Friday’s mail: On Andrei, helmets and Laurent

Two recent columns, one from Neal Rogers and another from Dr. DawnRichardson elicited a veritable flood of letters applauding their defenseof the humble, utilitarian brain-buckets so disliked by pros and theirwanna-bes. We’ve collected a few of the best here.
– Editor

Fignon’s head hardly needs protecting
Editor:
I can completely understand why someone as bold and audacious as LaurentFignon would be so opposed to wearing a helmet(See “Mr.Rogers’ neighborhood: Wear your damn helmet!”). If I had my headlodged up my ass as far has he does, I would feel impervious to head injuriesas well.

Brad Lundahl
Denver, CO

Yeah, but you’d need a Plexiglas belly-button to see where you’regoing. – Editor

Helmets are life-savers
Editor:
I totally agree with you on wearing helmets – they save your life,period. Fignon may have been a great bike racer, and if his advice wereon racing, I’d listen. But it wasn’t about racing. This is about savingyour life, whether you’re racing or just plain riding your bike. It’s soeasy for an accident to happen, and it’s easier to take the extra stepto wear a helmet.

Like the commercial says, “Just do it.”

Randy Farrens
Sacramento, CA

Bad luck is good reason to wear helmet
Editor:
I can’t agree with Neal Rogers’ latest column more. I understand thatthe Euros are convinced that helmets are hot on long climbs, or that theymay be uncomfortable. But considering the alternative, I’ll take the helmetany day over the head cast, permanent titanium plates convering the cracksin the skull, or worse, death. I want to live to see my kids grow. I amsaddened that Andrei Kivilev didn’t live to see his.

When I was coming up through the ranks in the late 1980s and early ‘90s,I rode for Berkeley Bicycle Club, which imposed an unpopular rule on itselite team: Wear your helmet at all times, training and racing, or payfines to be deducted from your monthly stipend. Looking back, I am verythankful for this. It was no more than a couple months later that I unexpectedlywent over the bars, and while still gripping the drops, led with my foreheadinto the pavement. Thank God for that “hot, uncomfortable helmet.”

It’s time for the UCI to lay down the law: Wear your damn helmet, ordon’t race! Racing bikes is dangerous. Always has been, always will be.As Laurent Fignon so elegantly put it, “We can’t blame anything but badluck. You can’t do anything about it.”

I can’t think of a better reason to wear a helmet.

Gary Segraves
San Leandro, CA

Which looks cooler: Bare head or brain damage?
Editor:
I want to thank Dr. Dawn Richardson for taking the time to write aboutthe use of helmets (See “AndreiKivilev: Lessons learned”).

I have been riding for over 20 years. My son, who is 13, took up racinglast season and already knows the drill – if he is on the bike, the helmetis on his head, no exceptions.

This past Saturday we were just finishing up a 40-mile training rideand were only two blocks from the house when my front wheel hit a slickspot and I went down hard. My son was right behind me and went head overheels and landed on top of me. I received a mild concussion, but my helmet(a Giro Pneumo) was cracked in four different places. The docs at the ER,after looking at the helmet, told me that if I had not been wearing itthere is a good chance I would be severely injured if not dead. My son,thankfully, used Dad as a human airbag and escaped any injury.

Kudos to you for pushing the helmet rules – they seem silly until theysave your life. My advice to all those tough guys out there is, suck itup and put on the helmet – you will not look nearly as tough when you aredrooling all over yourself from brain damage.

Paul Runyon Sr.

We couldn’t agree more, Paul. Just look at one of our other columnists,Foaming Rantist Patrick O’Grady. If you can stand to. – Editor

Always listen to your mother
Editor:
I just wanted to share an e-mail conversation between my mother andme. Both of us are serious cyclists:

Subject: Mom has sent you an article from VeloNews!Kivilevdies of head injuries
To Byron: This is too sad. I hope you’ll always wear your helmet.Love, Mom
My response: I brought it with me today because of the newsof him yesterday.
Mom: Thank you!!!!!

Thanks, Mom. Godspeed, Andrei.

Byron T. Holt
Milford, NH

You’re a good boy, Byron. – Editor

USAC led way on helmet rules
Editor:
It is unfortunate that it takes the death of a high-profile cyclistlike Andrei Kivilev to, once again, raise the awareness of wearing a helmetwhen riding your bike. Neal Rogers nails the helmet issue in his column.Wearing your helmet every time you go for a ride should be automatic, nota conscious fashion decision or an evaluation of the “cool” factor.

Safety has always been the primary concern in the development of USACycling’s racing rules. We are proud that USA Cycling led the way in requiringthe use of ANSI- and SNELL-approved helmets in all racing in USA Cycling-sanctionedevents. The Australian and Belgian cycling federations have, fortunately,followed suit with stricter helmet regulations. Perhaps it is time forother countries like France, where Kivilev tragically died, to change theirhelmet regulations.

As Neal pointed out, thanks to the always-improving design and productiondevelopments in the cycling-helmet industry, the weight, the heat and eventhe style are no longer excuses for a rider choosing not to wear a helmet.

Sean Petty
USA Cycling

No helmet, no brains
Editor:
Riding without a helmet is just plain stoopid (sic). Even if you don’tvalue your own life, consider the potential impact (no pun intended) onthose you leave behind.

Jay Mongillo
Norwich, CT

Still here, thanks to a helmet
Editor:
Anyone who rides for any length of time has a “my helmet saved me”story. Mine was on a mountain-bike trail in Wyoming, ending with a bigjump and a bigger crash. Emergency room, concussion, Demerol, broken ribs,crushed helmet. I recovered from it all in a few weeks.

Without the helmet, my wife would be collecting widow’s benefits fromSocial Security, while my daughters would not have their dad watching themgraduate from high school and college.

I cannot ride in a charity event without a helmet. I cannot race asan amateur without a helmet. How does the European peloton justify itsstubbornness? I just shake my head. And I’m fortunate that I can, becauseI wore a helmet that day on that trail.

Matthew N. Potter
Cheyenne, WY

Safety laws protect all of us from “bad luck”
Editor:
Well said, Neal. The whole issue reminds me of the pathetic irony that,here in South Dakota, there is no helmet law for motorcycles, yet you canbe ticketed by the cops if they see that you are not wearing your seatbeltin your car.

Helmet and seatbelt laws are not an infringement on our freedom, theysimply protect you from “bad luck” – and, perhaps more importantly, protectthe average person from having to pay for your medical bills via increasedinsurance premiums.

Phil Busching
South Dakota

Phase helmets in
Editor:
I know the pros don’t want to be forced into wearing lids, but you’reright, it needs to be mandated.

I propose that they look into a solution similar to what the NHL didto bring helmets into use. Only “new” riders would be forced to wear them;leave it optional for the current pros. Their numbers will thin out soonenough, and the entire peloton will then be wearing them.

Seems simple enough.

Chip Rauch
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Column should be required reading
Editor:
Great article. This should be mandatory reading for roadies, mountainbikers, triathletes and school children all over the world. I have alwaystaught my kids to never move on the bike or scooter without their helmets,along with never getting in a car without strapping on their seatbelts.It is truly sad that someone like Andrei has to die to prove a point.

Rick McGinley

Another vocal convert
Editor:
Thank you for your commentary regarding the use of helmets. I was oneof those riders in the late 1970s who thought it was cool to ride withonly a cycling cap. In four years of riding I was hit by two cars, rodeover 100 races and crashed at least five or 10 times, and it’s only forthe grace of God I’m not dead.

Now let me say it: I was an idiot, a stupid fashion-plate egotist. Notany more! I just started riding again last year after a 20-plus-year layoff,and I do not get on a bike without a helmet. There is no excuse for ridingwithout one today, except that you are a terminally stupid idiot, and thatincludes the pros – you represent the sport, dammit, so set a good example.I wonder what Mr. Kivilev’s wife would say: “Gee, honey, it’s your choice,wear it or not as you like, dear. . .” I can promise you she will spendyears saying, “If only he had worn his helmet on March 12. . . .”

It’s time for a change in cycling. Everyone wears a helmet from nowon, all the time. No more damn excuses from selfish egotists. Do not letKivilev die in vain.

Christopher Rehm
Hudson, MA

Another vow: No more bareheaded biking
Editor:
I am always saddened by the death of a fellow cyclist, pro racer orenthusiast. As a former bike courier here in Washington, D.C., I completelyunderstand not wanting to ride with a helmet – say, in the middle of thesummer, as I have many times – but one nasty fall is all it takes.

When the weather turned nasty, icy and cold I started wearing my helmetevery day during my 20-mile daily round-trip commute. I rode every singleday this winter without a spill (knocking on wood), but I had a coupleof moments on icy patches where by the grace of whomever, I didn’t go down.

Now with the death of Kivilev, I absolutely see how much of an unnecessaryrisk riding without a helmet is. Especially for me, when my peloton isnot bikes, but hundreds of cars. I promise from now on to always wear myhelmet, if not for me, for my son and wife.

If there is anyway to do it, please extend my sincerest condolencesto his wife and child.

John Dinn
Washington, D.C.

Wake-up call for the posers
Editor:
Maybe now some of the posers that ride around Boulder trying to looklike they’re on a Tuesday training ride in Belgium will start realizingtheir heads are a lot bigger asset than their legs. How many riders isit going to take before people wake up and make helmet use mandatory inUCI competition?

Nick Traggis
Boulder, CO

Nothing can wake up a Boulder poser, Nick, not even a quintuple-shotventi Starbucks Americano, a chocolate-frosted brownie and a brush withthe wings of the Angel of Death. – Editor

Fromthe medicos

Helmets are a minor inconvenience
Editor:
I read with dismay that Andrei Kivilev has died from his injuries.As a surgeon, I suspected already that this would be the outcome when Iread that they were keeping him in a coma.

I had a similar 40-mph accident during a training ride in 1994 resultingin a crash where I landed on my head and left shoulder. There is no doubtin my mind that my life was saved by my helmet.

At one time I, too, was against helmets. However, as a result of my own accidents and those of others I have treated in the trauma room I firmlysupport mandating the use of helmets in bike racing, as the USCF alreadydoes. It is time for the UCI to adopt similar standards and for othersto support them.

The minor inconvenience of a helmet on a long climb is nothing comparedto disabling injury or loss of life and the loss suffered by our spousesand children.

Charles Foley, M.D.
University of Massachusetts Medical Center

Wearing a helmet beats sucking a ventilator
Editor:
Thank you so much for posting Neal Rogers’ article on the importanceof wearing a helmet. Riding a bike has its inherent dangers that we cannotcontrol. I can clearly remember, as my head was bouncing off the pavement,thinking, “Thank God I have my helmet on.”

While it is true that a helmet will not always save your life (I losta friend last year who suffered fatal injuries despite the helmet), mostof the time it will save the most important part of your body – namely,your head.

I have worked for many years as a nurse in an intensive-care unit, andhave seen almost every way that man has devised to hurt himself. For manyyears we would have one unaware, drooling motorcycle-accident victim inour unit at any given time. California then passed a mandatory helmet lawand we now never see this type of injury – except in those foolish bicycleriders who are too stupid to wear a helmet.

It may be uncomfortable or too warm to wear a helmet, but I can assureyou that this discomfort pales next to a day of being strapped to an ICUbed, sucking on a ventilator. Thanks for reminding people of this importantfact.

P. Lobenberg, RN

Think what you may lose for your “freedom”
Editor:
Thank you for your passionately persuasive advice to “wear a damn helmet.”I would like to add two points to your case.

First, as a neuropsychologist, I can assure you that dying isn’t theworst outcome of brain damage – severe mental dysfunction is. Think aboutnot dying from that crash, but becoming like a mentally retarded person,or unable to control your emotions or to feel any desire for your wifeor love for your parents or your kids. Those are all real scenarios thatI have seen in young people who have sustained significant brain traumaand lived.

Second, my husband and I both ride road and mountain. My hubby, FredSchmid, was the 2000 UCI masters world champion in his age group (60 andup. Yes, he’s 69 years old and still riding seriously and winning races.Since he doesn’t feel his life is over, he wears a helmet every time hegets on the bike – even around the parking lot. What Kivilev gave up wasnot just a few years of cool and being on top followed by a rapid declineinto physical incompetence. We bicyclists on the other side of life’s hillcan tell you he may have given up 40 or 50 years of riding his bike witha real zest for life. He lost out on seeing his own immortality:his sons and his grandsons grown to manhood and become competent athletes,too.

Do you think it was worth it, Monsieur Fignon?

S. Schmid

Thanks for the great coverage
Editor:
Thanks for your outstanding coverage of the tragic story of AndreiKivilev, and for everything else your publication prints. VeloNews.comis my homepage, and I read the initial story first thing this morning andhave been following it all day. I also have a subscription to the magazineand look forward to its arrival each month. I read it cover to cover inone sitting, ignoring the phone or anything else that attempts to interrupt.Obsessive? Probably.

As a fellow cyclist, the amount of cycling-related stories in the newsis a sad state of affairs. In fact, nobody outside of cycling ever wantedto discuss it with me until USA Today’s “10 Hardest Things to do in Sports”story. That sparked debates in my office as to the validity of not onlythe Tour being ranked eighth, but whether it should have been includedat all. It was during those discussions that I realized how little peopleunderstand. And since all this reading has made me a walking encyclopedia,I won the debates!

Cyclists are a rare breed, and I consider myself lucky to be surroundedby athletes with such boundless passion. Perhaps someday, people will realizejust how difficult cycling is. But then, maybe they just don’t get it.And they probably never will until they get out of their SUVs and experiencebiking, 70-90 miles a day, sometimes through wind and rain, climbing 15percent grades and coasting down at furious speeds that only skill cancontrol to avoid crashing during the hairpin turns (not to mention saddlesores, road rash, lactic-acid build-up and the physical pain of bonking).
Always reading . . .

Christine Holman