staehpj1

I have also been surprised by how many folks, some cyclists and some not, are oblivious to their surroundings. This is often true whether they have their ear plugged up with electronics or not. They just zone out and don't pay attention to their surroundings.

I have done a lot of trail running where you could see and hear people 1/4 mile away if you were paying attention and yet despite the fact that I'd intentionally make extra noise as I approached from behind they would jump out of their skin. I could understand it when I was on my bike because I rolled up more quietly, but running I approached more slowly and with more noise. Most of the time there were dry leaves and a loud crunch crunch crunch. I'd try speaking to them at different distances and saying good morning or hello, but never managed to figure out how to not scare the hell out of them.

If people ride like that they'd never hear cars approaching from behind. Tire noise is my primary warning about approaching traffic. Tuning it out would be a huge problem.

On the other hand, on an open lightly travelled rural highway I find that loose fitting ear buds don't limit my hearing or my attention much if I listen to spoken word content or quiet music. I rarely wear them when riding, but on the few occasions when I have, I still heard approaching cars and trucks just fine. I find that it varies pretty widely with the style and fit of the earbuds as well as the choice of content you listen to. So I choose all of those carefully. Crossing the empty roads of rural Kansas or west Texas I have on occasion put on an audiobook or some quiet music using earbuds that I have found do not block my hearing much. I still paid attention to my surroundings and heard any approaching traffic though.

Apologies for taking this further off topic...