Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
Don't ever travel 1000mi west and ride in Iowa then. So many riders here listen to music, you wouldn't be able to function. MUPs paved in all directions and music playing all over the place.
When I am on roads, even in the suburbs, its difficult to even hear music from my phone's speakers. A Bluetooth speaker works well, but when at stoplights, even that is mostly drowned out even when on the loudest setting.
All that noise isn't coming from me. Noise happens on roads.
I agree that a cannon speaker booming out The Final Countdown at 120db is unnecessary and rude, but so is the car whose trunk is rattling bass like its falling apart. That just doesn't happen often. Rather, you can hear a song for 10-15 seconds at most as you pass a cyclist or they pass you. 200' down the path or road, you cant even hear the music anymore. If that's the worst thing to happen to you on a ride, feel blessed.
Let me add one thing...most of my commuting is on bike paths, which are fairly quiet and serene. If I was on a city street, it would just blend into the other noise, so not as much of an issue. I simply don't want to listen to your music, breathe your smoke, smell your BO or wipe off your spit. Wear headphones (if you must), don't smoke while riding, wear deodorant and look before you spit. These are common courtesies.
Also, signal your turns. I collided with a guy yesterday who suddenly decided to slow down and make a hard left turn onto another bike path. Fortunately neither of us went down, but the guy had headphones on and must not have heard me calling out a pass. Didn't even check before making a sudden course change.