Jaw-dropping reason to wear bike helmet
It might be ugly and uncomfortable but it may well have saved Ross Vessey’s life.
The blue helmet the Ka¯ piti man was wearing nearly a fortnight ago is now split in half – just like his bike. His jaw didn’t fare much better.
After days of going riding bareheaded during his lockdown keep-fit routine, Vessey reluctantly donned a helmet for his Saturday ride – a ride that saw him slam into a parked car.
‘‘They say comedic timing is everything and I nailed it.’’
Looking at photos taken of Vessey immediately after his crash, it’s hard to believe the 67-year-old is walking and talking. But, despite two plates in his jaw and five missing teeth, he’s feeling pretty good.
‘‘Everyone tells me I should buy a Lotto ticket but, as far as I’m concerned, I won the lottery that day.’’
Fed up with not being able to keep up with his swimming routine during level four lockdown, he had been riding his recently-acquired road bike for exercise.
‘‘I was about 200 metres from home with my head down going hell for leather into the wind.
‘‘What happened next can best be summed up by my grandson who asked me ‘why didn’t you look where you were going?’ ’’
Vessey smashed into the back of a car – ‘‘the boot doesn’t open now’’ – and was catapulted over his handlebars. The rest is blurry.
First on the scene were people working in their gardens who were also trained in first aid. A nurse biking past also stopped to help.
While he was grateful for everyone who came to his rescue, extra credit went to oral and maxillofacial surgeon Manish Patel.
‘‘He said ‘you did a first-class job of smashing your face up but I did a better job of fixing it’ and he was right.’’
An experienced motorcyclist, Vessey said he would never consider getting on his motorbike without a helmet and the same would now apply to bicycles. ‘‘I’ve always worn an open-face helmet on the motorbike and I’ll never do it again.’’
He’s also concerned about the number of lockdown riders without helmets.
‘‘It sounds boring and they’re ugly and uncomfortable but for goodness’ sake, just wear a bloody helmet.’’
‘‘As far as I’m concerned, I won the lottery that day.’’ Ross Vessey