Stealth Cyclist s.

My new office overlooks a main road in inner Glasgow.
Has anybody else noticed the strange habit many urban
commuter cyclists have of riding at night with no lights but wearing a
helmet. Do people really believe their helmet will make much
difference. And what strange logic makes somebody go to the trouble of
wearing a helmet but then not bother using lights?
Iain

wrote:
My new office overlooks a main road in inner Glasgow.
Has anybody else noticed the strange habit many urban
commuter cyclists have of riding at night with no lights but wearing a
helmet. Do people really believe their helmet will make much
difference. And what strange logic makes somebody go to the trouble of
wearing a helmet but then not bother using lights?
Iain


I don't know the answer to your question but I have two of my own:

How much money has been spent on promoting helmets over the last decade?
and
How much has been spent on promoting lights?

[on 14 Mar 2005 11:06:09 -0800] wrote:

Has anybody else noticed the strange habit many urban
commuter cyclists have of riding at night with no lights but wearing a
helmet.

Not really, no. Lack of lights, certainly...but I don't see tooo many
bicyclists with helmets.

Do people really believe their helmet will make much difference.

I would say a helmet does make a difference.

And what strange logic makes somebody go to the trouble of
wearing a helmet but then not bother using lights?

Perhaps it takes more time to repair a light than to put a helmet on? %-\


--
Low Countries By Bike - http://lowcountriesbybike.info
Riding on two wheels in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany

On 14 Mar 2005 11:06:09 -0800, wrote in
.com, seen in
uk.rec.cycling:

And what strange logic makes somebody go to the trouble of
wearing a helmet but then not bother using lights?

The same one that makes car drivers think that it's safer to drive
along well-lit city streets with their foglights on?

I'm bemused by the dark-clothed cyclists who think they're safe
because they have a tiny flashing LED attached to the back of the
bike.

--
Ross, in Lincoln
Reply-to address will bounce; replace "junk-trap" with "me" for e-mail

"Ross Hamilton" wrote in message
...
On 14 Mar 2005 11:06:09 -0800, wrote in
.com, seen in
uk.rec.cycling:

And what strange logic makes somebody go to the trouble of
wearing a helmet but then not bother using lights?

The same one that makes car drivers think that it's safer to drive
along well-lit city streets with their foglights on?

I'm bemused by the dark-clothed cyclists who think they're safe
because they have a tiny flashing LED attached to the back of the
bike.


I find it funnier when someone puts on a reflective vest, then covers it
with a rucksack.

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 20:10:15 +0100, Erick T. Barkhuis
wrote in message
:

I would say a helmet does make a difference.

Not been around here long, have you?


Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

Just zis Guy, you know? [on Mon, 14 Mar 2005 19:34:25 +0000] wrote:
On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 20:10:15 +0100, Erick T. Barkhuis

I would say a helmet does make a difference.

Not been around here long, have you?

I must admit that's true. I have been lurking, though.
In fact, I'm a regular at plenty of motorbike forums and newsgroups. It
struck me that in those communities, the consensus is opposite to what it
appears to be here. And that's why I keep reading here...it's interesting
to see both sides.

At forums and newsgroups about _serious_ motorbike riding (not the Harley
'loud pipes, T-shirts' type), it's always: 'Dress for the crash...not for
the ride'. Those who don't wear a helmet are not taken seriously.

Frankly, I don't see the difference between a bicyclists doing 25mph and
a motorbike rider at the same (or slightly higher) speed. A helmetless
head banged against a light pole is not going to survive without a decent
helmet.

Please, allow me to ask nicely and politely:
Could it be that even in this newsgroup plenty of bicyclists DO believe
that a helmet can make a lot of difference, but due to peer pressure,
don't express such opinion?

--
Low Countries By Bike - http://lowcountriesbybike.info
Riding on two wheels in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany

Just zis Guy, you know? [on Mon, 14 Mar 2005 19:34:25 +0000] wrote:
On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 20:10:15 +0100, Erick T. Barkhuis

I would say a helmet does make a difference.

Not been around here long, have you?

I must admit that's true. I have been lurking, though.
In fact, I'm a regular at plenty of motorbike forums and newsgroups. It
struck me that in those communities, the consensus is opposite to what it
appears to be here. And that's why I keep reading here...it's interesting
to see both sides.

At forums and newsgroups about _serious_ motorbike riding (not the Harley
'loud pipes, T-shirts' type), it's always: 'Dress for the crash...not for
the ride'. Those who don't wear a helmet are not taken seriously.

Frankly, I don't see the difference between a bicyclist doing 25mph and
a motorbike rider at the same (or slightly higher) speed. A helmetless
head banged against a light pole is not going to survive.

Please, allow me to ask nicely and politely:
Could it be that even in this newsgroup plenty of bicyclists DO believe
that a helmet can make a lot of difference, but due to peer pressure,
don't express such opinion?

--
Low Countries By Bike - http://lowcountriesbybike.info
Riding on two wheels in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany

Erick T. Barkhuis wrote:
[on 14 Mar 2005 11:06:09 -0800] wrote:


Has anybody else noticed the strange habit many urban
commuter cyclists have of riding at night with no lights but wearing a
helmet.


Not really, no. Lack of lights, certainly...but I don't see tooo many
bicyclists with helmets.


Do people really believe their helmet will make much difference.


I would say a helmet does make a difference.

To what?

You might like to peruse some of the articles at www.cyclehelmets.org
before you reply.

R.

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 20:59:05 +0100, Erick T. Barkhuis
wrote:

Frankly, I don't see the difference between a bicyclist doing 25mph and
a motorbike rider at the same (or slightly higher) speed. A helmetless
head banged against a light pole is not going to survive.

Please, allow me to ask nicely and politely:
Could it be that even in this newsgroup plenty of bicyclists DO believe
that a helmet can make a lot of difference, but due to peer pressure,
don't express such opinion?

Opinions are very mixed.

Pedal cycle helmets and motorcycle helmets are not made of the same
stuff, and are not certified to the same standards.

Many people on here believe that pedal cycle helmets are basically
**** poor at protecting the wearer at the speeds you describe. There
is also a belief that pedal cycle helmets can actually make injuries
worse than if not wearing a helmet at all.


--
Microsoft Sam speaks his mind:
www.artybee.net/sam_speaks_his_mind.mp3