BLAINE, Minn. – (April 13, 2017) – Hundreds of people and bike helmets. Every spring Blaine City Hall is filled with families who are excited to get back outside and get on their bikes. And local police and fire are ready to help.
“Bike helmets are important because they protect your brain,” said Connie Forster from the SBM Fire Department. “It’s important to have a bike helmet on every single time you ride a bike.”
This is the 16th year that Blaine has been doing a helmet fitting event, and they see it as a way to not only make sure people are in the right helmets, but also to educate.
“It’s important to start a child wearing a helmet as soon as they start riding a bike so it’s just part of what they do,” said Forster.
Police officers, fire fighters and emergency responders got more than 600 helmets sized to heads to just 3 hours.
“It’s just as important to have the right size helmet as it is to have a helmet on your head,” said Forster.
No one plans on falling off their bike, but weather conditions, road conditions can be poor, or sometimes it’s a driver who doesn’t see the bicyclist.
10801 Town Square Dr. NE
Blaine, MN 55449
May 16, 2017
4 – 7 p.m.
Free fittings
$10 helmets for purchase
“I fell here, here and here,” he said, pointing out the places of impact.
And he is a big believer in bike helmets and how much value they have.
“I average one fall every two years, and this helmet is about 18 years old, and I’m due for a brand new one,” said Castagneri. “This thing saved my life.”
“If you have helmets at home, and if there is any visible damage, if there’s chunks of styrofoam out, of if the shell is loose, it’s a good time to consider getting a new helmet,” said Forster.
But, in addition to selling new helmets, the professionals are happy to fit any helmet you already own free of charge.
“If you have helmets in garage, and you just aren’t quite sure if they fit properly we’d encourage you to bring those as well, we’d be happy to fit those for you,” said Forster.
