This may have been done earlier in urc but 'fraid I've been a bit lax of late - 2004 is turning into
an unprecedented year so far regards the good stuff...could be so good I might even end up with a
'bent trike before it's out ;-) Anyway, back to subject... In my role as kiddie cyclist trainer for
the local council, I went to our team meeting yesterday, in readiness for the new season. Our 'team
leader' had several things on the agenda, one of which was a BHIT video. We were asked of our views
and whether we thought they should invest in 10 copies for distribution amongst the primary
schools..... It was called Peters Birthday. For his 14th birthday Peter had a nice new shiny bike
from his parents. He also had a helmet from his sister. As he was just popping down the park with
his mates, he reckoned he didn't need his helmet. Suprise, suprise, the family spent the rest of his
birthday in the emergency ward, following his loss of control of the bike because "it's got good
brakes" and a meeting of unprotected skull and concrete bench support. For his 18th birthday, he was
in his wheelchair but hadn't quite worked out how to blow his candles out through the tube in his
throat, so his mates did it for him...oh, I think his mate was hitting on his sister too. Mum was by
now realising that the rest of her life would be spent looking after her little sparrow with the
damaged wing. By his 21st he'd realised that he probably wouldn't ever be getting a girlfriend, dad
was getting well ratty that he wasn't getting any attention (selfish prat!!). By his 30th mom was
looking very old for her age, dad had run off with the barmaid from the local as he couldn't take it
anymore.....Also, lots of candles on his cake and, of course, his mates had stopped coming round -
the guilt had obviously worn off..... And finally, his loving sister got married but didn't move too
far away, just half an hours drive. They then finish the video with a load of stats, just on the
screen long enough to shock but not to memorise. The first I called into question was 90,000 cycle
accidents per year in the UK for under 16s. This may or may not be accurate. I guess if you include
tumbles in learning to ride, taking stabilisers off etc, then just possibly maybe. Where the hell do
they get the figures from?...who records it all ? Obviously they have self-survival at heart. They
make their money from promoting helmet use but this video was wholly unsuitable for use at primary
schools. It'd scare the poor little mites off bikes for life!!...well done BHIT!!...mid-teens would
be sick and twisted enough to see the funny side of it, so no useful effect there...ah, I've got
it!!...the folks who provide grants and fund this kind of organisation. They know nothing about
cycling but can't help thinking that, just like smoking, banging your head on a solid object from a
great height at speed is bad for your health and requires a 'shock' approach to get the message
over......... The decision was made not to use the video - Again, well done BHIT!!
Dave.
Cynical helmet wearer ;-)