bychosis wrote:While away over Easter I was instructing my kids to wear a helmet for 'speed or stunts'. No need for a lid for a quick trip to the loos, but wear one for the pump track, MTB track or the big gravel hill. Not sure what other parents thought, but helmet optional seemed to be the theme.
Yes good call, a helmet is a good idea for the higher risk activities. You do however realise that your kids need to wear one at all times to protect
you from the looks of disapproval of other parents.
Actually that reminds me of an incident about a year or two back down on the Ferleigh track near my place. There was a kid about 10yo riding lidless with his parents (both going fairly slow speed), but the kid had stopped for some reason and then took off really fast to try and catch them (by that time about 200m ahead). I'd just come up behind the kid at this point and decided to stay behind.
The kid did that thing that kids sometimes do, and concentrated so much on pedalling hard that his steering went all wonky, and he ended up flipping the front wheel right around and having quite a fall. The parents were clueless that he'd even come off, but I was right behind so I stopped to make sure he was ok. Because I saw it all unfold from just metres behind I knew he had scraped his knees and landed heavily on his arms, but I also knew that his head had made zero contact with anything.
So as I start helping the kid up and checking that he's ok, other people start gathering around an commenting on the lack of a helmet and saying stuff like : "
He needs to go straight to hospital to get checked for head injuries".
I reply : "
Nah, I saw it all from right behind, his head never even touched to pavement". But then I look around and see the absolutely filthy looks that they are all giving me. They obviously thought that I was his father (or possibly grandfather given my age), and let me tell you it was quite an uncomfortable situation.
Fortunately at this point the the parents had realised he was missing and come back, so I got back on my bike and did the old POQ. The kid was ok btw, just a few grazes and bruises, mainly to his hands and knees.