Take on the bike helmet

A buddy commented the other day that i was a total dork for wearing a
bike helmet when I ride the Citibike through the streets of NY
claiming it was one of the least cool things anybody over the age of
nine could ever do.

First of all, I am fully aware that I am not cool. At this point of my
life I am the furthest thing from cool. Within a few months I will be
a father of three driving a minivan to my 2700 square foot house in
the suburbs, so I have no pretense of cool. Cool left when I stopped
going to jazz bars listing to a funk band until 2am every Wednesday,
cool left when I stopped going to happy hour and instead started
racing a citibike to catch the earlier bus home to see my kids, cool
left when wearing sneakers to work went from a casual Friday to a
necessity because of the sleet.

The second reason his argument means nothing is because riding a bike
in midtown manhattan is actually a bit dangerous and I really don't
want to have a broken skull. Between the cabbies, swinging open car
doors, poorly marked (and often completely ignored) dedicated bike
lanes and millions of pedestrians, it is a miracle I am still in one
piece. So, if looking like a dork costs me a brain injury, that is a
cost I am willing to absorb. Now that I think of it, at this point, I
may get one of those reflective vests to wear when I ride