Capping your head with style

LOVINGSTON -- I turn my head back to see my if my baby bro is still riding tight behind and my visor flies up, sucking wind into my helmet.

I turn my head back and it returns to the down position.

No doubt about it, the old AFX, she ain't what she used to be.

After four years of nigh on to daily use, my flag-emblazoned, patriotic helmet proudly made in Taiwan, is wearing out. The protective Styrofoam liner is still good and, although there are scrapes and scratches on the fiberglass surface, the outside is still pretty good.

But after what must be hundreds of thousands of shield lifts at dozens of stoplights every day and getting pulled on an off my head a minimum of four or five times a day 300 days a year, the padding is a little thin, the face shield mechanism stripped, a vent fascia missing (it blew off three years  ago on I-64) and dozens of motorcycle safety classes worn atop a head slathered in SPF 3000, the helmet ain't all that.

It's safe, yes, but it's worn and getting less than comfortable. It's loud on the highway. It fits a little loose when I get a hair cut.

It smells funny.

I bought the hat several years ago from the old KTM dealer, Moto-Virginia. It was a replacement for my 7-year-old  white Shoei which suffered from similar abuse. I bought it because it looked cool and provided safety, but mostly because it looked cool.

Helmets, after all, are a statement. You are telling people your story. For instance, I chose the flag because I wanted to exhibit a bit of rebelliousness, have something different and make a statement.

The American flag is the original rebel flag and can be worn without people worrying that you're going to break into the house, steal their bed linens and wear them to a party.

The only problem is that some members of political groups, like the Tea Party, automatically assume that because I fly Old Glory, I'm flying in their flock.

Sorry. Although I think it would be fun to fill Congress with some of the oddities that are winning office under the Tea Party banner -- Congress could use a few "up yours" odd balls -- I am at odds with some of the Tea Party platform.

For instance, I'm a severe Constitutionalist: The Constitution promises equal protection under the law and no where does it say "except for gays and lesbians." I also believe in less government, especially between me and my doctor or in my bedroom which means abortion should not be controlled by the government, but is a medical decision.

I ain't for it, but it ain't the government's role to tell my family they can't have a procedure they and their doctors deem needed.

As for morality, the 1st Amendment promises freedom of religion and freedom from religion. Do we need to look further than the Taliban to show you where fundamental religion in places of power take the populace?

I'm all  for guns and the right to carry in public.

OK, enough of that.

I dig the Rebel Flag -- had one in my bedroom growing up Up North -- but I have friends who advise  me against wearing it because people will jump to conclusions. When I see the Stars and Bars I see someone giving the middle-finger to polite society, to the oppressive powers that be, to the same old dominant paradigm, to the 3 percent of rich Americans who run the freakin' country.

I see rebellion against mediocrity, against being told "this, son, is the way it is because it's the way it's always been."

Unfortunately, others see the Ku Klux Klan marching and fire hoses and unemployment and basically, hate.

Too bad, because AFX makes a serious cool looking helmet with the Stars and Bars and a small message of 'heritage not hate.'

Unfortunately, the message is loud but unclear to too many people. I don't want that. I want my statement to be clear.

The problem is I'm not so sure what my message is.

I could wear just a plain white helmet. White helmets, after all, were cited as reducing the chance of having a crash by 24 percent because they're more visible than other helmets.

Just for the record, the same Australian study showed hi-viz vests reduced chances by 37 percent, and headlights on during the day by 27 percent.

White helmets tend to cost less than the multi-colors, the designs or even the black. That means a white helmet says "I'm cheap" and "I'm a safety freak," both of which I am. Heck, that's one reason I bought the white Freedom AFX instead of the black, which has the same flag motif on a black background.

White and red, white and blue not only made a clear message, it helped me stand out in a pack and in traffic.

Of course, if you don't ride at all, your risk is less, but what's life without a little risk?

I scan the Web looking for designs.

There are plenty. The flag motif is big. Shoei has one and AFX had a new Freedom helmet, both of which are cool, but the Shoei is $700-plus and the AFX is about $119.

Advantage AFX.

But considering all the political posturing and the uncertainty out there about what is and isn't patriotic, maybe I should look for some new message to wear on my head.

What else do I stand for?

Family. Fiscal responsibility. Being broke and working too many jobs. Riding to work because I have to work to afford to ride. Beagles. Bass guitars. Motorcycle safety

I could, I suppose, embrace the whole motorcycle safety thing and go with the wondrously visible Scorpion EXO 400 in HIGH VISIBILITY yellow. I saw this helmet on a student in a different class and remarked on it. She said "I don't want to orphan my children, but I want to ride a motorcycle."

I think that message comes through loud and clear.

Loud, especially.

KBC once made an 8-ball helmet, black with an 8 in a white circle, just like the ball found on pool tables and the markings found on Victory's 8-ball series of cheaper bikes.

But the 8-ball was primarily black. And it hasn't been made for years.

I could go with something a little less challenging. I could get in touch with my feminine side and go for a softer statement, something a bit pastel as life gets pretty fluorescent as it is.

On the other hand, I don't mind getting in touch with my feminine side, but I don't any one else to touch it.

I don't know.

I'll work on it.

The hard part is decided what statement to make, what you want others who see you riding to know about you. Until I figure that out, I'll keep flying the flag.

I've still got time before the AFX toasts out and I can always use my back-up, 10-year-old white, safety-first Shoei should I need to hit the highway.

And maybe what's on my head doesn't count as much as I think. Maybe just the fact that I ride says enough.