Bob, you play so smoothly.

One of my last rides in Germany, I saw someone playing a mouth harmonica with two hands while riding down next to the Main. I saw quite impressed. That type of music I can support.

Last couple days been riding with my backpack instead of pannier, it has a phone pocket on the front of one of the straps, it's sorta nice to play music through the speaker. It doesn't sound very good and it's not very loud but better than fussing with earbuds. Unless you use noise isolating earbuds you're never gonna get sound quality on your bike anyway. I don't care to be quite that isolated, but apple earbuds are a pretty good compromise.

Are there other kinds of harmonica? I'd like to see a nose harmonica. (I don't need to see a butt harmonica -- in fact I have one built in)

There are Nose Flutes https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/18...g?v=1522621554
and people playing flutes with their nose

https://nutsinindia.files.wordpress....-019.jpg?w=900

I wouldn't wanna try that on my commute.

Somebody more clever than I could think of some wordplay between commute and flute.

I think Moots includes an accessory with their Comooter model, it's a safety whistle you blow at intersections. They call it the Floot

I rarely listen to music but always have podcasts or talk/news radio on. I've tried various headphones and settled on some over-the-ear Sonys that go around the back of the head. They cut down on wind noise so I end up listening at a lower volume and can hear traffic. I suppose police could get on my case about them but I rarely see them and I doubt they're looking at my ears when they do pass.

I find riding a bike enjoyable enough not to need music or voices supplementing the experience. Driving a car is different. Anything to help pass the time driving is better.

Listening to music or voices while riding isn't a question of "need" but rather an option some cyclists choose to enhance their riding experience. Others prefer listening exclusively to traffic noise, or all natural blowing wind and bird tweets and choose accordingly.

I wasn’t talking about other cyclists. Just myself.

Did you think that makes you unique or special because you don't "need" such "enhancement"?
Do you know if anybody ever claimed that he/she listens to music or voices from an electronic device while they ride because they "need" it?

In other words, your statement read like "You all must not find biking enjoyable as I do, if you need to supplement the experience with voices or music", whether you intended that or not.

Simply reordering to "When I drive, it's so boring, anything (voice or music) to pass the time makes it bearable. But when I'm cycling, I just enjoy the ride" takes a lot of the stoink off

As I noted earlier I listen to music every commute every weekday 22mi RT in traffic for the past 15+ years. I ride fast which keeps things a bit more exciting, but over the years the route has become mundane. Music makes it so much more enjoyable.

Alternately on my longer weekend rides I do not like music. Especially when climbing it drives me nuts.

How about Singing as you ride ?

You guys are something special.

I have Airpods and I just have them in one ear!

I use a set of bone conduction 'headphones' from Aftershokz. They are pretty much the definition of non-noise cancelling so you can hear everything going around you as well as your music or podcast (mostly what I use these days). I found that they take a little while to get used to, but I now find them invaluable. I'm actually on my second set after I accidentally dropped my first pair onto the driveway behind my wifes car and she reversed over them.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cafb9f679c.jpg

I don't typically listen to music on my rides, although I do create music mentally. I also don't use ear plugs, although one ear is legal. I might listen if I stop for a brief respite. However, many times I used riding to meditate if I'm on a quiescent path. Otherwise, I give the traffic my undivided attention. SoCal roadways can b notoriously treacherous.

Interesting. Reminds me of the subcutaneous headphone/microphone system Ender Wiggin used to communicate with 'Jane' the computer in Speaker for the Dead (sequel to Ender's Game)

I'm not familiar with that one, but it sure sounds like a lower-fi version of it. The audio quality is..... fine. For podcasts it really doesn't matter much, but for music the sound quality might be a deal breaker for some. That said, if you were after quality of sound I daresay you wouldn't be looking at bone conduction headphones in the first place.

Does it actually press firmly on bone? Does it get sore after wearing for a long time? I get soreness from sunglasses gently pinching for hours at a time

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Headpho.../dp/B01IUP89LS
Anker Soundbuds NB10

I use them whenever I ride alone.
- they help reduce wind noise.
- they keep wind out of my ears when its cold- so no earaches.
- I can hear ambient noise without issue. I hear people speaking from 30' away when riding and thats good enough for me.

The odds of me ever appearing in front of a judge and jury due to cycling are so small and insignificant that it isnt even worth me considering this as a reason to not wear ear buds.

If I did find myself in your hypothetical, then I would try to rationally explain that in my experience, ear buds dont distract me from seeing or hearing what is going on around me.
Its ironic that music can blast in a car thru the speakers and the driver's hearing is limited, but that isnt an issue in your hypothetical...