[melvinmt]

I never understood why adults in the US wear a helmet when they bike (I'm from Holland, no one does that) but now that I've been cycling in LA for a while… I understand. The roads are not built for bicyclists (this "bike map" exemplifies the issue: http://cl.ly/image/1L3E2H063l1u) and drivers are simply not aware. I dutifully wear the helmet here, while my Dutch friends laugh at me.

[rdtsc]

Exactly. Comparing Holland to US is like night and day (well with regional variations -- some cities try at least to build bike lanes).

> I dutifully wear the helmet here, while my Dutch friends laugh at me.

Better to be laughed at wearing a helmet than being laughed at while being a vegetable.

> The roads are not built for bicyclists

There is another more insidious element -- in some parts of the country, there is a negative aspect of motorist culture where motorists are irritated by and hate bicyclists. Really doesn't make any sense but if you go on tours through rural parts on a road bike, be prepared to be honked at and have beer cans thrown at you. I wouldn't be too shocked to hear that on a secluded country road you might end being a target and be specifically clipped or pushed off road.

That probably sounds totally ridiculous to our but that happened to two of my coworkers.