enough to do any significant strengthening exercises.

With age I figured I'd be less able to react quickly enough to avoid hitting my head. Sure enough, when I was struck by a car while I was riding my bike this spring, my head hit the pavement. The helmet took the impact. First time that's happened.

There's also a legal liability issue. If I'm struck by a car and I'm not wearing a helmet, could the insurance company for the guilty party claim my injuries might have been minimized if I'd worn a helmet? I've already had previous experience with insurance companies using tricks to avoid compensating injured persons. The helmet is a relatively inexpensive bit of insurance against bad faith insurance companies.

A helmet also adds another bit of information that can be used by alert drivers. A quick glance around, see a helmet above the roof line of an adjacent car, you know immediately there's a cyclist there. A bareheaded cyclist in the same situation, where only the head is visible above the roof line of a car, might be mistaken for a slower moving jogger or pedestrian. Every bit of info that can be taken in at a glance helps.

Helmets now are so lightweight, well ventilated and comfortable I can't find any reason not to wear one.