Give me a break by donald byrneHelmets are a must. Only an idiot would ride without one, however they are not mandatory so I guess it's one way to clean the gene pool. Mine is not a story but a gripe. I grew up wearing Calumetes (Sp?) and am disgusted with the helmets on the market. Not that they don't vastly improve protection to the head. They do that but only if the helmet stays in place. What happened to the really functional chin-strap? You know, the kind that as a cup that surrounds the chin? My old helmet finally went the way of all good things and was forced to purchase a helmet at my local tack shop. They all had a thin, under the jaw stap that does absolutely nothing to hold the helmet in place during a violent fall. It is a farce. I wear it when I ride but feel no safer than I did whipping hounds wearing a traditional huntcap.