I learnt about the importance of wearing a helmet the hard way. Last september I crashed while riding up page mill. My head hit the ground as I fell and was sliding across the asphalt. My helmet was crushed and destroyed while I luckily escaped with just a horrible headache (and a torn ligament in my thumb). I'm sure it would've been lot worse had I not been wearing my helmet. Best $50 investment I ever made.

Head injuries are so frightening to consider, I can't imagine riding my bike without a helmet. It's a minimal investment, minimal discomfort (if any), and huge benefit. I've heard enough horror stories from family members working in E.R.s and rehab, and can't understand why anyone would take a chance not wearing a helmet.

I was rounding a bend in the road and hit a wet spot. I went down hard enough to fracture my clavicle, fracture multiple ribs that punctured a lung, bruised my heart and had a one foot wide bruise that ran from my shoulder to half way down my leg. The docs also suspected a ruptured spleen but it was okay.

Because I was wearing a helmet, the only head injury I received was a scratch on my forehead. If I hadn't had the helmet on I would have either been a veg or dead.