There are a lot of sports that involve helmets. Football players, batters during baseball or softball games and professional bicycle riders wouldn’t dream of playing these sports without proper headgear. So, why do people who ride bicycles, motorcycles, skateboards, roller blades and horses want to skip them?
I will grant that I have yet to find a truly comfortable helmet. They all buckle under the chin, and it aggravates my asthma. But I can tell you I wouldn’t dream of doing any of those sports without proper headgear.
I can also tell you truthfully that has saved my life.
We were doing mounting exercises. As my daughter hadn’t planned on having me actually ride the horse that day, we could have skipped it. However, she insisted and I agreed.
I accidentally kicked her side too hard, and she took off, with me only a quarter of the way into the saddle. When I finally kicked my foot free of the irons, the horse was going pretty fast. I through myself backwards and pretty much that’s all I know about my landing.
I came to face down in the paddock. My nose was bleeding from a rock it landed on and I felt shaky all over. After mentally checking my limbs and the rest of me for serious injuries, I rolled over and got up. We didn’t realize how bad it could have been until I took the helmet off and we looked at the back of it. There was a 3+ inch crack where my head had connected with before the force of the fall flipped me over.
It was a serious accident, but it would very definitely have completely altered (or ended) my life without that important headgear.
At least once a week, I see or hear a story about a bike rider or motorcycle rider who died from the lack of a helmet. In fact, many states now have mandatory helmet laws for both bikes. These states have had a dramatic drop in the number of deaths per capita as those who don’t have any laws.
It’s fun to get out there and ride. Wearing a helmet is a small price to pay to make sure you live through the fun you’re having.