Oof

This is kind of what I feel like...

Wear your helmet!

In the words of the ever present Nike ads, "Just do it!" There is no good reason not to wear a helmet. You may think there is a good reason not to wear it, but I assure you that you are wrong.

I actually talked to someone a couple days ago who told me that his reason for not wearing a helmet is because he heard of some study that showed drivers generally give cyclists without helmets more space on the road. You're kidding, right? Unfortunately he wasn't. I would like to point out that flat tires, stray dogs, other wobbly bike riders, cactus spines, roadkill, farm animals, low flying aircraft, komodo dragons, gale force winds and the rest of the world's hazards don't really care if you are wearing your helmet or not.

Having recently moved to the Milwaukee area I am stunned by the number of helmetless bike riders. You have the usual culprits: little kids in their driveways starting a lifelong habit of helmetlessness, the too cool teenagers riding to who knows where with the helmets on their handlebars because mom wouldn't let them leave the house without it but they can't stand to protect their noggins, then there's the old dude who's just out for a cruise on his decades old step through frame that you almost can't blame because they didn't have helmets when he was growing up in the stone age. There are a plethora of other culprits including fishing pole guy, errand girl and the worst of all...shirtless, tattooed, sideways baseball cap, "I ride with one hand on the wrong side of the road whenever possible with a passenger on the pegs" BMX rider with his knuckles scraping on the ground because the seat post is so low.

The options today are much better than they used to be...yes that is leather...

And you don't necessarily have to look like one of these guys either...

The selection of helmets is too wide to even get into right now. The bottom line is that there is sure to be a helmet that fits you comfortably and won't break the bank, so you have no excuse not to have one. Just be sure that you put it on the right way.

and not backwards...

Whether you call it a melon protector, a brain bucket, hard hat or what have you...put it on your head, not on your handlebars or in your backpack (trust me you're not fast enough to put it on before you hit the ground). Then get out there and ride like the wind.

Student Organizations

Over the last two weeks we have had lunch time presentations by all of the student organizations. I'm thinking about joining a few of them including the Student Surgical Society. I wonder if I can bring Junior Mints to our meetings...

New Territory

I am spoiled. That's what I think it comes down to. I've been riding all summer in places with mountains and nice newly paved roads with little to no traffic.

But seriously, the roads around the Milwaukee area are in bad shape. Even for driving! The lines are hard to see, there are almost no shoulders. The only thing good for cyclists is that most roads seem to have speed limits of 40 MPH or slower which makes it easier to stay out of the way of traffic.

The worst is that any place in the suburbs of Milwaukee is really congested. It's like they just left all the oldest stuff and kept going with only slightly less old stuff. Even the patches in the pavement are old. It makes it hard when I have limited time to get out and ride, I want it to be on pavement worthy of my wheels.

That's what I get for choosing a med school for its academic credentials, though, instead of riding locale. Pssh! What was I thinking?

With that said, I have found some decent routes. They just can't quite compare to what I've been brought up on. I rode this today:

Save Money Cut Your Own Hair

I am poor. I am a medical student which means that I am poor. A student I spoke to last year candidly told me that her "net worth is now negative around $500,000" (She had a lot of school loans and married another med student, and bought a house and had two kids). Thankfully, I'm not that poor.

However, I am still a med student. Which qualifies me as a PCS (poor college student). So instead of paying for haircuts, my wife cuts my hair. It may not be quite as cool as the Flowbee it is definitely a money saver.

Plus this way, she gets to use some of the money that I would spend on my haircuts towards hers. Win-win situation. Woohoo! Still working on some other money saving techniques like eating at home and trying to find a good bike commuting route (and bike).