Listen to music while riding?

Hey everyone,
I am wondering how many of you put on earphones and listen to music while riding?
I was thinking about getting an MP3 player or an Ipod for when I do my solo rides, but everyone I talk to is advising against it.

-Greg

I would do it if I was riding a trainer indoors, but never outside. It's too dangerous, both for you and the other cyclists/peds you encounter.

+1. If you were riding a MTB on the trails it would probably be OK, but I wouldn't do it on an open road.

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Aside from the safety aspect, it may be against the law in your state. Chances are that if it is against the law to wear headphones while driving a car in MA, it is against the law to wear headphones while riding your bicycle.

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Good points. It would be nice just on rides by myself, but I do need to hear and be aware of everything around me. I've seen alot of local team cyclists train by themselves and have them on. The trainer/gym bike sounds alot better to listen to music on.

Two things i want to be able to hear when riding. Cars approaching from the rear and the dogs that may be trying to chase me. I would never listen to music while riding.

I use my ears to identify cars approaching from behind or coming around a blind curve beside the voices in my head overwhelm any music.

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LOL I think you can get pills for that so you can enjoy listening to music..

i just have one earphone in, the right one, at a low volume. It seems to works for me, i can hear everything behind me....

Well, I play a Fender Stratocaster guitar AS I ride, so I am always listening to music while I ride. Sometimes I have a battery-powered Pignose amplifier mounted on the rear cargo rack, but often I am unamplified so only I can hear it.

Sitting straight up as I do, I have a much better view of my surroundings than if I were to be hunched over the handlebars like Quasimodo. Also, I keep my bicycle in first gear all the time and use the brakes when going down hills to keep my speed below twenty miles per hour at all times.

Since the early 1980s (nearly thirty years of riding with a guitar on the SAME 1977 Schwinn Sportabout), so far I haven't wrecked or caused wrecks that I know of. I have ridden many thousands of miles these past three decades, and as of last month The Bicycle Museum of America has agreed to take my bicycle for a display after I die (assuming I don't die ON the bicycle, or that other arrangements aren't made for it to go to the Smithsonian or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame if circumstances change dramatically in my life).




The above photograph is from a parade in Suisun City, California in Fall 1994. I am still riding the same bicycle and playing the same guitar as in this photograph, all these years those have been my ONLY bicycle and my ONLY guitar. The guitar is showing signs of weathering after all these years, but the Schwinn has been restored and improved over the years. Check the 2009 upgrades page for the latest greatest improvements to "The Minstrel Cycle."

I bet there are some pills for that too....

Why ruin a bike ride with music? One of the best parts of rides, for me, is the quiet solitude.

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My car has been out of commission for more than two years now, but when it was running I would rather have the radio off while driving. For me, there is music in road noise, the vibration of the engine, and if I'm lucky I can sometimes hear birds or other wildlife.

Bicycling however is another matter. If I try to ride WITHOUT playing guitar, not only is it more dangerous (I might fall over) but it is also physically more strenuous. Without the music from my guitar to distract me, I am aware of each pedal stroke and I am out of breath in a block or two. With the guitar, I can go for miles per song or songs per mile (depending on the terrain and my mood).

You mean it's psychologically more strenuous. It's not, after all, physically more strenuous.

__________________
Sex is horrid
Pain is Fun
I cut my fingers off
One by one

allways listen to radio when out you can keep volume down to a safe level ,i find it great to pass the time when on your own ...... and hey lets be carefull out there