Where I live, I could easily ride 'around the block' without a helmet on and without fear of ever running into Plod..........and although I have been tempted on many times, commonsense prevails.......... .......but I do admit to doing it once or twice in jeans and tee-shirt........and, I always wear boots of some sort (not thigh length though) AL
I had a run out without a lid when I was young, to see how far I could get without being nicked. Bit of a non-story though, cos no-one noticed at all. Different story when I took a police bike for a run out. Teach him to leave the keys in it...
Up to 1973 it was still legal to ride without a helmet, which I did (like everybody else) on numerous occasions. Totally liberating. But I wore a lid if I was going very far or very fast, or if the weather was cold or wet. To begin with it was a borrowed pudding-basin, later an open face from Owens of Bow (who did individual fittings so the helmet was the exact shape of your head, and would tailor the lining in kid leather for you).
I'd like to say I wouldn't consider riding without a helmet now, but I can't. Truth is the lid is there to keep the bugs off, and that's the only reason I wouldn't wear an open face lid either. There are still odd occasions when I could happily take my lid off and have a plonk round the lanes enjoying the scenery. I still remember Fred Hill...
