After that Soft Brush with the Law recently, I have had little Meerkat Qualms about riding sans helmet. Meerkats scare easily and after only two sleeps, I was a little bundle of apprehension.
So imagine my chagrin when I hopped on Keith and went to don my helmet only to find I had left in in my car, which was Miles away (that’s Miles Toyota away), having a long sleep-over whilst awaiting repairs. You guessed it, helmet was in car.
What was a Meerkat to do?
Nothing for it but to put on a brave face and ride off on my round of errands. Having had a fruitful time in the new SPCA store in Ferry Road, and a spontaneous coffee with a friend also rummaging, I remembered this fabulous little bike shop nearby, which I think is called Around Again Cycles. My most memorable purchase from there is my set of ear warmers, which clip onto my helmet straps – nice and toasty in cold wind.
So in I popped, thinking I might treat myself to an odd or unusual helmet, since I know they have a few of those in stock. Imagine my delight to discover the Second Hand Helmet bin, from which I made a meaningful selection (Winnie the Pooh is one of my Desert Island Books).
But as I surveyed the helmets, I had some very funny thoughts, the weirdest being: “Would that helmet be safe …?” “That one looks a bit dubious …” etc. During my social experiment so far, I never anticipated I would be thinking like this. If I believe I am safe riding helmet-less-ly, why would I bother wondering about how safe a second-hand helmet might be? Hmm …