[*BCM*] This Saturday: Bike the Seven (Or More) Hills of Somerville

[Clive Standley]

I'd never advise someone not to wear a helmet, it's a personal decision. 
I don't feel the same about running lights though as that endangers 
others and is against the law. It amazes me that many organized events 
insist on helmets, but seem to allow the most flagrant abuses of basic 
road rules. It's not the law to wear a helmet as an adult, but it is the 
law to follow the rules of the road.

If someone organizes a ride I see nothing wrong in them insisting on 
helmets, that's entirely up to them. In fact I was going to go on the 
Somerville ride and then saw that helmets were required so I decided not 
to go. It's also why I don't participate in organized events like the 
Pan Mass Challenge.


Dave Atkins wrote:

> I'll take the bait, sort of...
>
> Most organized group rides REQUIRE riders to wear helmets AND sign a 
> waiver of liability. Paranoia? Whatever. It's up to the people 
> organizing the ride and they just want to protect themselves from 
> lawsuits, I guess. If i were organizing a ride, perhaps I would say "I 
> can handle the lawsuit, WTF!" but actually, I would worry about it 
> still, regardless of the legal issues because someone can easily fall 
> over in a parking lot and crack their skull. I think Lance Armstrong 
> broke a helmet that way even.
>
> Wearing a helmet won't make you ride safer, agreed. No one is arguing 
> that bike helmets are the solution to defensive riding or that they 
> enshroud the wearer in a magical cloak of invulnerability. I don't 
> think anyone really has that perception when they put a helmet on. But 
> they provide an obvious, extra safety if you crash and your head hits 
> something. I've cracked a couple helmets and even then, had a mild 
> concussion. Without the helmet? I don't want to know. My family does 
> not want to know either.
>
> We do not need people contributing to the idea that it is not "cool" 
> to wear a helmet. You are entitled to your choice, but your response 
> here is all out of proportion to the mild SUGGESTION that riders wear 
> helmets. If we were talking about riding on bike-only paths in the 
> Netherlands, perhaps it would be different. Even then, come on, it is 
> a personal choice and if you don't want to wear one, just don't. But 
> don't try to discourage other people and bully them into living 
> dangerously because you believe bike helmet nazis are out to get you 
> or whatever.
>
> On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 10:30 AM, Clive Standley <cstandley at rcn.com 
> <mailto:cstandley at rcn.com>> wrote:
>
>     I feel your pain. I never wear a helmet as I hate the way they
>     feel and
>     I'm only endangering myself and no one else. However, I always
>     ride in a
>     Vehicular way for the safety of myself and other road users. What
>     pisses
>     me off is anyone who runs a red light.
>
>     jb fentner wrote:
>
>     > "riders should wear helmets". .. really.. on a group ride led by the
>     > totally non bike conscious bike cops on a Saturday morning. how..
>     > horribly fucking stupid and I'm really getting sick of people
>     being so
>     > fucking uppity regarding helmets and how naive they are. do you
>     people
>     > have any idea how often I see cyclists spacing out and nearly
>     getting
>     > killed in traffic because they don't know basic safety rules?
>     taking a
>     > lane.. dooring zone.. just paying attention?? yet no one ever talks
>     > about it.. like wearing a helmet is going to prevent people from
>     doing
>     > stupid shit and getting hurt or killed. to promote wearing one on a
>     > Saturday morning group ride when it's almost completely unnecessary
>     > proves my point that people don't even fucking think about what
>     > they're saying.
>     >
>     > I'll continue teaching folks how to actually survive in an urban
>     > environment and I guess you folks can just keep telling everyone
>     that
>     > wearing a helmet is the solution. oh, I'm also wondering which
>     one of
>     > the girls in this group it was who ran a red light at the bu bridge
>     > intersection, got yelled at by a driver, and then proceeded to bitch
>     > about mass. bike laws regarding bike lanes. I ran the same
>     light.. cut
>     > through the backed up traffic without being noticed or having anyone
>     > bitch. glad she was wearing a helmet,  as I nearly slapped her over
>     > the head.
>     >
>     > From: rnewman at thecia.net <mailto:rnewman at thecia.net>
>     > To: list at bostoncriticalmass.org <mailto:list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
>     > Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:36:53 -0400
>     > Subject: [*BCM*] This Saturday: Bike the Seven (Or More) Hills of
>     > Somerville
>     >
>     > The Somerville Bicycle Committee will hold its 17th annual Tour de
>     > Somerville this Saturday, October 17.. Our theme this year is
>     > "Somerville: City of Seven (Or More) Hills".
>     > We'll meet at 10 am at Seven Hills Park (behind the Holland Street T
>     > entrance in Davis Square), leaving promptly at 10:15.
>     >
>     > Our ride will be approximately 11 miles, and visit each of
>     > Somerville's hills, both those that still exist and those that have
>     > been removed. Riders should wear helmets and be prepared for hill
>     > climbs and descents. We will make brief stops at the tops of most
>     > hills so that riders stay together as a group, but we won't have
>     > extended history lectures or speeches.
>     >
>     > The Somerville Police will escort the ride on bicycles, and Redbones
>     > will provide refreshments at the halfway point.
>     >
>     > For more info (and a list of hills),
>     > visit http://somervillebikes.org/events.html .
>     > A route map is at http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/312795 ,
>     and a
>     > cue sheet at http://www.bikely.com/cuesheet/route/312795 .
>     >
>     > If it rains, we'll try again the next day, same time and location.
>     >
>     >
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>     >
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