Do you listen to music while you ride?

[kipper68]

Wiggo (Bradley Wiggins) gave an interview after winning the Olympic time trial and said that there has to be rules for the road coming from both sides concerning cycling. For road cyclist helmets should be compulsory and no listening to music. I think that comes from experience so consider yourself told.

 

[coolcamaro12]

let me point out whee i take my bike is a paved trail that goes straight into oblivion-I dont have to worry about cars.

 

[Chavez]

Originally Posted by Dan Wright .


No offense at all. I get both sides too. I agree that, even though I love riding, somedays I have to force myself to get started, and somedays I have to force myself to keep going. I'm considering getting a small speaker so I can listen to music on the cruddy days to pass some time when I'm riding the same route I commute everyday, but I still wouldn't use earbuds/headphones because of the safety factor.

Last bit on this page - http://www.fatcyclist.com/2012/04/page/4/ - sounds like it was more for intercom use than music use, but still.

Bit spendy though ($275 for one unit, $480 if you get two headsets)

 

[Chavez]

Originally Posted by kipper68 .

Wiggo (Bradley Wiggins) gave an interview after winning the Olympic time trial and said that there has to be rules for the road coming from both sides concerning cycling. For road cyclist helmets should be compulsory and no listening to music. I think that comes from experience so consider yourself told.

As I saw pointed out previously, "why must cyclists be aware of ALL road noise, while manufacturers attempt to isolate people in automobiles from ALL road noise?"- not to mention autos often have stereos bumping that you can hear a block away.

I understand there are certain differences there (for one, even IF a car is an open top, at 40+ mph you aren't going to hear much other than wind, maybe some engine noise), but still - there's an unaddressed double standard there - if awareness of surrounding is important for ONE type of road user, isn't it important for ALL types of road users? If cars can be safely controlled using only sight, can't bikes be as safe using only sight?


And let me add - if a law came out saying "cyclists can't have anything in their ears, they even have to clean out the wax before riding" it wouldn't bother me all that much in a practical sense; I just think there's an argument to be had here as far as "if you have

 

[alienator]

That's always my question.... ...wait, no, my question is "how can you tell a car that is going to hit you from one that is not going to hit you strictly by sound it makes coming up behind you?"  I keep my earbuds at a reasonable volume, so while I may not hear a vehicle IMMEDIATELY, I will hear it well before it passes me. Sirens and horns and such I can hear as well. 

You'd be surprised at what you can hear if you'd put the music away while riding and devote all attention to riding and being aware of your surroundings. Also, it is not just a matter of hearing better. Music also engages your brain which in turn takes attention away from better things, like being aware. Meh, who wants to actually pay attention. I mean, like, that's so hard, which just makes everything doubly hard, what with cycling being such a drag that music is needed to spice things up for those with juvenile attention spans.

 

[alienator]

As I saw pointed out previously, "why must cyclists be aware of ALL road noise, while manufacturers attempt to isolate people in automobiles from ALL road noise?"- not to mention autos often have stereos bumping that you can hear a block away.  

Wow. Someone actually used that as an argument. That's right up there with, "Why do I have to take the garbage out? Bobby's mom doesn't make him take the garbage out.

 

[Dave Cutter]

I remember a stat from years ago.... the most deadly job in America was "fork lift operator" (at least in that one particular year). Apparently as a percentage... the fork lift operators... were most likely to be killed at work. Their number of deaths [as a percentage of the total number of operators] exceeded, police, firefighter, miners, truck drivers, all the occupations traditionally thought of as dangerous.

We just don't have really good detailed statical data for cycling. Although I myself would not recommend road cycling as a "safe" hobby or sport.... the total number of deaths are not shockingly high ether. And the numbers appear to be dropping. But the bad thing about the poor data/record keeping in reguards to cycling is we just don't know. Of the [[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]what is the actual number of road cyclist deaths?[/COLOR]].... 618, most [both] killed and injured were adults [over 15 years old], about one forth of all killed cyclist had been drinking, about seventy percent were on urban streets, and nine out of ten cyclist killed.... were NOT wearing helmets.

It would seem... of all the ways to avoid serious injury or death on a bicycle the best things to do would be: 1. wear a helmet, 2. avoid the urban streets, 3. avoid drugs and booze until after your ride.

I don't know what number 4 would be. Use a mirror? Obey traffic laws (you know actually unclip and stop at signs and such)? Not listen to music? I don't know. But I do get a little comfort in knowing that although my routes do put me on urban streets... by not drinking and always wearing a brain bucket... my risks are greatly reduced.

 

[Chavez]

Originally Posted by alienator .


Wow. Someone actually used that as an argument. That's right up there with, "Why do I have to take the garbage out? Bobby's mom doesn't make him take the garbage out.

I'm not saying "Bobby is jumping off a bridge, I wanna do it too!" I am just questioning why there is one standard for the slower, smaller, less dangerous (to others) vehicle, and a less stringent standard for the faster, larger, more dangerous vehicle.

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by Chavez .

..... I am just questioning why there is one standard for the slower, smaller, less dangerous (to others) vehicle, and a less stringent standard for the faster, larger, more dangerous vehicle.

Really.... here in Ohio we have to wear seat belts in the cars, and cars must have mirrors as well.... but no such restrictions on bicycles.

 

[coolcamaro12]

why would there be restrictions on bikes?lets hope there will never be any

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by coolcamaro12 .

why would there be restrictions on bikes?lets hope there will never be any /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

I certainly agree.... I would hope for no [new] restrictions. But I would guess they will come.

 

[u1bd2005]

i hope there's no new restrictions reguarding music, Headphones or earphones i see as no different to someone having a stereo on in their car to be honest, if anything i'd say music helps me concentrate personally, it helps keep my mind active, my mind tends to wander a lot if its not active which makes me tend to look round at the environment/sky etc... more and divert my eyes from the road.

I've had 2 decent crashes on my bike (both while not listening to music) i say decent crashes, i mean serious-ish kind lol, not too serious though.

Cycle helmet of course makes sense, im one of these who never wears one and am lucky that when I split my head open in 2 places i wasnt too badly hurt. (pulled front brake, went over handle bars, forehead hit the pavement, bike came down on top of the back of my head) cycle helmet would have prevented injury. Still dont wear one, but I know I should and personally feel they should be compulsory, at least when cycling on roads.

 

[Chavez]

Originally Posted by Dave Cutter .


Really.... here in Ohio we have to wear seat belts in the cars, and cars must have mirrors as well.... but no such restrictions on bicycles.

I have voluntarily put seat belts on ALL my bicycles.

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by Chavez .
I have voluntarily put seat belts on ALL my bicycles.

What a great idea! LOL.

I use the whole-nine-yards of cycling safety... cycling glasses, mirror, everything.... except the horn.... and the bicycle seat belt. But I would hate to see anything made compulsory (for adults). People should be free to make their own decisions... we don't need "bureaucratic parents" deciding what risk level is best of each of us.

 

[jpr95]

Originally Posted by Dave Cutter .


What a great idea! LOL.

I use the whole-nine-yards of cycling safety... cycling glasses, mirror, everything.... except the horn.... and the bicycle seat belt. But I would hate to see anything made compulsory (for adults). People should be free to make their own decisions... we don't need "bureaucratic parents" deciding what risk level is best of each of us.

Well, you're just a reckless rider, then! I use all of the above, including the seat belt and horn, along with anti-lock brakes, traction control, air bags (handlebar and side-deploying from under the seat), forward-radar cruise control, auto braking to prevent collisions while backing, back-up camera, and the doors lock automatically in an accident...

 

[wolfpack21643]

I ride with music some times (quite roads) and without others (busy roads). I had a close call two days ago when I caught a glimpse of a van front bumper about one foot from my left knee. I snapped my head over and saw the driver looking down at his cell phone as he blew by me at 65 mph about a foot away. I was ridding on the far edge of the shoulder of the road about 4 feet away from the white line. I had no music with me and never heard the guy. If I had not seen him out of the corner of my eye I would have never known he was there until he had passed me. I had a head wind and between the sound of that in my ears and the fact that the wind was pushing the sound of his van back away from me there was no way I was going to ever hear him so I think the whole music thing may not make much diffrence. Just my two cents.

 

[alienator]

I ride with music some times (quite roads) and without others (busy roads). I had a close call two days ago when I caught a glimpse of a van front bumper about one foot from my left knee. I snapped my head over and saw the driver looking down at his cell phone as he blew by me at 65 mph about a foot away. I was ridding on the far edge of the shoulder of the road  about 4 feet away from the white line. I had no music with me and never heard the guy. If I had not seen him out of the corner of my eye I would have never known he was there until he had passed me. I had a head wind and between the sound of that in my ears and the fact that the wind was pushing the sound of his van back away from me there was no way I was going to ever hear him so I think the whole music thing may not make much diffrence. Just my two cents.    

Wind "pushing the sound" away from you? Oh please, regale us with how that works, Mr. Physics.

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by jpr95 .

Well, you're just a reckless rider, then!

And... you may be correct. I do my best because I really like my life. But I have made mistakes while cycling. I don't think safety is all about equipment.

I used to think my biggest health concern was the two packs of cigarettes I smoked everyday. Now I sometimes wonder if texting drivers (or my own cycling errors) are my biggest health risks. I guess if I was a big fan of music.... I'd convince myself that it didn't matter.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Some of you would do really well in the Taliban.

 

[coolcamaro12]

seat belts seem rather dangerous on a bike