Signs of the times . . . Bicyclists with: dogs on leashes, cell phones. ear buds .
 

That is - bicycling with the dog on the leash as you bicycle, talking on the cell phone with one hand while bicycling, and covering the ears so you can't hear my valiant "passing."

I guess I am just out of date.

Are you out of date also?

Do I carry a cell phone while riding ? Yes. But it sits either in a pocket or in a fanny pack for emegencies only.
Do I use ear buds ? Yes I do but I never, ever use them while riding. I like to be able to hear other cyclists and the traffic.
Dogs on leashes ? We don't own a dog and our three Maine Coon cats who are all dog sized at 15 pounds are too busy conserving energy by sleeping in the sun.

But they are riding a bike.

Can't beat the woman renting the house next door to me; I saw her one night on her cruiser, riding the wrong way on my town's main drag, while talking on her cell phone...and smoking.

OTOH, I've seen her drive...there's less chance she'll kill someone if she's riding a bike.

At least she's riding a cruiser. Can you imagine her shifting gears ?

I'm out of date in many ways, but that's because I've managed to stay alive.

I tend to stay off shared paths because of these phenomena, among others. These people are dangerous. The ones I especially like are those who are strident about the importance of safety and wearing a helmet, while cycling the wrong way up one-way streets, failing to use lights, texting while cycling etc. Riding with a dog on a lead is especially good - dangerous unless both dog and rider are exceptionally well-trained (they usually aren't) and pretty unpleasant for the dog, I'd have thought. Dogs generally prefer a bit of variety to being forced to trot along at a given, steady, pace.

As for the earbuds, pedestrians are just as bad, they can't hear you coming.

All things considered I feel much safer on normal roads in the traffic. It doesn't save me from the earbud-wearing, salmoning brigade, but one can probably rely on car drivers to thin them out...

LOL...one of my other neighbors accidentally got delivered a piece of her mail; it was a notice that she owes the county traffic courts $1600+. She might be on that bike a lot more in the near future.

Oh yeah! I guess even the screen name says it.

It's been a couple of years but my wife and I were overtaking a fellow while riding our tandem on the Katy Trail. We "dinged" our bell and announced our passing but, just as we drew along side, he swerved into our lane and knocked us down. I wasn't very happy but at least he had the decency to apologize.

He told us that he was wearing ear buds and he thought that our bell might be rocks tumbling down from the bluff.

I have my iPhone right up front mounted on the bars in an awesome case and listen to music while I ride through non-blocking earbuds. If the phone rings, I can push a button on the headset mic and talk while I ride. I guess I'm a modern rider, but an old rider. I like having my tunes and my Runkeeper coaching and status letting me know how the ride is going. I've always been a techie kind of guy though :)

Signs of the times . . . People on Bicycles with: dogs on leashes, cell phones. ear buds .

fixed it for you

I confess I do use an iPod as I ride but the earbuds are far from sound blocking. I rely on my mirror far more than my ears in any event. But I do find people on cell phones, or worse yet with bluetooth headsets and no obvious phone, very unnerving. Who is that woman talking to & how closely can I safely approach her? I think that the telephone conversation is just as distracting to a rider as it is to a driver in a car. My phone sits in one of my jersey pockets on vibrate, primarily to use the cycling app but it is nice to know I have it if I need help. Dogs on leashes, well it creates another potential hazard to pay close attention to. Since I'm not a dog person I don't understand it but so far most of the people I have encountered riding with dogs have been responsible.

I guess I am. :o
No dog.
Cell phone stays in the Topeak phone holder. If I get a call I stop the bike to answer and talk.
Ear buds are for when I'm on the trainer.

I see lots of folks around here doing the above. They are usually on the bike path but the bike path ends in several places and you're riding on the street for a block or 6 blocks or 1-1/2 miles or ...... I guess they're more concerned with the dog, phone, or music so aren't paying attention to what's going on around them.

Another thing I've seen on hot days is people riding with their helmet hanging from the handlebars. Are they airing out a stinky helmet?

Gee... when riding I like to hear the traffic that might be around me. If there's no traffic around me I like to hear the air rushing by my head. I like to hear that click in my free wheel as I coast down hills, that smooth whirr of my tires tracking the pavement.

When I walk in the woods I like to hear the birds singing, the trees swaying in the wind, the babbling of the brooks. My priorities are all screwed up....:(

No ear buds here. I do carry my cell phone and my wife will text if it important and I can hear her ring tone when the pone is in the bag. Anything else waits till I stop for a break. I do sometimes wish I could hook an air horn to my bike like I have on my motorcycle. Bells don't always seem to get peoples attention.

I have to admit, I never understood doing any activity, let alone cycling, with earbuds in. Is it that people feel so uninterested in the activity that they are doing that they need additional sensory impute? Or is it that the sounds they might hear or the thoughts they might have are not intrinsically satisfying? It seems to me the essence of enjoying an activity is total participation in it. But in contemporary society doing more than one thing at a time seems to be the new norm. So I guess I'm completely old fashioned and out of date. I'm very fortunate.

The dog on a leash thing will last until the first time the dog sees a cat.......................bike rider on ground :)

Interesting ride on the MUP last night;
A couple walking their dog. The dog was tiny, the people where not, they needed much more exercise. Of course the dog was on an extendable leash. As I approached it gave me the little dog evil eye. If it darted in front of me, and I hit it, it would not have survived. Lucky for everybody, it didn't.
Saw a (I guess) father and son, son had ear buds, father had head phones, that completely covered his ears. I'm glad we passed them from the front.
Then there is the guy riding a bike we had to pass from behind, of course he had ear buds. He was going at a moderate pace, but was all over the path. So we slowed a bit and stayed behind him. Suddenly he started yelling and waving his arm, whatever he was listening to must have been exciting. My wife gave me a look that was priceless. She also rang her bell, to no effect. A minute or two later she yelled loudly, PASSING!. It startled him so much he nearly fell. I nearly fell from laughing. He did look kind of embarrassed when we did finally pass.

No cell phone while riding, although I do carry one with me but it is turned off until I need to use it. I don't take my dog with me, even on the neighborhood rides that my wife and I do. He's too old and a small dog at that. I wear ear buds when I ride the MUP in the late afternoon. There's hardly anyone on it and I constantly check my mirror to see if there is anyone approaching me from behind. I purchased a set of speakers that are held to your jersey by magnets for when I ride elsewhere. The speakers are small and they are not very loud and aren't made to blast you out of your seat. I have to use full volume on my MP3 player in order to hear the music at a low volume. Also, these speakers are allowed on every sanctioned ride I have been on, including the MS 150. You can hear the normal, surrounding noises quite well with them on.

Here is the link to the company that makes and sell them: Tuck Away Tunes. It's a local company for me, but I will advise that you get some extra magnets if you decide to order from them as their customer service is the pits.

Agree 100% Anyone with impaired hearing is taking a big chance as far as I am concerned. I like to hear the sound of approaching vehicles but also all the sounds of nature. That's part of why I ride.

Well...I may live in a rather unique environment. But, dogs on leashes/harnesses when person is on a bike or skis or skateboard or scooter are pretty common. Sometimes it will be more than one dog. Off the top of my head I think the maximum I've seen is three dogs in harness.

But, car or bike, there are way too many people who drive distracted. They are in their little world and their reaction when reality comes crashing in is often not only not pretty, it is dangerous.

Have seen numerous riders with headphones and or talking on cells. I haven't seen one with a dog - yet. I choose to do none of those. No headphones. No cell phone. No dog or other creature. Just like to ride and pay attention to my surroundings.

My problem is that if I see someone using ear buds, I have no clue whether or not they hear me when I signal to them. I have to assume that they don't, and ride accordingly, which is at the best inconvenient for me.

Just today, I rode up to a stop light and a girl on a Sevin. As the light changed, and we got through the intersection, I asked "...is that a titanium frame?". No response. Then I saw the earplugs. I went to a midnight premiere movie, and about half the audience were texting through the previews. I may be old (over 50), but why do people need to be constantly "connected'?

No earbuds - Personally can't stand the things. If I want headphones, I want full headphones, but never while riding. Cellphone is on, but stored or clipped on ...usually running SportsTracker to track my ride. One of these days I'll get a real bike computer. :)

Remember back in the late 70's early 80's a product called a "bonaphone" It was a radio that was shaped like a shoulder pad that played the music through your bones by sitting on/around yonu shoulders. I think the name killed it from going mainstream. Possibly the product can be re-issued and inlcude a hydration bag, rear blinker, mp3 and a bluetooth for the cellphone in your jersey pocket?