Hooray for Helmets

Fortunately, these are the booboos I got on my mountain bike ride today.

Today I learned I have hairy elbows.

Why fortunately? These are not pictures of a piece or two of my brain.

My badness at mountain riding has already been established. Today I got to prove to myself that I quite possibly still need training wheels. And that I definitely need a new helmet.

Bill and I headed out for a ride. About 898 meters from our front door, riding on boring flat cement, I bit it. Hard. My wheels slid out from under me and that was that.

My head broke my fall.

The loudest sound I have ever heard slammed through my ears. A crack, followed by a cartoonish sound of a spring. SPLUUUUUUMPPPP!

I laid there for a bit, glad that I wasn’t in the way of oncoming traffic. Bill helped me scoop myself up off the ground and I took inventory. Booboo elbow? Check! Booboo knee? Check! My bike gloves kept my hands well and I was glad to be wearing long sleeves and tights or else the booboos would have been worse. I felt mostly ok and entirely dumb.

I took off my helmet to readjust the straps and was greeted with a crack along the side. I knew I had hit my head hard but, woah. I was a bit freaked out – I always, always ride with a helmet but have never actually used one to actively protect my brainy bits.

If I hadn’t been wearing a helmet I am absolutely sure I would have experienced my first ambulance ride today.

We eventually continued on our way (and I wore the helmet – in hindsight I should have gone home to exchange for another one) and I had the most timid ride of my life.

I look scared to be on a  big-girl bike.

I will probably now begin wearing a helmet while standing still, driving, showering, running and sleeping. Because helmets reduce smooshed heads.

Since I started biking I have wondered why some people don’t wear helmets. Do they not like their skulls? Do their brains make them angry? What?

I feel bad for the helmet I had to put down today. It did its job well and because of that it now lives in the trash amongst cat litter, zucchini peels and string cheese wrappers (string cheese is so delicious).

Thank you, Mr. Helmet. May you RIP.



We are smiling because I still have a brain.