Stupid Cyclist (Page 2)

My apologies for the comment I'm about to make.

If it were not for Soccer Mom's with Multiple Children in their SUV we wouldn't need helmets.

So please pay attention to your driving and not what other people are wearing. 

Gosh I'm sorry.  But I felt compelled to speak my mind.  Don't be a hater.

I respect that.

I was having a flashback of an incident where a Mom and children were driving in their Navigator complete with flip down TV screen for the little rats to watch.  She turned in front of me and I almost face-planted the side of her tank.  She honked and flipped me off as if I were doing something wrong, riding a bike on a public road (I commute to wok by bike).  I've been honked and flipped off a number of times but this one really heated me.  She wasn't paying attention and almost killed me and her response was to blame me for her inattentive driving. 

I agree.  Its stupid not to wear a helmet.  I have been known not to wear one on solo country rides just to get that freedom feeling.  But I would never go out in traffic or with a group without one.  I've seen too many wrecks and heard too many stories about cyclists becoming vegetables after a simple crash.

I really feel like people should be allowed to make whatever decisions they want (helmet, no helmet) as long as they are willing to accept the consequences that go along with their decision.  I feel like people often make stupid decisions and then they don't want to take what goes along with it.  There just needs to be more personal responsibility in general.  I still wear a helmet because I think it's important.  I wish there was a way to protect other things - like my collarbone, which I've already broken once.  But that's just me.  Other people can do what they want and I'll do what I want.  I don't really think it's fair to decide that someone is stupid because of the decisions they make.  It's just what they've decided.  You might not agree with it, but it's certainly something that they get to decide for themselves.

I think most people would agree that wearing a helmet will add a degree of safety when cycling, however, I disagree that people should speak up and make comments or suggestions when they see someone riding without a helmet.  I guess it is a pet peeve of mine...hearing people tell others what they should or should not do.  I have a neighbor who seems to think she has all the answers to life.  My favorite line from her was - "You shouldn't be sending your kids to Summer Camp.  Kids need freedom during the summer."  Meanwhile, she lost her 2 year old.  The baby was found an hour later in a neighbor's back yard across a busy road.  I don't mean to take the discussion off on a tangent but it really irks me that people have the arrogance to think they know what is best for others.  That being said, wearing a helmet for me and my kids is second nature.  We get in a car, we buckle our seat belts.  We get on our bikes, we buckle our helmets.

If you don't wear a helmet, then the devil will get you.

By your logic, wouldn't you consider riding a bike legally on the road to be stupid? After all, the riskiest part of "riding a bike on the road without a helmet" is easily "riding a bike on the road." The "without a helmet" just adds an incremental amount of risk.

MomX3 - 2006-03-10 11:00 AM  You're right - so you're all stupid. Just kidding. I know there are risks involved in lots of things we all do, but if there is a little measure you can take to help reduce that risk (wear a helmet, wear a seatbelt, quit smoking) then I think it would be smart to do it. I guess I shouldn't have said it is a preventabvle risk, lowering your risk would have been a better way to say it.

We can get caught up arguing the minutiae of this, but it seems to me that it lowers your risk such a tiny degree relative to the greater risk of riding your bike outside, that it's disingenuous to call someone stupid for accepting the incremental risk while ignoring the greater risk of being out there in the first place. I argue the same thing about wearing headphones while running on the road.

Regardless, that's your prerogative.

Ooooh, don't get me started on stories about people commenting on other's lives.  I have loads of them!  One of my favorites is the overweight guy in my office who asked me if I was putting on a little too much weight during one of my pregnancies.  LOL!  And can you believe I held my tongue?  When are people going to understand there is no cookie cutter for life.  The world is full of individuals who make thier own decisions and choices and no one has all the "right" answers.  Sorry - end of rant!

Part of accepting the consequences is accepting the effects your actions have for everyone close to you.  I think about the consequences my actions have for me, my husband, and my family.  But, I don't think that anyone (outside of that group) should tell me what to do.  I guess I'm much more of a libertarian in that way.  People should be allowed to decide for themselves.

Part of accepting the consequences is accepting the effects your actions have for everyone close to you.  I think about the consequences my actions have for me, my husband, and my family.  But, I don't think that anyone (outside of that group) should tell me what to do.  I guess I'm much more of a libertarian in that way.  People should be allowed to decide for themselves.