I recently began to do most errands and my commute by bicycle. I have two bikes, one banged-up 70s Raleigh sports I can lock up anywhere in NYC without fear of theft, and an ultra fancy lady, a Pashley princess sovereign, pictured above on her way home from the excellent shop Bespoke Bicycles in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
I never wore a helmet when I lived in Europe, but I have a baby now, and that changes things. Still, most bike helmets are hideous and I'm not into the skate helmet as bike helmet thing. I have solved this dire, dire helmet problem by getting myself a show helmet. I did a lot of riding when I was younger so wearing this helmet actually feels a lot more normal to me than wearing a bike helmet. I'm used to it. And it looks better. Riding helmets happen to adhere to a higher safety standard than do bike helmets anyway because a horse will throw your ass in any direction.
Riding my bike through Brooklyn, and seeing other beautiful houses, in beautiful neighborhoods, makes me feel ok about our future in another place.
Beautiful Pashley. Sigh. I want to add one of those to my collection. The helmet you have looks classy. I have no experience with riding helmets - do you know of a good online store?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dottie! I hope to have many more bike photos up here once our crazy renovation is finished. I love the Pashley dearly. She has totally changed my life.
ReplyDeleteRiding helmets follow a much more precise sizing system than bike helmets and are not generally very adjustable so I would definitely say try to find a tack shop to determine your size and then order online for a better price. I think Dover Saddlery is a good online vendor, but I've noticed that prices for tack vary quite a lot so I would say find a good brand -- I like Troxel and Charles Owen for the show helmets -- and then search through Amazon and you might find a decent deal.
Thanks! I tried on a Bern bike helmet today that is totally modeled after riding helmets, it was pretty cool.
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