After this past weekend's training on Bicycle Safety Education, which included helmet fitting, the Safe Routes to School team has spent all week reminding me that my bicycle helmet is unsafe and abused. My (barely sufficient) Americorps stipend makes dropping 35 dollars on anything a tall order, but my work with elementary and middle school students has taught me that a helmet is one thing that is definitely worth the money. For too long I've been telling myself that just wearing the helmet, despite its scratches and degraded foam pads was enough. This morning I finally bought a new, stylish, USCPSC safety-rated helmet from Clever Cycles. I avoided helmets with snag points sticking out, visors that might not snap off in a crash, and with those cool "aero" designs. I did not, however, avoid polka dots. A co-worker fit the helmet for me according to the How to Fit a Bicycle Helmet brochure, which you can get from the BTA office.

And while I obey traffic laws and haven't had a bicycle crash in years, the average careful bike rider may still crash about every 4,500 miles. (Just counting errands and commuting, I ride over 5,500 miles a year.) Head injuries cause 75% of our 750+ annual bicycle deaths. Medical research shows that bike helmets can prevent 85% of cyclists' head injuries. And for Oregonians under the age of 16, and now everyone in Vancouver (WA), they're the law.

My old helmet, while it had never been in a crash, had probably been dropped on the floor more than was fair, and had seen a number of days of being left in the rain hanging from my bicycle. While I don't care if my bicycle has scratches (feel free to stop by the BTA anytime to see the nicely destroyed paint job on my Cannondale R Series), it can be a sign of reduced effectiveness on a bicycle helmet. Rain can degrade the quality of the pads on the inside of the helmet (mine were threadbare in spots.)

My question is, what does one do with an old, unsafe helmet? Any art project ideas?

I certainly feel much safer now that I have a properly fitted, USCPSC standards-rated bicycle helmet. I will have to resist the temptation to add a sticker to the smooth surface, as it is designed to slide along the pavement to protect the neck from being jerked in a crash.

I just have to pony up enough money to tape these handlebars now, which have been bare metal for over a year. I never said I didn't procrastinate. What are you procrastinating on getting for your bikey lifestyle?

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