What's the whole point in the original post apart from the normal 'we must wear helmets' debate? Just a question... Because quite frankly...non-cyclists don't really give a hoot when they see a guy on a bicycle without his little piece of plastic on his head - if they hate cyclists they'll hate us regardless and we won't change their opinions by protecting/not protecting our skulls. And by pointing out that Gary didn't wear a helmet - yes, bad example,but really...we all (well...some more than others;-) have brains which we should use to form our own opinions. I'm not going to follow Gary Beneke, Lance Armstrong, Tom Boonen or anyone else's example without thinking it through and deciding for myself what will be best for me. Oh...and just one more question...what % of cyclists will actually be able to ID the "well known names" in SAcycling when they see them pedaling through the streets? I mean, hands up who will recognise Willie Engelbrecht, Chris Willemse, Mark&Gary Beneke, David Bellairs, Lawrence Whitaker and the Lemmer brothers (feel free to name more)...when you see them walking through town? We all know the names,but except if someone points it out to us, it will only be another random guy on his bike that does something (in this case not wearing a helmet) that we don't agree with. Normal people, forming their own opinions... Personaly i choose to wear my helmet whenever i go out training and i only ride with people who also do so. As for the rest...it's their own stupidity. And don't give me the "but helmets look dumb" bit...we've got some very cool looking shells around&it's gotten to be one of cycling's favourite fasion accessories.
