Hi guys,

I have always held the view that audio systems with ear plugs where a no no while riding. But a friend of mine says no problem...

Any views out there?

Louis T

No problem.

No problem, if you don't mind being ran over by a Mack truck.

But if you do decide to ride with headphones, let me say this, you had better have a really nice helmet and very good insurance.

I believe that it is illegal to drive with these things in at least some provinces (I know that in BC it's illegal). Because cycling on highways brings you under the motor vehicle act in your province, you are by default, subject to the laws and regulations therein.

Legal issues aside, I agree that if you don't care about getting run over cuz you didn't hear the vehicle approaching behind you, go for it!

Just my opinion of course...

This is one thing I've never been able to understand. Personally, I like to go mountain biking for the exercise of course but mainly to get away from the city and the noise. I see a walkman as a way of taking the noise with you. No thanks. I'd rather listen to the wind or birds or the sounds my tires/bike makes while I ride.

I think you're not fully "in the moment", you're not really taking it all in with some unrelated noise blaring in your ears. Plus other hikers/cyclists/cars/trucks/Tractors/747's find it extremely hard to get your attention!

I think earplugs or anything else that hinders a biker from getting input about his surroundings (read possibly dangerous surroundings) is a very bad idea. Cycling in any form can be dangerous without making it worse by removing one of your major warning devices. Stay safe for yourself and others.

I can listen to music when I get home. I think they would just hinder the cycling experience anyway.

Chris

From what I've seen on the roads and trails, I've come to the conclusion that people who listen to music while cycling or running:

1. hate that activity,

2. do the activity only because someone has directed them to do it,

3. are looking for anything and everything to blot out the pain and boredom of performing this distasteful activity.

Chris L does not understand. Pain and cycling are two of Chris L's favourite things.

Chris

I sing while I ride. Do a real loud version of "Back in the Saddle Again" by Aerosmith. My current favorite singalong is the new Cake song: Girl in a Short Dress and a Loooonnnnggg Jacket!

ChrisL loves adversity. Take away hills, headwinds, aggressive motorists, vicious dogs, and flats, he'd stop cycling altogether.

Really can't see myself cycling in cycling paradise either - a million cyclists peacefully trundling down wide bike paths, no cars anywhere, all the dogs chained up, run-flat tires . . . b o r i n g

Chris L is pleased that Jacques understands him. Chris L finds that this is not a very common occurrence.

Some people turn the headphones volume down low enough so that they *think* that they can hear most of what's going on around them. But when you're cycling, it's sometimes the very soft very subtle noises that can provide important warning information. For example, you might be able to hear a car coming loud and clear, but will you hear the idiot cyclist who doesn't yet know how to use their brakes properly and who is approaching from a direction that you are not expecting?

I do know of one person who when he goes cycling with a group, he sometimes has a boom box strapped to his back rack and plays it softly. I'm not advocating this, but I'm just saying that it's what some people have done instead of wearing headphones.

I have quoted from several posters to address the various concerns raised.

My statement that it is no problem is based on extensive experience of actually doing it. What's yours based on?

I have actually been hit from behind. Just recently in fact and I wasn't wearing headphones at the time. What makes you think that you will be able to tell the difference between a vehicle on a collision course and one that is passing normally by hearing alone? Going on a sample of one, you simply don't have time to respond, unless you SEE them coming.

I only wear headphones for commuting. It's a much more preferable sound than the noise of traffic. For mountain biking, I agree entirely.

This is true, however I have found that it is no more a distraction than the circling thoughts that drag me out of the moment even when I'm not wearing headphones. Also, consider this: sound is just sound. With practice it is just as possible to be in the moment with headphones on as without. If I were that practiced, I would most likely leave the headphones off, but for entirely different reasons than have been brought up so far.

I do miss out on the gems of wisdom offered by passing motorists and their passengers. I don't consider this to be a great loss

Some people think they can ascertain the safety of otherwise of wearing headphones whilst riding even though they have never actually done it. One wonders what basis they have for this judgement.

That's why you have eyes, and why you should never be lulled into a state where you expect ANYTHING. That, my friends, is the real danger.

I prefer not to inflict my musical taste on the general public and those things weigh a ****load.

-----------------------

Perhaps I come across as overly defensive in the above comments, and I really don't intend any offence to anyone. I didn't even really want to make a debate out of this, hence my initial two word response, but the other responses have shown clear signs of prejudice which I would like to address.

My only real concern with all the responses is that people are judging an activity without necessarily having any experience of it - this is the prejudice I referred to. Well, I ride with headphones a lot and, my motives for doing so aside, in my experience the above posts overstate the risks in doing so by a significant amount.

I draw a parallel with those people that have never taken their bikes off the footpath claiming that riding on the road with traffic is dangerous. Those of us that have actual expereince of it know this to be largely untrue. Yes, there are some concerns, but nothing that is insurmountable once you know the proper way.

If you have actually done it and still consider it to be dangerous, then I can respect that, and I hope you can respect the fact that I have come to a different conclusion, but I have seen little evidence of this in the posts. I hope you can tell me otherwise.

If you're really concerned about what's happening behind you, a mirror, or even systematic shoulder-checking is infinitely more useful than your hearing.

I used to think I was the only one to come to these conclusions until I read https://www.bikexprt.com/bicycle/hearing.htm I recommend it to you.

On a final note, for those of you that hold any truck with statistics, I have had far more crashes riding without headphones than with them. Conclude from that what you will - personally I don't see a causal relationship.

Allister

This is a case where Chris L has slipped into the first-person. Does Chris L find that things which hinder the cycling experience cause Chris L to slip into first-person?

The above was Chris L's 998th post (or something). Chris L has only been in the third person since post no. 1,000.

Chris L forgives this misunderstanding.

(Sorry Chris L, I was distracted. It must have been the music that made me lose track of the fact that this was a post before post 1000. Yeah, that's it.)

I don't do any formal meditation at all - no zen, no yoga, etc. Biking through the streets of Chicago is probably the closest I come to meditation, as I have to keep my awareness open constantly. In Zen meditation, if the pupil gets distracted, the master might hit the pupil with a stick. When I'm cycling, if I get distracted, I might get doored. Or fail to notice a sudden swerve that a taxi is making to pick up a fair. Etc.

There's a zen koan where three pupils complain to their master that they haven't yet found enlightenment. The master said to meditate one day more and that if they hadn't found enlightenment, they should kill themselves. The next day, they all found enlightenment. In a similar vein, I know that if I don't maintain my awareness, I know that I could kill myself (in a stupid accident.)

Guilty. I ride listening to the radio or tapes all the time on my commutes. But I also wear a mirror that attaches to my glasses. And I spend as much time looking in it as I do forward.
I rarely use headphones on fun or training rides, where I'm more focused on the ride/effort, and liable to miss rear-approaching traffic. Either way, I always ride with a mirror.

FWIW, it is illegal to ride with headphones in NY, MA, PA, and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Wait until you get home to listen to tunes.

I love cycling !

I love music !
They are both my favorite recreations , but I do not want the two to mix.

There is nothing more pleasurable for me than to go for my regular cycle run , come home . have a bath or shower then crash out in my favorite armchair .after putting on a Mozart Opera or perhaps a Mahler symphony
AHHHHH PURE BLISS!

God bless you all
willic

What about the poor souls who pick up radio waves on their fillings or braces?

I use my rides to contemplate. Sometimes, to contemplate nothing. For hours.

Music is on when I return home.

When I was 19 or so back in the early 1980s, I had a college friend who rode everywhere on his newfangled moped thing and he always wore headphones wherever he went. He was a big music
fan. Then one fall semester he did not come back,
because he had been hit and killed by a truck.
I can't say that the headphones caused it, but
I can say this: It's 20 years later. I'm married, with a kid, years of fun behind me. I kept going. He stopped. Sometimes I used to think, wow, luck, fate, there but for the grace of something etc, enjoy my time because I could lose it all in an instant. Then again, I never rode around on a moped with headphones. I am still pissed off at him. But do whatever you want. Your life.

Wearing headphones while riding in traffic is a good way to qualify you for a Darwin Award. This is a yearly occasion, in which people are honoured for actions which resulted in their removal from the gene pool. Previous winners include a guy who welded a JATO to the trunk of a 66 chevy, as well as an honourable mention to that nut who got airbourne with 6 dozen baloons and a lawnchair a few years ago (he was not qualified to win, because he actually survived that stunt). If you are trying to make a social statement rather than musical one, may I suggest doing something quicker and more drastic? The result will be the same, but people will worry about you for a shorter time, that way.

We in U.K are considered to be crazy people (at least thats what severel postings on forums tell me) but i must admit i dont recall or certainely never noticed any other cyclist i have come across with any musical transmission implement plugged in.
That must be beyond even crazy peoples contemplation!
willic.

I sing too, but currently favour Bacharach and David selections and Elvis' "The girl of my best friend"

I wear earplugs under my crash helmet when motorcycling, but would never think of listening to music as I cycle. Blots out the hiss of the tyres on the road and my creaky left pedal