Last Saturday was glorious, perhaps the last sunny, warm day of the season, so a couple friends and I set out for a 50-plus-mile ride on Rhode Island’s magnificent East Bay Bike Path, one of my favorite places to pedal.

I know, I know, our own southeastern Connecticut offers many wonderful bicycle routes, and for the last several weeks I’ve been enjoying them, but with all due respect none of them matches East Bay overall for exquisite water views along Narragansett Bay, flat-as-a-pancake terrain, free parking at trailheads, access to extraordinary state parks, rest rooms, water fountains, bike shops, lemonade stands and other amenities, and frankly, politeness of motorists at intersections.

The 14.5-mile long, 10-foot-wide asphalt strip (www.dot.ri.gov/community/bikeri/eastbay.php) crosses several quiet byways as well as busy city streets, and at each one time cars, trucks and buses stopped and waved us ahead. Often times motorists paused for several minutes to allow a string of cyclists, inline skaters, runners and families pushing strollers across.

In many other places I cycle cars grudgingly give you a few inches along the shoulder and then glare or honk their horns if you dare to make a left turn, legally, across traffic. In fairness to drivers, too many bicyclists insist on riding two or three abreast, assume they always have the right of way and never stop for red lights.

Everybody on the road needs to exercise more common sense and common courtesy.

Anyway, it was a wonderful outing last Saturday and we took a few detours, including one through the crown jewel, Colt State Park in Bristol, before looping back toward Providence and eventually logging 55 miles.

In all we must have passed a thousand or more other riders, who for the most part abided by the rule of staying to the right side of the stripe painted down the middle of the path, and who politely edged aside whenever you called out, “On your left!”

The only troubling aspect: So many riders did not wear helmets. What, do they think they’re never going to fall, or, if they did, they wouldn’t hit their head on the pavement, or, if that happened, they wouldn’t sustain a serious injury?

Everybody who bikes risks going down sooner or later – I don’t care if you ride around the block once a month or race with a team every week. This summer alone several friends have had bad crashes that resulted in broken bones, lacerations and other traumatic injuries. Luckily, all were wearing helmets or else they would have been much worse off or dead.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, helmets provide critical protection for bicyclists. Among a majority of bicyclists killed in crashes, head injuries are the most serious injuries. Helmet use has been estimated to reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent.

The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute reports that 91 percent of bicyclists killed in 2009 weren't wearing helmets. Yet there are no federal laws governing bicycle helmets, only a confusing patchwork of state statutes that apply for the most part to youngsters, not adults – even though most people who die in bicycle crashes are over 16. In 2009, in fact, adults accounted for 89 percent of all bicycle deaths.

Connecticut, like many states, requires only riders over 16 to wear helmets; in slightly more safety-conscious Rhode Island, the age limit is 15, and it applies not only to bicyclists but to those on skateboards, rollers skates, scooters and inline skates.

Connecticut and Rhode Island are in the distinct minority. According to The Governors Highway Safety Association, only 21 states and the District of Columbia have helmet laws for bicyclists below a certain age, generally about 16.

These laws more or less parallel inconsistent state regulations regarding motorcycle helmets, but that’s a whole other issue that also makes no sense to me. I’m not going to debate that topic other than to say that is somebody wants to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, fine – just make them state their preference on their insurance policies, charge them whopping premiums and indemnify insurers if riders violate the terms.

As for bicyclists, states should pass laws mandating helmets for all riders regardless of age.

Among the many helmetless riders I observed last week were parents of young kids who set the worst example for their offspring. The children all dutifully wore protective headgear, but I couldn’t help imagine a youngster thinking, “I can’t wait until I’m older like Mommy and Daddy, so I don’t have to put on this stupid thing.”