Salsa once crashed into a tree wearing his bran-spanking-new spiffy & pricey helmet. He dented the helmet, and was really feeling like he should still be able to use it. We were at a NORBA race in Banner Elk NC, and one of the people staying with us just happened to be - you guessed it - a rocket scientist. He opined that if Salsa wanted to mow lawn for a living, using a bashed helmet was A-OK, but if he actually planned to be an engineer, he might just want to invest in a new model.

He pulled the same stunt the following year in VT, and was very, very glad he had a helmet that was undamaged when he began the race, because it was split when he finished with that tree on the last downhill of the XC course. Our buddy medic made him stay awake for hours after that one....