Inspire by this.

I never used to but after thousands of kilometers of touring with tens of thousands of kilometers ahead of me I figured one little earbud couldn't hurt if I listened to the music softly. Then two earbuds but only when the song was really good. Didn't take more than a couple thousand km before I was rocking away down the road with the music blaring without a care in the world.

I know you'll all say I'm suicidal but maybe you won't so I'm curious what you all do.

EDIT:
So here's the next question. Most of you seem to listen to music or podcasts or whatnot which is cool but do you pull out the MP3 player and change the song or adjust the volume while riding? Is that really much different than using your phone while riding?

I do listen to music on longer rides, with an mp3 player using a cell phone ear bud. One ear to traffic, one to music. When I was riding along Big Sur, I heard the music, the traffic, and the waves crashing. Two ears covered are illegal, at least in California. Illegal or not, one should still be aware of surroundings. I see too many oblivious to the world around them, especially when they really need to pay attention (like on trails and on streets).

I'll do one earbud, but only on longer rides on the country roads around town. If I'm going to be alone in the saddle for more than a few hours, well even I get bored of my own company. If I'm in town, then the rides tend to be short enough, and interesting enough that I don't need to listen to music.

Plus, bad things can happen when a really epic song comes on, the light is yellow, and you're still half a block away.

Nope, not when riding in traffic or on MUP's.

I used to listen to a walkman when I did after-hours criterium training in office/industrial parks 20-25 years ago. The music really kept the adrenaline going.

I could see listening to music on a wide open stretch of uncrowded road, but think I'd personally prefer to hear the wind in the trees and the birds, etc.

These days, I can be counted as one of the earbud-bearing runners (though I can always hear what is going on around me) when not on the bike.

Not in town; but, when out of town I will often listen to books or magazines as I ride.

Nope. Commute is only 3 miles round trip, so I don't have time to even enjoy any music.

Im a bit backwards. When I toured this summer I had some speakers that didnt require batteries that I put in a bag that mounted to the stem/top tube junction. When riding country roads, I listened to music using those.

When in the city, I rode with headphones. i

I know people may call be crazy but my reasons are my own. I live in a large city and try to be hyper-observant when riding. So, I mainly rely on sight instead of sound, scanning several second ahead and to the sides of me. The way I figure it, if someone is going to hit me from behind, there is not much I can do about it. If they are close enough for me to hear them in a city of 1 million plus, they are already too close.

I ride 25 miles (40 km) a day and I wear a pair of headphones. I honestly do not find that having my ears exposed gives me any better awareness of cars as the wind noise is comparable in muffling sound. In my experience use of a mirror and watching carefully is the only way to be aware of all cars.

Not just when I'm riding--- one earbud (right side),less than half volume on my ipod, to preserve my hearing.

Podcasts, but not too loud.. I can always hear and see what's around me.. Allot of times though I like to just listen to the sounds around me. Loud music on the bike is just as dangerous as loud music in a car, way to distracting to be safe.

I listen to music all the time while riding the bike. I can't leave my Zen Stone at home, or else I would die I think. While riding heavy traffic though, I unplug at least one earbud so I still have a little knowing of what's going on around me.

And since us roadies have a bad name already, I am perfectly able to ride past people who yell at me and not hear them at all

*edit* Will be going back to podcasts though. Have reinstalled my laptop yesterday, and am able to use iTunes again, so I'm all happy now

iPod with podcasts playing every day, usually with my left earbud dangling.

I listen to audiobooks or NPR podcasts, right ear only. I have tested and I have found that my ability to hear traffic is completely unaffected. My commute is nearly 100% long straight rural roads, and I can hear cars approaching at least 20 seconds before they get to me.

I also use a helmet mirror.

Haha

Oh no! Runners are the worst with headphones. I always cringe when I'm crossing the MUP on the bridge heading home and I see a runner with headphones. I pull up and start yelling that I'm trying to pass and they never hear. Though you say you can hear so that's ok, I guess.

So here's the next question. Most of you seem to listen to music or podcasts or whatnot which is cool but do you pull out the MP3 player and change the song or adjust the volume while riding? Is that really much different than using your phone while riding?

BTW, please don't start another "Do you wear a helmet" thread, OK?

When reading the "Do you text while riding" thread I couldn't help but be shocked of the people comparing using a phone as instant death but who also said riding without a helmet is totally fine.

That's why these kind of threads should be avoided, a source of aggravation and a total waste of time.

Adam

Fixed it for ya

Yes, I do listen to music with one ear bud only. It calm me down and keeps me from getting into confrontation with cager.

If my profile pic was a tad larger you could see my earbuds.

For my podcasts (never music, only spoken word) I tried the one ear bud, and found that a noise cancelling headphones work well, because it will reduce the wind noise without reducing other (traffice) noise. (Got the idea from Paul Dorn).

On long rides on the open roads I'll use earbuds, but never when commuting (yet). I have a cycling playlist on my iPod with appropriately upbeat music to keep me motivated, so that pretty much eliminates the need to fiddle with iPod to change songs and volume.

I wear one earbud (the right one) and listen to either music or audiobooks at moderate volume - loud enough to hear over the wind noise (my Skullcandy IEMs block most of that, anyway) but not so loud as to make my right ear useless. If I can hold a conversation with another rider at a stoplight without having to pause my music, I figure I'm fine, and it significantly increases my enjoyment of commuting.

I usually tuck my left earbud into my jersey so it's not dangling, and the right one has its cord under the helmet strap so if it comes out (or, occasionally, I want to hear more of my surroundings and take it out) it doesn't fall down - I don't need to get my earbuds tangled in my spokes.

Yes I do because I have tinititis. I ride country roads and need background noise so the ringing is not the only thing I hear. Silence is not golden for me.

On long commute on a rural road I used books on tape cassettes, now I whistle a tune ,
unless my mood isn't so good , it does get the attention of walkers ahead of me..

Tinnitus too, Ive got stuff going on in audio to try to sleep.

One earbud, with inline volume and play/pause controls so I never have to pull the phone out and look at it. Mostly in traffic, where I need some help keeping my blood pressure low and my traffic tantrums in check. Oh, and no aggressive music.

Really, you don't understand this? Think about it: (DISCLAIMER: the following is merely a logic exercise exploring the opinions of a subset of cyclists. This is not an argument about opposing beliefs, just an examination of two related beliefs. You will only agree with the conclusion if you take both premises to be true. If you don't, fine, but understand that some people do) if it's ok to not wear a helmet provided you ride safely, and if taking both your eyes and your mind off of the road is not riding safely, then it's not ok to text while cycling.