Yesterday I was biking home in the dark. (Boy, it gets dark before 5 PM these days.) I was on the Burke-Gilman trail, a popular trail that cuts through the heart of Seattle. Anyway, I'm cruising along in the dark in a section of the trail that is quite poorly lit and hit a large root that has buckeled the asphalt quite unexpectedly. (This section of the trail by the Fremont Bridge has just recently reopened after being closed for 2 years.) Anyway, I had to react kind of quickly and ended up braking a little too hard (it happened so quickly). The rear end of the bike flipped over the handle bars and I landed right on my head. I got up with only slight injuries. (Two riders who were riding behind me stopped to help which was very much appeciated.) I messed up my rear derailer but otherwise my bike and I ended up okay and I was able to ride it the remaining 3 miles to home.

I was on trail which is normally considered safe (as oppoed to on the road) but still ended up hitting the ground hard (at about 15 miles an hour) on my head. Had I not been wearing a helmet I probably would have ended up in the hospital.

The moral of the story: buy and wear a helmet everytime you ride! I have noticed a lot of Seattle-area cyclists riding their bikes of late without helmets. This is a very bad idea. I am so glad I was wearing mine or I might not be here to write this entry.

Paul

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