As I walked my dog this late morning, I saw my neighbor with his grandson, the boy scooting along on his balance bike, and the neighbor following on his bike. Neither with a helmet. When he saw me, I gave a half-hearted wave and shook my head.
With the dog walk over, I put on my running gear and headed to the nature preserve to get my five miles in. About two miles into it, where the steepest part of the route is, there was a young kid (about 4-years-old) and her mom coming down the hill at a rapid pace. As I took notice, I could see that this girl was flying, and all of a sudden the bike developed the dreaded “death (speed) wobble” (video example), and she lost control and hit the pavement hard. Mom freaked out, grabbing both brakes, and also wiped out right next to her, with her leg folding under her in the most awkward and painful-looking way. The youngster had on a helmet and popped up fairly quickly, declaring herself to be okay. Mom looked to be in pain, but was very concerned about her daughter. After realizing that they were both lucky to not have been seriously hurt, I told the mom that she may want to consider wearing a helmet as well.
This mom, I’m sure, felt bad about what happened, but seriously… This hilly nature preserve is not the place for very young and inexperienced riders to be riding on. It’s easy to understand why a 4-year-old is not an experienced rider, but just knowing that mom wasn’t wearing a helmet and riding a mountain bike on a wet, paved slick trail at a really fast pace also tells me that she wasn’t an experienced rider, either. I’m sure she thinks that she’s an adult and can make adult decisions for herself, and that these things won’t happen to her, but there she was, picking herself up and worrying that her kid was alright. The kid can’t make these decisions on her own. I hope she isn’t forced by mom to ride back there again until she’s old enough to handle a bike with speed.
I’ve seen numerous posts on the triathlon and cycling groups I’m on where a rider will post damaged pictures of their helmet, with the words “the doctor said thank goodness you were wearing a helmet.” I have a local friend who has crashed twice this year; both times his helmet saved him from a serious head injury.
I know I’m preaching to the choir. I know that you didn’t wear a helmet as a kid and made it out alive. I know that the kid and her mom today got up and continued to where they were going with only minor scrapes. I know. But it could have been very serious.
Wear a damn helmet when riding a bike.
an amazing run 