Stupid helmet laws...
You know, there's a guy at work, he rides his bike to work everyday, has for the last several months since he was hired (a few months after i was), and he never wore a helmet. Plus, i've seen many many bicyclers around town just riding free, without any helmets on - cop cars drove by and no attention was given to the bikers. That inspired me to get a bike and not have to worry about wearing a helmet, because it seemed the cops were getting lax in that department. So, i bought this cheapo $150 thing from Zeller's, but haven't really ridden it yet.
Now, i understand helmets are good for protection, but they should still be a choice - at least for good riders. If you're a good enough rider, you don't need a helmet, and if you DO manage to get yourself into an accident that could have busted your head into pieces, then it would probably be better to be dead than to live the rest of your life in pain as a cripple.
But my main issue with Helmets is that i can't listen to my diskman while riding. Earbuds hurt my ears and fall out, and those hook-over-the-back-of-the-ear ones are confusing as hell and fall off, and don't deliver any good sound. My preference will always be for the over-the-head headphones - they stay in place, they deliver the best in sound-quality, and they don't hurt my ears. But - they're incompatible with helmets. And why would i want to walk or ride or drive to work without some of my music to boost me up beforehand, and afterward?
So, anyway, 2 days ago i finally decide to ride my bike to work. Perfectly fine, listened to that "At the Drive-in" album i have (they're a band created by one or both members of The Mars Volta, not sure which came first, but they're almost just as awesome!) and i get to work fine, no problems.
So the night passes, the guy i was talking about ends his shift and rides away. About 20 minutes later he comes back and says, "I just got pulled over for not wearing a helmet. The cops are out pulling all bikers over who don't have one. They gave me a $30 fine, and let the air out of my back tire."
What the fuck? The VERY DAY i decide to ride my bike again, this shit happens! Arrrrrgh, just makes me want to take the helmet and bash it into those assholes' faces.
And you know the asshole thing about it? It's the EXACT reason i stopped riding my bike 5 years ago before i moved to St. John's (wow, almost 6 years ago now), even a year or 2 before that, from being stopped and given a warning for not wearing my helmet by these two, ridiculous-looking bike-cops. I didn't want to deal with the hassel, and music is a very important part of transportation for me, so i stopped biking, and actually went out and got driving lessons and finally got my license at 22. So much for trying to be active and healthy. But the government doesn't want that for its citizens, so don't expect anything to change. They just want us alive enough to spend our money.
Anyway, so, as i was WALKING my fucking bike home, i witness blue and red lights flashing as cops are questioning and searching this one poor bicycler on the side of the road. Silently cursing "our freedoms" i just walked by, trying not to call any attention to myself. Perhaps they'll think i was already fined.
But letting the air out of his back tire? That should be enough to get them sued - it's about bullying and control, not safety, whatever they tell you.
I do have a helmet, and i don't really care about how i look wearing one - i just want to be able to listen to my damn music in peace, for fuck's sake.
And don't go saying, "you shouldn't be doing that, either" shit, because i never put my music high enough that i can't hear a car coming from behind me a dozen meters away (yards for you amurikans).
Again, it's not about safety, but about bullying and control, and they don't want to spend the city's money cleaning you up.
All because one parent's kid died because he was too stupid to ride his bike by himself, probably because the parents didn't spend the time to teach him how to ride properly. So we all have to suffer for it.
Grrrr. I know, it's a pretty low thing to be so frustrated and angry about compared to the list of terrible things in the world, but my topic is not about those other things right now, so shut up and grumble with me on this one, ok?
They definitely need to invent a bike-helmet with built-in headphones and a wire to connect to a diskman. Or for many of you, those new-fangled ipods and ipod facsimiles that really just drain the soul out of the music you're listening to...
Now, i understand helmets are good for protection, but they should still be a choice - at least for good riders. If you're a good enough rider, you don't need a helmet, and if you DO manage to get yourself into an accident that could have busted your head into pieces, then it would probably be better to be dead than to live the rest of your life in pain as a cripple.
But my main issue with Helmets is that i can't listen to my diskman while riding. Earbuds hurt my ears and fall out, and those hook-over-the-back-of-the-ear ones are confusing as hell and fall off, and don't deliver any good sound. My preference will always be for the over-the-head headphones - they stay in place, they deliver the best in sound-quality, and they don't hurt my ears. But - they're incompatible with helmets. And why would i want to walk or ride or drive to work without some of my music to boost me up beforehand, and afterward?
So, anyway, 2 days ago i finally decide to ride my bike to work. Perfectly fine, listened to that "At the Drive-in" album i have (they're a band created by one or both members of The Mars Volta, not sure which came first, but they're almost just as awesome!) and i get to work fine, no problems.
So the night passes, the guy i was talking about ends his shift and rides away. About 20 minutes later he comes back and says, "I just got pulled over for not wearing a helmet. The cops are out pulling all bikers over who don't have one. They gave me a $30 fine, and let the air out of my back tire."
What the fuck? The VERY DAY i decide to ride my bike again, this shit happens! Arrrrrgh, just makes me want to take the helmet and bash it into those assholes' faces.
And you know the asshole thing about it? It's the EXACT reason i stopped riding my bike 5 years ago before i moved to St. John's (wow, almost 6 years ago now), even a year or 2 before that, from being stopped and given a warning for not wearing my helmet by these two, ridiculous-looking bike-cops. I didn't want to deal with the hassel, and music is a very important part of transportation for me, so i stopped biking, and actually went out and got driving lessons and finally got my license at 22. So much for trying to be active and healthy. But the government doesn't want that for its citizens, so don't expect anything to change. They just want us alive enough to spend our money.
Anyway, so, as i was WALKING my fucking bike home, i witness blue and red lights flashing as cops are questioning and searching this one poor bicycler on the side of the road. Silently cursing "our freedoms" i just walked by, trying not to call any attention to myself. Perhaps they'll think i was already fined.
But letting the air out of his back tire? That should be enough to get them sued - it's about bullying and control, not safety, whatever they tell you.
I do have a helmet, and i don't really care about how i look wearing one - i just want to be able to listen to my damn music in peace, for fuck's sake.
And don't go saying, "you shouldn't be doing that, either" shit, because i never put my music high enough that i can't hear a car coming from behind me a dozen meters away (yards for you amurikans).
Again, it's not about safety, but about bullying and control, and they don't want to spend the city's money cleaning you up.
All because one parent's kid died because he was too stupid to ride his bike by himself, probably because the parents didn't spend the time to teach him how to ride properly. So we all have to suffer for it.
Grrrr. I know, it's a pretty low thing to be so frustrated and angry about compared to the list of terrible things in the world, but my topic is not about those other things right now, so shut up and grumble with me on this one, ok?
They definitely need to invent a bike-helmet with built-in headphones and a wire to connect to a diskman. Or for many of you, those new-fangled ipods and ipod facsimiles that really just drain the soul out of the music you're listening to...