a trip of a lifetime

I had this weekend all planned out.  Between 12-2pm I was to be attending a little VW meet at The Old Leathern Bottel in Wokingham. My sister wanted some help building furniture and I wanted to buy a helmet so I could finally take my moped out on the open road.

The subjects of helmets is a very personal matter. Fnarr Fnarr. I wanted to save some cash and buy on-line but my fellow JOGLErs said I needed to try on some helmets to see what would fit. This meant going to a Motorcycle Clothing Shop. Living the dream!

I had heard of a place called Hein Gericke and searched them on-line and they had helmets in my price range. They also had a shop in Reading, only 15 miles from my house. So I jumped in my car and was there in 30 minutes.

Hein Gericke In Reading

I’d already checked on-line and they had a sale on. I knew that my budget (£50-80) would include some £100+ helmet which had been reduced. I only wanted to get a helmet as I’m sure I’ll be able to get the rest of the clothing required on-line based on their sizing guides. There were 2 people on the desk when I went in and I started with, “Hi, I want to buy a helmet.” and a very helpful chap guided me to the massive helmet (fnarr fnarr) selection.

“Have you got a preference in make/model?”

“I’ve got a preference in price” was my amazingly witty reply. Well I thought it was.

With this in mind he took a helmet from the display and I tried it on.

“This is £49.99” and it fitted really well. The only problem was that I couldn’t get my glasses on. I explained that I needed to wear my glasses while riding and the sales guy fetched me another helmet. This one had a groove either side of the padding inside to allow the glasses to be worn with the helmet on. The 2nd helmet seemed to fit well but I asked the guy if he had any more in my price bracket. He gave me another £49.99 helmet which I could feel pressing on my forehead.

The sales dude explained that a little pressure on the cheeks is good, but on the forehead its bad. So I went for the 2nd helmet I tried on and it was only £59.99, within my price bracket.

As I went to pay I asked if there was anything else I needed, he recommended some visor cleaner in a spray, which I bought, then asked what security I had. He was a bit shocked to hear I had none, but then I don’t live in Reading and my bike hasn’t moved from my back garden!

Sales Dude took me to the security section and first of all suggested I buy a disc-lock which I had to explain wouldn’t work on my mighty Honda Camino as it had drum brakes. I settled on something which looked a bit like a bike lock so it was light-weight and easy to fit.

My total spend at Hein Gericke was £83.96 and I feel like I’m ready to hit the road as a biker. I thought the helmet would come in a box but instead I got a little fabric bag for it to go in. And now it will live in my cupboard behind my kitchen ready for its first outing.

The Sales Dude did tell me something of use. I said I shouldn’t drop it and he said although that used to be true of old helmets, new ones can take the odd drop/knock but I needed to pay attention to the black inside of the helmet. If it looks cracked or white lines appear in it then it needs to be replaced. This was good to know.