Updated 5 November 2004
This letter from Alan Rowe was published in edited form in Cycling Weekly 2
October 2004
Crash Helmets
First of all I have to say
that I have always been against the compulsory wearing of hard shell helmets for
leisure riding, as in the past I have crashed on the track in multiple rider
tumbles, in road races having had chain marks on my head, and in a time trial
slipping on a roundabout where it was damp and greasy. On each occasion I got up
and carried on, I also used to suffer during road races during the heat where I
got Nausea through wearing a cloth cap, so I was not going to wear a helmet
while I was leisure riding,
BUT!! Recently I went
on a day trip to France with
friends and 5km from the ferry port on our way
home it is alleged that I sprinted for the Calais sign, it is thought that I got
cramp and lost control of the bike as apparently the bike fell sideways and I
fell off the back of the bike onto the base of my spine and my head flopped down
onto a newly surfaced road with granite chippings. I sustained a very, very
serious head injury with bleeding, swelling, and bruising of the brain. I spent
two weeks in an induced coma, and another 2weeks medication in a Calais
hospital, which at this point I want to say that the French medical team did a
fantastic job. I was then transferred to England where I spent another month in
hospital for rehabilitation and further medication.
The point I want to make is none of us knows what
is around the corner and as a competitive cyclist for fifty yrs. I think I
qualify as a very experienced cyclist, but this accident has brought it home to
me how lucky I am to be able to write this. To the competitive ones among you, I
was having a very good season, but as this happened at the end of May the rest
of this season had been lost.
So the first thing I am going to do before I
resume riding is buy a decent hard shell helmet and I would seriously advise
any other cyclist to do the same, but I’ve read articles before and not taken
any notice! But of course at the end of the day it is up to you!
THINK!!
I would like to finish now by thanking my wife and
family for visiting me on a daily basis here and in France, also to the many
cycling friends who visited me in France and Dartford, and for the many cards it
all helped with my recovery it really did, to know how much people were thinking
of me.
Alan Rowe
De Laune CC
Evans
Cycles/Specialised
This by the way this is the unedited version, and although most of the
editing by Cycling was ok where there are extra words where they are not needed
they left out two important parts namely THINK!!, and most important the very
last paragraph.
