WELL, Ron Healey really continues to excel in his Luddite approach to what should be a cyclist's personal choice (June 22).

I remember very clearly what happened after the front wheel of my bike skidded on a greasy manhole as I started to turn right in The Groves 25 years ago.

The incident happened so quickly there was no time for any reaction to protect myself. I simply found myself in a bruised heap on the road.

Two worried pedestrians came running. They were surprised I had escaped with bruises. They said: "We saw your head bounce off the road".

The reason why my cranium was not injured was because I was wearing an ancient, yellow climbing helmet.

This was a long time before head protection was available from York cycle shops.

It was my choice to continue to choose this form of head protection.

Ron Healey can produce his anti-helmet statistics as often as he likes but will not sway me to change my mind on their benefits.

I also notice that most cyclists in Slovakia seem to think the same way as I do.

John Edwin Skelton,

Banska Bystrica,

Slovak Republic.

Updated: 10:41 Friday, June 28, 2002