Love and hate

I love my ski helmet, but I hate my bike helmet. It reminds me of an old Star Trek episode in which Mr. Spock says to identical female androids "I love you, however,.. I hate you."

Both helmets have saved my butt and perhaps kept me from leading a different lifestyle. I wouldn't think of skiing without a helmet. From the day I put it on I've never taken it off. I tried to ski without it one run, and just went back to my car and got it. I haven't skied without it since regardless of the weather. I wouldn't think of racing without it. The white marks on it are from hitting gates on my head.

I just about lost all of my front teeth last year when I hooked my tip on a gate and went straight onto my face. was down on the course for quite a while and did a quick self assesment as I always do when I crash. I couldn't feel my face as it went numb. I used my toung to see if all my teeth were still in place. I did get a bloody nose and black eye. I keep the slalom chin guard on all the time now and even for Giant Slalom. I had been a little worried that if I went onto my face at speed then the chin guard might cause my neck to break. But I think I'll focus on saving my face first.
The bike helmet is different. I'm not fond of these. One did save me from being scalped and perhaps paralyzed after a car hit me from the side. I was very lucky I was wearing a helmet that day as I didn't wear one all of the time back then.

I was riding home from work and had the right of way crossing and intersection. This woman didn't see me and just turned right into me, launching me into the air and on my head into the side of the road. Her front bumper just missed my ankle and smashed into my rear wheel. If it had hit my ankle It would have destroyed my ablilty to walk normally and I might have lost my foot. I remember watching the gravel spray away from the helmet while I was upside down as if in slow motion. The doctor who looked at me said that if I hadn't been wearing the helmet I probably would have broken my neck as my head would have buckled over. If nothing else I would have lost my scalp. Rocks were stuck in all of the holes of the helmet. It isn't the one in the photo but a very similar Giro. On my trip home I started to cough. I coughed up a rock that had gone way down my thoat.

I had been preparing for a bike tour, and I had gotten into good form. After the crash I didn't feel that bad even though I was shaken up and my bike was a wreck. But it really sunk in the next day. I could barely ride. I tried to ride my mountain bike and I could barely roll it over. I had gone from being in good form to being hardly able to ride over night. It took two weeks before I was alble to get back up to speed.

It did teach me how important a bike helmet is. Still, I hate wearing a bike helmet.