to think Wiggins should be wearing a helmet?

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Set a good example to the kids Wiggins and put your helmet on!

Well done though, great race!

How very childish of you, Narked.

Ummm not convinced that helmets lead to obesity!

Anyway. I cycle rarely but when I do I will always wear a helmet. Like I said we nearly lost a family friend and would have done if he hadn't been wearing his. It makes it as clear as glass for me about the benefits of head gear. I can't imagine him not being around.

FWIW people who witnessed his accident said he wasn't going fast when a car hit him.

Obviously Wiggins wasn't going to get hit by a car but I don't think it's daft to say wearing a helmet at all times is sensible. I genuinely hope none of you ever need to find out if they protect well or not.

Bye.

YABU. I'd have been really really surprised if he'd fallen off free-wheeling his bike along to look for his family after the race.

It's a bit like criticising Phelps for not having his armbands on.

It's a bit like criticising Phelps for not having his armbands on.

ARF

You need a glass of wine, op. Of all the things to think of, he had just won a gold medal, he was looking for his family, you're trying to crack a walnut with a sledgehammer here, dear !

''It's a bit like criticising Phelps for not having his armbands on.''

Hardly! but thank you I did laugh and choke on a mouthful of juice at that.

chill out

"Going slow doesn't mean you can't fall off"

In this situation he was hardly going to get whacked by a car, or fall off and crack his head was he?

i would imagine following the race the first thing he would want to do is take the hot sticky helmet off to go and meet the crowds.....

he wore it for the race.

yab ridiculous. the first thing he did was go looking for his wife and kids - why would he kiss his wife with a helmet on

Ooh, SINCE YOU MENTION IT:
Why do the horse riders do eventing & dressage without proper helmets on? Plus show-jumping, I think. Would wearing riding hat have saved Chris Reeve?
It suddenly struck me, last night, that they only wear pretty top hats.
(?I think)
I think the Queen still rides sans hat. (And good on her old Dear for being an adult making her own adult choices).

evidence here

I do understand though, that when you have personally known someone who has been involved in an accident in which their helmet protected them, it must be very difficult to see past that (it's called the availability error).

Pleased your friend was ok, must have been horrible.

At Queen's age, too, why is she riding at all? High hip fracture risk, I'd guess, if she falls off.
Should be setting a better example for all the dears in old folks' home, no?

If I was his wife I wouldn't want to go near that shiny red helmet either.

I noticed he wasn't wearing bicycle clips either.
Flapping Lycra can be lethal in a stiff breeze.

Judgeyface

Riders in eventing and showjumping DO wear proper hats. I don't think dressage hats are reinforced but the chances of coming off when you're mid turn-on-forehand are so minimal as to be non-existent.

The difference between horse riding and cycling is that if you fall off your horse at speed there is a fair likelihood of getting kicked in the head. Only a very specialist bike would do that to you!

As you can tell, I am a hat-wearer for horses but am firmly sans headgear when on bikes.

Bit of a hijack - but what's all this 'somethingface' thing that's appeared over the last couple of days? I'm sure there's a marked increase in it - are we taking the piss out of someone?

I'vemissedsomethingface

Cluelessface

Nochangetherethenface

?

So the caption on this Telegraph article is wrong, it doesn't show the Queen's Grand-daughter immediately after completing 2012 eventing?

Would have sworn some of them only had fancy hats on yesterday, but then I watch the horses more than the riders anyway. :)

Would I be wearing a helmet cycling round at that speed with no cars in sight? Yes - but that's because I can fall off my bike without any excuse. Would it have set a good example to kids - possibly. Was it necessary for Bradley Wiggins to wear one in the precise circumstances - I think not, YABU

A world in which people cannot think for themselves scares me more than one in which someone casually cycles a short distance from A to B without a cycling helmet.

He did wear one?

It references a funny thread the other day Wiggy.

Just a poster with an odd style including 'sadface' a lot.

The caption is correct, DontEat, she was competing in the dressage element of the eventing dressed like that. As pointed out ^^ the chances of falling in this are minimal. THey wear helmets for the show jumping and cross country elements of the eventing.

The biggest cycling club in the UK actually thinks that wearing helmets would have a negative impact on public health overall. Drivers take less care when they see you're wearing a helmet, they can strangle you and it's not even proven they are useful in a crash.

Beyond that, the very idea that Wiggo is suddenly going to have a fatal crash when going about 3 miles an hour on an empty road is laughble.

And his zip was undone - he could have got a nasty graze if he'd come off his bike

I am so pleased for him