The Day I 'Got Helmet'

About 20 years ago, I was planning a month-long bike ride with Dave, a buddy from college. During our preparations, several family members asked us various questions, but none failed to ask if we were going to be wearing helmets. At the time, I didn't own a helmet and didn't really think of myself as the kind of person who would wear a helmet. Even though I was prepared to ride thousands of miles on a bicycle, I didn't consider myself a "cyclist". We stayed at Dave's sister's house in Seattle and received what we thought would be our final round of questioning about the helmet issue. To that point, we had successfully dismissed their concerns. We just weren't ready to become that serious of a cyclist.

On the day before we started our trip, we took the bikes on a ride across the sound to one of the islands near Seattle. Boarding the ferry, our bikes were allowed on first and as we were securing our bikes, the first of the cars came up behind us. A very enthusiastic young lady bounds out of the car and starts talking before she's even near us, "You guys look great! Fantastic bikes, love those jerseys, where's your ****ing helmet?"

I could find no avenue along which this discussion could proceed.

It was a rare cloudless day in Seattle, and the riding was magnificent, but neither Dave nor I could get her words out of our mind. We would spot a rider without a helmet and whisper to each other, "Where's his ****ing helmet?". This went on for mile after mile. Dave's sister kept quiet.

After taking the ferry back into town, Dave's sister mentioned that we would be passing a bike shop along the way and asked if we would mind if she picked up a couple of things. Bike shops are always good to visit right before spending several weeks on a bike, so we agreed.

Without mentioning the word, we found ourselves in front of the helmet section looking over the different choices. Dave's sister came over and hid her smile.

Somehow, the concern from people who've known us all our lives was trumped by the concern of a stranger we had spent only the briefest of moments with. I've been wearing my helmet ever since.