My plea to you...

I am going to take a big ol' step onto my soap box. Bear with me. I'm really NOT preaching, though it may come off that way.  I'm really just sending out a plea... because if you care enough to read my blog, I care enough about you to say this.

Do you wear a bike helmet?  No?  Do you make your kids, but don't feel 'it's necessary' for you?  Do you not make your kids wear one?

Here's the deal... I realize that when 'we' were kids, we didn't have helmets. We didn't wear seat belts, we didn't grow up in a car seat. And we all made it, didn't we?  But you know, sad as it is to think about, there were alot of young children who did NOT make it.  They died in a car accident because they didn't have a seat belt on. Or maybe they had brain damage from falling off their bike. Or perhaps they died.  I have a relative that was a professor at a university. He often rode his bike to work when the weather was nice. One day he swerved to miss a student... and the next day they were planning a funeral. He fell, hit is head and died.  My mom used to tell me that story when I didn't want to wear my helmet. In high school? Come ON, Mom! ;)

When my husband started cycling a year or two ago, I met so many people that shared my love of the helmet.  It's a must have. Actually, here in Michigan, you are legally supposed to wear one when riding in the street.

Lately I have noticed a lot of careless cyclists and it makes me sad.  Truly. The other night, I ran to the store after dark.  I passed a cyclist on a relatively busy road (speed limit 45) and she had one little blinkie (flashing light) on her bike. She wore no helmet, and no blinkie on herself. Frankly, I barely saw her. It terrified me.  What if I had hit and killed her? Or even just hurt her? Here is my plea to you.  If you are a non-helmet wearer... think of me. Think of the person driving the car. Think if that person will recover from the guilt, if they end up hitting you, becuase you didn't have your helmet and blinkie on.  On the same note... I saw a woman today with a toddler on her handlebars. She even had the seat on the back of her bike, but chose not to use it. One slip, and her child could die from that height.  One swerve, one pebble, one pothole. And he would be gone. The entire family did not have helmets on.

I am not saying this to say that I judge that mother.  I don't. We all have 'our things'.  This is one of them for me.  She has the choice to use it, or choose not to, and so do you. My plea is that you'll choose to use the helmet. Pretty please? I don't want to lose even one of you. ;)