Head Phones !!
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Head Phones !!
Never ride without them, ( almost )...probably can tell from the videos I post. But when on a
heavy traffic road take the left one out..On the trails full volume, Jamming ! Just came
back from a nice ride. Nothing like a little Rock and Roll, to get you moving...Richard
heavy traffic road take the left one out..On the trails full volume, Jamming ! Just came
back from a nice ride. Nothing like a little Rock and Roll, to get you moving...Richard
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Me too! I don't bother taking them out ever. I look over my shoulder a lot to monitor the traffic. I don't get suprised but I agree I like to rock on the rides. And some jazz and classical stuff too. I am kind of ramping up for running as I like running in the winter more than riding and the playlist will shift a bit? I like biking to Ministry but am 42 and can't quite run that fast for more than about a block?
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Yup same here, I use a Blackberry storm 2 mounted on my bikes and Bluetooth headphones & my Pandora channel of choice. Pink Floyd works well a lot. I hear everything just fine, I comprehend my mirror very well
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Nope, never. When I was a boy the only portable music source was the then new transistor radio. Several personal entertainment technologies have come and gone since then and I don't use any of them. When I am outside for any reason all I want to hear is the sounds around me. Most of the time I would rather that there were no man made sounds to hear rather than carrying my own. Last winter I tried riding the trainer in the basement to music and I didn't like that either. Watching videos was more worthwhile.
One of the things I like most about bike riding is being connected to the outdoors. If I am going to break that connection by listening to music then I would rather be flying down a twisty road in my VW.
Ken
One of the things I like most about bike riding is being connected to the outdoors. If I am going to break that connection by listening to music then I would rather be flying down a twisty road in my VW.
Ken
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Nope, never. When I was a boy the only portable music source was the then new transistor radio. Several personal entertainment technologies have come and gone since then and I don't use any of them. When I am outside for any reason all I want to hear is the sounds around me. Most of the time I would rather that there were no man made sounds to hear rather than carrying my own. Last winter I tried riding the trainer in the basement to music and I didn't like that either. Watching videos was more worthwhile.
One of the things I like most about bike riding is being connected to the outdoors. If I am going to break that connection by listening to music then I would rather be flying down a twisty road in my VW.
Ken
One of the things I like most about bike riding is being connected to the outdoors. If I am going to break that connection by listening to music then I would rather be flying down a twisty road in my VW.
Ken
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+1 on riding with music on wether be my ipod or my blackberry listening to pandora radio. I am still able to hear my surroundings as I dont blast the music. I cant ride without tunes it get my soul moving.
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There is no question as to how much faster I move with music. My commute is 23 miles from my home and 17 miles from my park & ride. I love nature and I own a small farm in the wood so I do understand about being in touch with nature. When your putting down miles every day music is a nice advantage to hove on your side.
Last edited by Timber_8; 10-03-10 at 06:15 AM.
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Helmet friendly super-aural (allows outside sound in) "wireless" iPod shuffle. Never leave home without it.
Last edited by qmsdc15; 10-03-10 at 10:27 AM.
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Eagles are very rare where I live. I can't recall ever seeing one in the wild until about a year ago. I was riding to the station when I heard that unmistakable cry. It remained only an occasional cry for many months until I happened to be in the right place to see the bird in the area where the sound was coming from. Now that I know where it hangs out I can sometimes see the bird without hearing it first. With headphones on I would still not know there was an eagle in the area.
Like most higher animals we humans have a remarkable pair of signal processing systems in our ear/brain and eye/brain combinations. Yes, if you keep the volume down and/or use only one ear plug you can still pull vital traffic sounds out of the noise generated by your iPod. It truly is a situation where the normal definitions of siqnal and noise are inverted though and no matter how ethereal the music you listen to, it's presence makes it harder for your brain to identify important traffic noise signals. Those of us without phones hear it sooner and monitor the source longer in our mirrors. We stack the odds a little higher in our favor.
Last winter on the trainer I found that I rode longer and harder if I watched videos than if I listened to music. I have very broad musical tastes and I tried a wide variety of musical types. I was predisposed to using music in this situation. It just did not work best for me. Music does speak to my soul, other things are better at motivating it.
Ken
Like most higher animals we humans have a remarkable pair of signal processing systems in our ear/brain and eye/brain combinations. Yes, if you keep the volume down and/or use only one ear plug you can still pull vital traffic sounds out of the noise generated by your iPod. It truly is a situation where the normal definitions of siqnal and noise are inverted though and no matter how ethereal the music you listen to, it's presence makes it harder for your brain to identify important traffic noise signals. Those of us without phones hear it sooner and monitor the source longer in our mirrors. We stack the odds a little higher in our favor.
Last winter on the trainer I found that I rode longer and harder if I watched videos than if I listened to music. I have very broad musical tastes and I tried a wide variety of musical types. I was predisposed to using music in this situation. It just did not work best for me. Music does speak to my soul, other things are better at motivating it.
Ken
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Interesting..
Eagles are very rare where I live. I can't recall ever seeing one in the wild until about a year ago. I was riding to the station when I heard that unmistakable cry. It remained only an occasional cry for many months until I happened to be in the right place to see the bird in the area where the sound was coming from. Now that I know where it hangs out I can sometimes see the bird without hearing it first. With headphones on I would still not know there was an eagle in the area.
Like most higher animals we humans have a remarkable pair of signal processing systems in our ear/brain and eye/brain combinations. Yes, if you keep the volume down and/or use only one ear plug you can still pull vital traffic sounds out of the noise generated by your iPod. It truly is a situation where the normal definitions of siqnal and noise are inverted though and no matter how ethereal the music you listen to, it's presence makes it harder for your brain to identify important traffic noise signals. Those of us without phones hear it sooner and monitor the source longer in our mirrors. We stack the odds a little higher in our favor.
Last winter on the trainer I found that I rode longer and harder if I watched videos than if I listened to music. I have very broad musical tastes and I tried a wide variety of musical types. I was predisposed to using music in this situation. It just did not work best for me. Music does speak to my soul, other things are better at motivating it.
Ken
Like most higher animals we humans have a remarkable pair of signal processing systems in our ear/brain and eye/brain combinations. Yes, if you keep the volume down and/or use only one ear plug you can still pull vital traffic sounds out of the noise generated by your iPod. It truly is a situation where the normal definitions of siqnal and noise are inverted though and no matter how ethereal the music you listen to, it's presence makes it harder for your brain to identify important traffic noise signals. Those of us without phones hear it sooner and monitor the source longer in our mirrors. We stack the odds a little higher in our favor.
Last winter on the trainer I found that I rode longer and harder if I watched videos than if I listened to music. I have very broad musical tastes and I tried a wide variety of musical types. I was predisposed to using music in this situation. It just did not work best for me. Music does speak to my soul, other things are better at motivating it.
Ken
fishing, etc..and I live in the country, ( not into hunting though ), and have nothing against it. For me biking is not being connected to nature,
but it may have to do with our different life styles, I practical live in the woods, ( LOL )..and biking is an aggressive sport for me which music
seems to help me be more motivated to climb that next hill..Like I wear the head phones mowing the grass...and for some people, biking maybe to escape
the city life...and it brings me back to it ! Like I never watch TV, ( maybe a good movie with the wife )..Richard
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this is a horrible idea. should not compromise your hearing when riding a bike for your own safety. there are plenty of other fun activities that mix better with headphones.
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Life is full of risk, there is only ones own good judgment to decide if you should do it, I had a hard time riding on the road, every time
a car would pass me I would flinch ! I thought it was to dangerous... But now unless it is a huge truck that the draft moves me, I could
care less...Richard
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When I'm lifting weights, I can get 5 or 10 more lbs if I am listening to something that inspires me (usually something heavy and loud...) than when I'm not? I do ok riding w/o music but I really like a soundtrack to rides a lot. Not always 'rah rah' workout music, stuff like Steve Reich's "Different Trains" is really nice to ride to as well? I don't think that it's that dangerous. I'm always looking around 360 degrees anyway to make sure there's no traffic coming, whether I'm on the road w/ cars or on a trail w/ other bikers.
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If you hear a car approaching from behind or otherwise outside of your peripheral vision, do you act differently than you would if you didn't hear it? I ride in heavy traffic, altering my course when being overtaken is not an option. Whatever I would do if I heard a car overtaking is what I must do all the time because I am always being overtaken. I always assume there is a car stuck behind me. I ride in the center of the lane to force cars to change lanes to pass me. That may sound selfish to you if you are a driver, but my safety is more important to me than the convenience of motorists.
If you are reacting to sounds, you might be safer if you didn't hear them. Trying to get out of the way of impatient drivers invites close passing.
If you are reacting to sounds, you might be safer if you didn't hear them. Trying to get out of the way of impatient drivers invites close passing.
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Among the 70,000+ items in my iTunes is Peterson's field guide to birdsongs, so there is always a chance an eagle's call will find it's way into the mix.
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Richard, I suspect the roads you ride have less traffic and much faster, so taking the center of the lane there wouldn't be safe.
It all depends on where you ride, but hearing vehicles behind you is of little value in any case that I can think of. You need to take a line and stick to it.
On highways, I'd be happy with a wide shoulder. My intent is not to obstruct traffic but when I feel it's safer to do that, that's what I do.
It all depends on where you ride, but hearing vehicles behind you is of little value in any case that I can think of. You need to take a line and stick to it.
On highways, I'd be happy with a wide shoulder. My intent is not to obstruct traffic but when I feel it's safer to do that, that's what I do.
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bike helmet to work in the morning..( Driving ) my car ! Quote : ScareCrow, from the Wizard Of OZ, if only had a brain ! Richard ( and to your post
above, thats the last thing I want to hear are brakes squealing as some person driving while talking on the phone runs me over. )
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Some of my iTunes are from a collection of sound effects, airplanes landing, sirens, car crashes, etc. I hate it when something like that gets in the shuffle.
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Richard, I suspect the roads you ride have less traffic and much faster, so taking the center of the lane there wouldn't be safe.
It all depends on where you ride, but hearing vehicles behind you is of little value in any case that I can think of. You need to take a line and stick to it.
On highways, I'd be happy with a wide shoulder. My intent is not to obstruct traffic but when I feel it's safer to do that, that's what I do.
It all depends on where you ride, but hearing vehicles behind you is of little value in any case that I can think of. You need to take a line and stick to it.
On highways, I'd be happy with a wide shoulder. My intent is not to obstruct traffic but when I feel it's safer to do that, that's what I do.
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The heavier the traffic, the slower it moves. I believe city riding is safer than rural highway. Be careful out there on the country roads!
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( but on the other hand, funny post ! ) still laughing !!!
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I'm not saying that this makes a huge difference for people who are careful about how they use their headphones just that there is a difference and sometimes a small difference can make a big difference, if you know what I mean. Plus, I have scared the excrement out of many joggers using iPods on shared trails as I passed them no matter how much I rang the bell and shouted "on your left" so I know for a fact that while you all say that you are careful with the volume, some of you are being dishonest with us and most likely yourselves and that does put you at significant extra risk.
We are all different and when some of you say that music makes you perform better you may be right for all I know. I only know that it does not make me perform better and I also find that when I exercise to music I didn't enjoy the music all that much either. I spent half of last winter doing this and many times when I got off the bike I found that I could not remember even hearing my favorite songs on a CD. To the extent that music worked at all for me, Hendrix was best, yet if I were to listen to Hendrix as I commuted I would miss the Cicadas singing in the summer and that is one of my favorite sounds. Nothing says summer like that does. What's the point of listening to Hendrix if you can't remember hearing Foxy Lady when you get to the train station and you didn't hear the Cicadas either? You never know what your headphones made you miss because you missed it.
Ken