In our increasingly fractured world, it's rare when a whole bunch of people you know (and who don't necessarily know each other) send you the same thing and say "You have to see this" anymore. I'm going to guess it's that way for you, too. It's just the way of things.
But a bunch of folks I know had to send me Gordon Ramsay's Father's Day message this year. Now, I'm admittedly a pretty big believer in ATGATT. I won't even ride to the gas station without my helmet. It's just not how I'm built.
And that usually carries over to other types of riding, as well. Bicycles and e-bikes? Helmet. Roller skates? Helmet. I tried riding a bicycle without a helmet once recently, just to see if I could. It felt totally wrong, and I'll probably never do it again.
Apparently, neither will Gordon Ramsay after a nasty crash in Connecticut. He's a big bicycle guy, and he had a crash so scary, he was visibly shaking in the video he recorded for his Instagram for Father's Day.
While he doesn't go into great detail about the crash itself, the post shows both Before and After photos of his gear. Toward the end of the video, he also lifts up his chef's jacket to show a truly astonishing purple bruise that seems to have taken over the entire left side of his torso. It almost looks like top-level special effects makeup, except it's real. And it's absolutely horrifying.
He credits his helmet with saving him from having any more serious damage, though. The After photo of the helmet shows some serious damage, so even though he didn't say exactly what happened, it's clear that his injuries could have been significantly worse if he hadn't been wearing it.
Well-wishes soon started pouring in from all over the globe, both from inside the food world and out. Even the MotoAmerica official IG account popped up to say that it's a great reminder to wear a helmet on all types of bikes. And whoever posted that is 100 percent right, because they really do make a difference.
While it's a great message to share with the rest of the world, though, if you're a dad, the first people who you probably want to hear a message like that are your kids. And luckily, as of a few hours before writing, it seems like Ramsay's son, Oscar, heard his dad's message loud and clear.
Go out! Ride! Have fun! But be careful, please. We like you, and we're glad that you're here, and we hope that you stay here for a long, long time.
Peace.