The other week, my husband flipped over the handlebars of his mountain bike, landed on his head, and rode out of the woods with a concussion. He was wearing the POC Trabec Race Helmet
I’d bought him a few months earlier, which shows that I know exactly what he needs.
He was already a fan of this helmet: it’s extremely lightweight and the little visor that’s meant to shield your eyes from the sun appears to have also protected his face from getting destroyed in an earlier wreck (He doesn’t crash as frequently as this post makes it sound, but sometimes bad luck comes in bunches). Now he’s alive with a functioning brain, so that’s a pretty good endorsement for the lid.
His main symptom was short-term memory loss, which at the time was terrifying, but in retrospect was a gift: He acted so damn weird that I knew we should head to the emergency room. A CT scan came back fine. After a few days and lots of sleep, he was mostly recovered, although he’ll probably never remember the evening of the accident.
It’s a reminder to wear a quality helmet, of course. But this wreck also proves that even if a helmet sustains little visible damage—my husband’s POC had a patch of abrasion and a very small dent—the rider may still have a concussion. In fact, as Bicycling Magazine notes, he almost certainly does.
Since a concussion is such a common cycling injury, it’s worth learning about the symptoms in advance. Note that most people don’t lose consciousness; my husband never did. And when a rider rattles his brain, he might not be lucid enough to know that he should see a doctor. At that point, the helmet’s job is done. Then it’s up to us—riding buddies, friends, and family—to provide the next layer of protection, and steer each other down the path of recovery.