Originally Posted by jeremywhitehorn
actually i've been thinking lately about how much i don't like wearing a helmet and how i never used to wear one. in fact, went many year of cycling mountain biking and all, without one. now i guess it's like a guilty force of habit. any non-helmeteers here?
I used to ride on the street without one. A couple of years ago, I had a pretty standard crash, where I sort of went over the bars at moderate speed. I had my arm extended to protect my head, but when my hand touched down, it slid on a patch of ice, and the top left hand side of my face/forehead smacked the pavement. I broke the bones around my left eye, crushed my left cheekbone, and collapsed my sinus, and ended up with a really, really serious concussion. I was in the hospital for 3 weeks, had a 6 hour surgury putting my head back together, and missed a semester of school. It took me 4 or 5 months to regain my strength.
The funny thing is, I was really, really lucky to have gotten off so easily. The plastic surgeon told me I was fortunate to not have severe brain damage, and to have sight in my left eye.
I'm pretty sure a helmet would have prevented alot, if not all of the damage I sustained. I wear one now, as do most of my friends who knew me at the time of my accident.