If like me you take to wearing a woolly hat in the winter to keep you warm rather than wearing a helmet, a word of warning.

On a cold January Sunday morning, like hundreds of other cyclists, 3 of us braved the icy cold to do our 60 mile training ride. The ride was eventful right from the outset when within 20 minutes a dog brought two of us down when it ran across the road, we braked, it was icy, we fell on our bums, I swore at the dog owner!

I went one better when 10 minutes later, again on ice but without the aid of a dog this time, I landed on my bum again, this time I jammed the toggle of my cycling jacket between the ground and my bum. This caused further expletives to exit from my mouth, well it hurt! For the next 30 minutes or so my riding partners were taking bets as to when I was going to hit the ground again but I genuinely believe that none of us expected the following.

I was about 20 metres ahead of the other two and had successfully negotiated the most recent batch of ice and slush. I was nearing the bottom of a small hill, approaching a junction when I touched my front brakes and ..... well you can see the rest for yourself on the right.

Unknown to me the road was not only wet but covered in diesel and without any warning the bike washed away to the left and the right side of my head hit the ground with a sickening thump.

An ambulance ride, 5 stitches, a black eye, a thumping headache and concussion later (I take a while to cotton on to some things). I now resolve to wear my helmet irrespective of the conditions and have now purchased a GILL Thermal Hat to wear under my helmet.

I have tried to put an amusing slant to the story because it must have been hilarious seeing yours truly hitting the deck every 10 minutes. But the message is a serious one because I was lucky, my wounds will heal.

If this section smacks of scare mongering - I'm sorry, but this is what can happen if you don't wear a helmet, the wounds are real and MINE. I thought long and hard before including this section. In truth I didn't want to admit that I'd ridden without a helmet. I decided I had to and anyway no one can call me any names I haven't called myself already.