One of my daughters has “borrowed” my bike helmet so I decided I’d buy a new one today.
The cycling shop was open so I thought I’d just pop in quickly since I knew exactly what I wanted. Turns out it wasn’t that simple.
There was a ten fold difference in prices, for one thing, that the sales assistant couldn’t really explain. Also, some helmets come in a women’s version, and he couldn’t really explain that to me, either. It was something to do with sizing, he thought, but since they also all came with cm ranges, and were small, medium, or large, that didn’t make sense to me. The colours didn’t seem to be any different, which would actually be one time I might have happily paid the pink tax, because surely drivers would be less likely to have a go at me if I was a poor weak female rather than some MAMIL? A friend of mine decorates her bicycle and helmet with plastic flowers for that very reason. The assistant kept trying to take me to the computer at the checkout counter, to see what other colours the helmet he liked best came in, so they could order it in, but a) I didn’t want to get something ordered in, I wanted it now dammit! And also b) he really hadn’t convinced me that the helmet he liked was what I wanted (at $300 a pop).
in the end, I left without buying anything, which was a frustrating waste of time for both of us. I’m still not convinced the perfect helmet for me wasn’t on the shelf somewhere, just waiting for me to explain my needs better to the salesman. What I really want is something with good coverage, that will gently cup my cerebellum at the back as well as the cerebrum under the rest of my skull. I definitely don’t want some tiny thing perched on the top of my head.
I hope to do better at one of the shops back in Wellington later in the week. Wish me luck.