Originally Posted by
kookaburra1701
Even if you have two buds in, if you just run in a straight line and look around before changing direction you can avoid problems. I confess, when I'm out doing sprints and hill work I like to have both earbuds in and the music cranked up loud, but I've never had a close call with a cyclist.
Yup, no different than the cell phone while driving problem that doesn't exist. This thread blames the ear buds and not the person who is not paying attention. Paying attention is the root problem, not ear buds, not texting or gabbing on the phone, or the host of other items everyone blames.
I was riding past a group of women walking towards me on the left hand side. I saw 3 women. I remembered passing them earlier and remembered there was 4. The 4th was walking on my side of the trail with her head buried in her handbag obviously looking for something. I could have gone around her to my left, but had no idea what she would have done, possibly moving over to the left as she found what she was hunting for, whatever. I stopped instead and repeated, "look up, look up, look up!" She finally heard me, looked up, and jumped when she saw me on a bike almost directly in front of her before she noticed. Perhaps women shouldn't be allowed to have handbags on trails like people shouldn't have ear buds on trails.
Had this woman been walking on her right side of the trail with her head buried in her purse, she wouldn't have almost walked into me on my side. If someone wearing ear buds is walking or riding on the right side of the trail in a straight line, even if they aren't periodically looking behind to see if someone is coming up, there would be no issue at all.