My helmet saved my life

The biking story

It’s a well talked about matter that cyclists are encouraged to always wear a helmet and I don’t think I know of any cyclist who wouldn’t wear on one on each and every occasion they mount a bike outdoors.

So I’m probably preaching to the converted here. But without doubt, that fact that I was wearing a high quality helmet, properly fitted and tightened, undoubtedly saved my life when on 22^nd August 2019, I suffered a mechanical issue with my bike while braking at the end of a downhill stretch at around 30mph.  As my rear tyre deflated almost instantaneously from a split tube , I felt my rear wheel destabilise so I subconsciously tightened my grip on my brakes. Alas, because I was already braking, I locked my front brake and remember very clearly how my body rose up and I rotated over my handlebars.  After what felt like an age but which must have been less than a second, the rotation ended with the top of my helmeted-head smacking into the tarmac.  Wounds on my knuckles testify to the fact that I was still holding onto my handlebar drops as I hit the deck, but after the full force of the impact, my body somersaulted and I rolled to a halt a couple of metres from my bike.

The prognosis of such an impact is not good.  And in many respects my injuries were miraculously at the lighter end of the possibilities.  I had, only the week before, tweaked the straps on my Kask Mojito helmet to make sure that they were tight all round, with the strap allowing me to only insert two fingers underneath it under my chin.

Nevertheless, the rotation of my body over the helmet left it pushed down over my eyes, with my sunglasses having fallen off.  I was bloody from my nose and a gash on my forehead, probably caused by my glasses, but fully conscious and rational, albeit with shock beginning to kick in.

I had an intense ache in my upper back and neck.  Scans when I got to hospital showed that the shockwave of the impact had fractured my T1 and T7 vertebrae.  However, they were not displaced and there was no spinal cord damage. I am now fitted with a halo brace for the next 6-8 weeks while my bones heal, and I remain hopeful of a full recovery.

Without a helmet I would not have survived that impact.  However, If I hadn’t been wearing a top-quality helmet, or had not taken the time to make sure it was tightly fitted, then my injuries could have been so much worse…

My thoughts went back to two occasions in the ten days before my accident, when I’d found a young triathlete and an older running friend both wearing helmets that was very loose under their chin when fastened.  On both occasions I challenged them and they responded positively by tweaking their straps.  But if you’re reading this guys – you now have more evidence for why I was concerned at your helmet fit!

Therefore a shout out to Kask helmets – I picked the Mojito model I because I’d see it used in the professional cyclist peloton. It certainly did its job, but here it is after the accident – note the extensive cracks in the polystyrene.  This helmet will never be worn again, but I’m keeping it to show what happens in a crash!

So, in conclusion I have a simple message:  

Always wear a good quality helmet that has never previously had an impact.  And make sure that the straps are tightly adjusted so that, in the unfortunate event of an accident, it stays on your head in the right place, before and during any impact.

And as an added point, after any incident that requires medical attention, please don’t remove the helmet – allow the medical professionals to do so!

The spiritual angle of helmet protection.

[As explained in my first blog post – I often get inspired when in a sporting context by parallel concepts that apply to my spiritual life as a Christian. If at this time you only want to ready the sporting bit of my blog (the section above) that’s fine, but it is my hope and prayer that you will find something here beyond the physical and practical story of my journey back from my serious bike accident.]

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There’s a lot of religious meaning tied up with being ‘saved’.  But in this cycling incident we can imagine clearly what that consequence was of me wearing a helmet.

I chose to be out cycling that evening, wearing a helmet, I chose (to some extent) the speed and direction of my bike.  Yet when something happened outside of my control, by having the recommended level of protection, I was literally saved from much more serious injury.

As a Christian, I have committed myself to follow Christ and through faith I believe I have been fundamentally and completely accepted by God – I am saved from the consequences of my sin.  Nevertheless, to live the full life God intends for me I need help and I have to make right choices on a daily basis.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesus with a helpful metaphor:

Ephesians 6:13-17

¹³ Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,

So, alongside a range of metaphorical protective armour, we are encouraged to choose to wear a ‘helmet of salvation’.  That is to say – to have as a defence for our minds the confidence that, in Christ, that we are secure in Him – saved from the consequences of a life lived independent of Him.

Or put it another way.  The manufacturer’s instruction manual for how to live life recommends that we protect our heads /minds from being damaged by everything and anything that comes at us.

We’d be foolish to ride the bicycle of life without wearing that protection!

My brain was saved by my cycle helmet.  And my mind is being protected in the present by knowing who I am in Christ and what he has done for me.

So, if the learning from my bike crash is that you should always wear a recommended-quality cycling helmet, are you also wearing the manufacturer’s head protection plan for the whole of life?