1/As someone who has worked in the cycle training industry for many years now, I find the current debate around helmets both refreshing and apposite. The cycle training industry in the UK is largely delived via #bikeability. It is an industry literally washed in helmet and hivis. https://twitter.com/cyclite/status/1281851808781144066

2/Check out any of the websites or social media accounts of @BikeabilityT @BikeabilityUK, or the main private providers such as @CycleConfident @CycleExperience @BikeRightUK et al, and you will see endless images of children strapped up to the eyeballs in PPE

3/ an image, which fails to represent the reality of cycling. The rules around mandatory helmet use during training are arbitrary. Totally dependant on the culture of the Local Authority commissioning the work.

4/ It is unclear what the aforementioned organisations do to challenging this view, if anything. In fact, it is likely that they tacitly support mandatory helmet use, through either omission or commission.

5/ What does it mean for Instructors. Instructors are also, often, required to wear a helmet. If you are a non-helmet wearing Instructor, you will lose out on work in an already insecure gig economy environment.

6/ What about the children. Again, interesting. #bikeability already fails to reach a large proportion of children, those who cannot cycle by year 4 or 5. These children are likely to be from challenging socio-economic backgrounds.

And the children from those same backgrounds who can cycle, are likely to be overespresented in helmet studies - see this thread by @galwaycyclist https://twitter.com/galwaycyclist/status/1280516026858377220?s=19

For many children, PPE, aside from being unnecessary, presents yet another (financial) barrier to cycling. It reinforces the idea of cycling being an inherently dangerous activity. And the cycle training industry is complicit in this.

Nb. For clarity, the use if helmets or hivis is not a mandatory requirement of #bikeability or national standard training. The requirement is imposed by the local authority, and or provider company.

Oh, and lastly, 300 miles across the North sea... https://twitter.com/BicycleMayor020/status/1273324327564447744?s=19