At 07:51 PM 12/02/2007 GMT, billungardesign@juno.com wrote:
>PS I still see what may be the legacy of pro riders riding helmetless.
> Pro riders I encountered in Palos Verdes readying for the Tour of
>California - were riding this way - I wonder if there is an element of
>"I'm experienced, and less apt to fall than the average less
>experienced rider", or a machismo factor "my life is not as important
>as my team".?
I believe it has more to do with celebrity and vanity. Veteran hockey players were allowed to play helmetless for a while in the NHL before helmets became universal. Today's bike helmets are actually good-looking and promote cooling compared to the dorky-looking abominations of the seventies. Back then, if you wore a "hairnet", you looked a lot "cooler" than those wearing actual helmets.
John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada