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Listening to Music via Headphones?

Old 05-05-20, 03:37 PM
  #101  
wolfchild
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Originally Posted by Tophy_Dee

What are your thoughts on this
I never listen to music when riding my bike or when I am working out.... I find it very distracting and annoying. I am the same way with driving, when I drive I very rarely keep my radio on.
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Old 05-05-20, 03:39 PM
  #102  
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Originally Posted by GlennR
I've seen many suddenly turn around and cross in front of you.

Right handed people turn counterclockwise, so when they decide to head back they turn to the left and cross in front. Last year I was following a cyclist doing about 23mph on a MUP when the as he passed a runner, he crossed in front and they collided.The cyclist when over the bars, broke his collarbone and I learned later that he cracked 2 ribs and fractured his wrist. The runner was wearing ear buds.

Luckily I was able to stop.

MUPs are the worst, I rather deal with cars.
I too would rather ride on roads. One of the main ways into and out of town for many of my rural/gravel rides is a 5 lane road with a MUP alongside it. I ride the road every time while the MUP is packed. I ride faster than what is ideal for that segment of trail and with 2 lanes going both directions in addition to a turn lane, cars can pass me by changing lanes and not slow down.

But your MUP story really doesnt disprove anything from what I posted.
- I dont know what you are talking about with right handed people turning counter clockwise.
- The runner being unsafe wasnt because they were wearing earbuds, its because they didnt look before turning. You are blaming one thing when the issue is another, which is quite common in our society.
- 23mph on a MUP with others using it is probably 8mph too fast.
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Old 05-05-20, 03:43 PM
  #103  
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Originally Posted by GlennR
I've seen many suddenly turn around and cross in front of you.

Right handed people turn counterclockwise, so when they decide to head back they turn to the left and cross in front. Last year I was following a cyclist doing about 23mph on a MUP when the as he passed a runner, he crossed in front and they collided.The cyclist when over the bars, broke his collarbone and I learned later that he cracked 2 ribs and fractured his wrist. The runner was wearing ear buds.

Luckily I was able to stop.

MUPs are the worst, I rather deal with cars.
I agree they will dart in front of you but big surprise if you are going 23 mph on trail when they are 10 mph speed limited basically everywhere on earth. Even if you go that fast you should obviously slow down while near peds or passing slow cyclists. I saw a woman break some little kid's arm. Yes she was in the bike lane but the idiot was passing a mall with millions of peds everywhere. Everyone with some common sense would have slowed down to 5mph or less not barreled through at 25mph and hoped for the best. And that is the universal law too, for cyclists and cars and even peds. You have to travel at a speed that is safe for the road conditions and traffic of the road.
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Old 05-05-20, 03:44 PM
  #104  
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
I too would rather ride on roads. One of the main ways into and out of town for many of my rural/gravel rides is a 5 lane road with a MUP alongside it. I ride the road every time while the MUP is packed. I ride faster than what is ideal for that segment of trail and with 2 lanes going both directions in addition to a turn lane, cars can pass me by changing lanes and not slow down.

But your MUP story really doesnt disprove anything from what I posted.
- I dont know what you are talking about with right handed people turning counter clockwise.
- The runner being unsafe wasnt because they were wearing earbuds, its because they didnt look before turning. You are blaming one thing when the issue is another, which is quite common in our society.
- 23mph on a MUP with others using it is probably 8mph too fast.
He called out ON YOUR LEFT.

And think about it, right handed people turn CCW and left handed turn CW. It has to do with your dominant hand.
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Old 05-05-20, 03:57 PM
  #105  
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If you have to rely on music for motivation to ride or to exercise then something is wrong....Music is OK if you're sitting at home relaxing....If you're riding you need to be focused on your ride, and be aware of your surroundings
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Old 05-05-20, 04:36 PM
  #106  
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Just pass the person already!
Seriously though, if the person is walking/jogging/running/cycling in a reliable line, just pass them. There is no need to have everyone acknowledge you on MUPs.
That can be a huge "if." Only sometimes am I on a MUP, but during those times I find walkers/joggers/slow bikers to be very erratic and unpredictable if they don't know I'm coming. I like to give an audible indication of my approach by freewheeling for a few seconds, and my hubs are loud enough that this works nearly every time, unless the person is wearing earbuds. The MUP is only so wide, and a person taking up the center of the path and not aware of folks coming up from behind can be very nerve-wracking to pass, especially when I'm doing like 10-15mph faster than they are.
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Old 05-05-20, 04:53 PM
  #107  
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Originally Posted by GlennR
And think about it, right handed people turn CCW and left handed turn CW. It has to do with your dominant hand.
Do you mean turn their body? Turn their head?
I seriously have no idea. Im left handed and can turn my body as well as my head in both directions. I make CCW turna all the time in life. My head turns left, my hips turn left, my upper body turns left, even my lower body can turn left.
I must be turnbidextrous.
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Old 05-05-20, 04:57 PM
  #108  
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
If you have to rely on music for motivation to ride or to exercise then something is wrong....Music is OK if you're sitting at home relaxing....If you're riding you need to be focused on your ride, and be aware of your surroundings
Well this is quite absurd. Nobody has accused those who don't listen to music as lacking in some way or having something wrong with them. There is no need to internet psychoanalyze those who do enjoy music when cycling and exercising.

And seriously- you just claimed that those who listen to music for motivation while exercising have something wrong with them- do you realize how ignorant and arrogant that is? Look around at all those who listen to music while they run, walk, lift weights, spin, cycle, zumba, etc etc etc. You just claimed all of them have something wrong since they use music as motivation.

Absurd.
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Old 05-05-20, 05:21 PM
  #109  
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As one who was struck from behind by a hit and run, I have explored this question by @MattTheHat extensively:
Originally Posted by MattTheHat
Can someone...anyone...explain how knowing a car is behind you makes any difference whatsoever? Please?

I've asked this in other threads and never gotten a response. In other words, what do you do with the information? What do you do differently? Are you pulling off the road or something? It seems to me that if you do anything differently based on whether or not a car is behind you is just a recipe for disaster, because you're going to eventually get it wrong.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting anyone ride with music or headphones if they don't feel safe doing so. I'm just tired of people making statements about how unsafe it is without offering some kind of rationale.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
I'm a mirror advocate, virtually an evangelist, and I wear two eyeglass mounted Take-a-Look mirrors, left and right (link)..

Speaking of responding to an upcoming car, have I posted:
Originally Posted by JW Fas
"Cyclist Rear Ended at 55mph"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYMKp71vW-I
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Thanks to @JW Fas for posting this video. I have posted about learning safety either by experience or vicariously, and this is the best training video I have seen about “bailing out.”

I’m an ardent mirror advocate. Many naysayers disparage the use of the mirror for the rare event as depicted above, just to avoid a rear end collision. IMO a mirror is more frequently used, and more valuable to monitor and anticipate road hazards:

So as a bailout training video, I have to consider how I would react to a quickly upcomimg car, and make the decision to bail, especially with an inhospitable shoulder.
Originally Posted by CliffordK
Loose chip seal is a problem. Governments should sweep it up, say after a couple of months post application. Of course, there is the accumulation of other road debris.

Rumbles? If I heard them 50 feet behind myself, they would be a strong wake-up.
Originally Posted by mr_bill
If the closing speed is 50 mph, that gives you 0.68 seconds to get out of the way.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Perhaps, ...At what point do you realize that the upcoming car ain't gonna swerve out of your line of travel?
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Last edited by Jim from Boston; 05-05-20 at 05:46 PM.
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Old 05-05-20, 05:23 PM
  #110  
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Originally Posted by eja_ bottecchia
It is a doppler radar and it works by alerting riders of traffic approaching from the rear.

It is very effective.

I am very happy with it.

Here is a full review:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/04/...th-review.html
I skimmed the lengthy review and noted:
”Yes, it’s a bike radar. But no, it’s not the first bike radar Garmin has made.

And yes, I can hear the comments about ‘why not buy a $15 mirror’ already being furiously typed into your keyboard...

Garmin states that range is 153 meters [167 yards], and that seems about right from when I see vehicles trigger on my unit (I’ve actually seen it further than that in flat conditions).”
FWIW as a mirror advocate, and not to scoff at the product, I had posted on a previous thread: "Cyclist Rear Ended at 55mph":
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Earlier on this thread I posed this question
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
At what point do you realize that the upcoming car ain't gonna swerve out of your line of travel?
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
It is still a bit unsettling to take the lane, though my rearview mirrors keep me aware, and I now scan them more frequently....

I soon determined that at about 30 yards [27 meters] behind me, the driver probably has noticed me, but is not yet impatient.

So at that point I veer rightward to acknowledege the car’s presence and show my cooperative “share the road” attitude…
So I think that 153 meters is a long way off, and quick decisions are made at a shorter distance.
Originally Posted by mcours2006
Having been hit from behind by a vehicle not so far in the distant past that video brings back some unpleasant memories for me. Luckily the car was only going about half the speed.

For those of you who think that you could have avoided such as situation if you were monitoring the rearward traffic using a mirror, I highly doubt that.

I was wearing a mirror at the time that I was hit. I saw the car coming up from behind me, but like every other car that has passed me in all of my riding up to that point, I expected it to move over.

Sometimes they move over early. Sometimes they move over later. But they always move...until they don't. And by the time you realize it it's too late to react.

You can't swerve to the right every time a car is about to pass you either. That's no way to ride a bike. A mirror helps you in other ways, so I continue to use it...

We trust that cars are going to move over to pass us, and almost all of the time they do. If this makes you uncomfortable, then you have to find ways to avoid being in that situation in the first place.
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Last edited by Jim from Boston; 05-05-20 at 05:30 PM.
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Old 05-05-20, 05:24 PM
  #111  
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Originally Posted by bargo68
if you're humming down a slight hill at 28 mph on a rutted mountain road with about half a foot of "shoulder" and you know a car is coming up on you and you see giant pothole/gap/dirtpile/roadkill/injured cyclist/hallucinated leprehaun, instead of swerving into the lane and getting hit, you have to make a very fast decision about how to handle your bike.
.
As to the discussion at hand, maybe you are used to riding with earbuds in, bluetooth speaker blaring, whatever... And you can handle it. Great, you're rad!!

Me, i'm not that slick. I need to be able to hear what's going on around me.
Originally Posted by mattthehat
i asked the question based on how i ride. It’s the only way i know how. Admittedly, i don’t ride in heavily congested areas.

i ride like there’s always a car behind me. I take the lane and if there’s any swerving that needs to be done, i swerve to the right. If i need to change lanes, i visually turn my head to see what’s coming behind me. if there is, i wait. If my lane is running out, i stop. If there’s something in the road that’s too large to avoid by swerving right, i stop. I never swerve to the left, i just don’t.

i have to trust that a car behind me is not going to hit me because i don’t have a choice. Because of the speed differential, i can’t dodge the car. this is further complicated by the fact that i can’t ride while turning my head to watch the car until it passes.[

[b]Doing so causes the rider to pull to the left. at some point before the car passes, you’re all in. you have to trust that they’re going to avoid hitting you. If not, your only choice would to literally get off the road until the car passes. For every car.

this doesn’t take into account distracted drivers. But again, because of the speed difference, i can’t do anything about that. Unless i’m going to pull off the road for every suspected distracted driver, i’m at risk. how close do they have to be before i realize they’re distracted?

riding as described above, i honestly don’t know how hearing anything is going to help. I’d prefer to know for sure when a car is behind me. But it doesn’t make me do anything differently.

If we could somehow get an audible indicator of an impaired or distracted driver, i’d be all over that. And i’d just pull off the road.

But that's just me.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
IMO, besides routine monitoring rearwards with the mirror, a most important use is to make quick decisions when encountering an obstacle in front of you, such as a car door, pothole, car entering your path, etc. can you immediately veer left?...

Personally, i use an eyeglass mounted take-a-look mirror that allows me to maintain a forward-looking head position with just a sideward glance to see the rear.

i really don’t want to turn my head for an over shoulder glance away from the line of travel when speeding downhill on a pothole-strewn road with heavy traffic to my left and parked cars to my right. Furthermore, wind noise can sometimes obscure the sound of a passing car.

I find mirrors so easy to use, and so helpful that i wear both right and left
Originally Posted by MattTheHat
i think for a lot of people mirrors are a good idea. i often wonder why more people don’t use them. On a motorcycle, my rear view mirrors are absolutely critical.

These threads make me realize how fortunate i must be with regard to driver courtesy. Most of the roads here are multi-lane and they’re in pretty good repair. Most drivers are very courteous and basically give up the right hand lane for cyclists.

And there are many multi-use paths that i can use to avoid sections of roads that aren’t as safe. Many of the right lanes are marked with bicycle icons to remind drivers that bikes can take the whole lane.

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 05-05-20 at 05:43 PM.
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Old 05-05-20, 05:29 PM
  #112  
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
If you have to rely on music for motivation to ride or to exercise then something is wrong....Music is OK if you're sitting at home relaxing....If you're riding you need to be focused on your ride, and be aware of your surroundings
No one said anything about *having* to listen to music. It’s not about need, it’s about what people enjoy. Some people can safely do two things at once.
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Old 05-05-20, 05:41 PM
  #113  
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
↑↑↑↑↓↓↓↓
I am sorry Jim, I can’t follow all the quotes going back and forth. It is not you, I am an old guy who likes to follow thing linearly.

i use the Garmin Varia radar unit. I like the warnings that I get and I like seeing the alerts on my Garmin head unit.

BUT, I still use an eyeglass mounted mirror.

When I get an alert, I quickly check my mirror to see what’s coming my way.

Cars now have a similar system, there is an audible alert when cars are nearby, then you check the mirrors to confirm the location of nearby vehicles.

I like the peace of mind.
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Old 05-05-20, 05:42 PM
  #114  
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Originally Posted by SethAZ
I can think of several responses to this.

1) In a strong crosswind, the passing of a vehicle can result in a very sharp change in the sideways forces acting on me, the bike, and the modestly deep carbon wheels. This can result in sudden swerving, etc. That's especially true if the vehicle is a large truck, and it is passing me in such a way as to complete block the wind coming from that side. Knowing the vehicle is about to pass allows me to mentally "brace myself for impact", as it were. I'm not saying this is a huge factor, but it's definitely a factor, and is responsive to your question.

2) I try to keep a good situational awareness of the road conditions directly in front of me, at intermediate distances, etc. Despite that, when I hear a vehicle coming up behind me it focuses me more than usual on what's immediately ahead of me, how much margin there is to the right of where I'm riding, etc. in case I do feel the need the move further to right or even pull off the road entirely. I've actually been run off the road before by an assclown who buzzed me way too close. Whether I actually move further to the right or even off the road entirely for every car or truck I hear coming up behind me or not, knowing that it's coming at least gives me the chance to focus on the road conditions and what my options may be. Again, not a huge factor, but it's a factor for me that I value, and is responsive to your question.

3) "It seems to me that if you do anything differently based on whether or not a car is behind you is just a recipe for disaster, because you're going to eventually get it wrong." Yes, eventually I'll probably get it wrong. Not knowing a car or truck is coming up behind me, however, increases the likelihood that I'm already wrong and just don't know it until it's too late. If I get it right even just a few times where not knowing would have meant I was already wrong and just didn't know it, that's a win.

Some of my cycling routes have this one awful choke point where a small bridge passes over a usually dry creek bed. Whoever designed that bridge deserves to be drawn and quartered, because they made zero allowance for any type of bike lane, safety margin, etc. On that road you go from the lane of travel, white stripe, then 2-3 feet of pavement, to the bridge where it suddenly constricts to the lane of travel, the white stripe, and like 3 or 4 inches and then a hard concrete barrier on the side of the bridge. I really hate passing over that little bridge, especially because the road in question is a fairly major north/south artery road here where the speed limit is 45mph which means in practice people are buzzing you doing 50-60 mph. I very much want to know, approaching that bridge, whether there are cars coming up behind me as I assume the safest position I can just on or inside the lane of travel from the white line. Sometimes when I hear cars coming up behind me but still a ways back I'll drift over a foot or so into the lane of traffic from the white line to prompt the drivers to pull left a little more or even change lanes, and then just as I cross the bridge I'll hug that line as closely as I dare to give myself the best chance of not being hit. Others might be fine having music blaring in their ears while navigating this particular road feature, but it would drive me insane. Again, that's maybe a "me" problem and not a "you" problem, but there it is.
Just got back from riding and had a chance to read this properly. Point 1...well taken. Point 2 especially well taken. Because of my off-road and on-road for that matter, motorcycling for about 40 years or more, I tend to look further down the road than most. When a car is coming, drawing my attention back to the bike is a good idea. Very good point.

For your bridges of horror, I’d want to know what’s behind me too.

As I said, for my riding in this area I still feel safe enough wearing a Bluetooth headset. Though, admittedly I do turn it off or pull the buds out, primarily when dealing with walkers and kids on the MUP. I don’t think this will change, but yeah, one of those Garmin radars will be incoming very soon. For me, the primary reason will be to eliminate surprise close passers. They’ll just be close passers without the surprise.

Thanks for helping me understand what other riders are dealing with.
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Old 05-05-20, 06:09 PM
  #115  
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Originally Posted by MattTheHat
I ride like there’s always a car behind me.
You don't really. You don't massively slow at every single driveway to 2-3 mph because there is someone behind you and he might decide to turn right and smash through you while doing it. Which has happened to me two times with hit and run drivers. If you could hear someone coming behind you and slowing down then you would have a good idea what's happening and take measures otherwise they would just plow into you from the side before you even knew they were coming. I still got hit twice while some idiot decided to turn right through me, but I didn't get killed or seriously injured which is what could have happened those times or in a dozen or more near misses.
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Old 05-05-20, 06:18 PM
  #116  
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Originally Posted by GlennR
Difference is in a collision with another car you have a seat belt, air bags and 3000# of metal surrounding you. On a bike you have spandex and 15# of carbon fiber.

But to each their own.
(.
Yeah, NO SPANDEX here....
I never go riding or even to the gym without my buds. But I also never ride roads or MUPS without my helmet which has a mirror and I'm always tuned in to what's going on around me. It's called Situational Awareness. Learned it many years ago for completely different reasons, but it's like riding a bike, you never lose it.

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Old 05-05-20, 07:11 PM
  #117  
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Before this thread, I had never heard of bone conduction headphones. Something new to check out.

I could never listen to music with just one headphone in. It would feel so unbalanced, missing guitar parts, only hearing parts of drum fills... I'll stick with no headphones on the bike.
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Old 05-06-20, 06:56 AM
  #118  
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Originally Posted by russtopherb
Before this thread, I had never heard of bone conduction headphones. Something new to check out.

I could never listen to music with just one headphone in. It would feel so unbalanced, missing guitar parts, only hearing parts of drum fills... I'll stick with no headphones on the bike.
This is definitely noticeable on some tracks ... and to be honest, I can't deal with this issue at home, but out riding I don't find it as annoying.
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Old 05-06-20, 08:40 AM
  #119  
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I do ride with earbuds and listen to music on the roads, but that all depends on where and if my mirror is attached.
If it's a heavy trafficked road with little to no shoulders, no. And if do wear earbuds on these roads, it's only to deafen the sound of truck tires and loud Harley motorcycles.
But if it's a light trafficked road, or roads with large 6ft+ shoulders, I do sometimes listen to music on earbuds. But this is only when I have a mirror attached to my helmet. Seeing cars well before they see me gives me a sense of security enough to be able to listen to music.
And on MUPs, yep. I listen to music, especially on long paved rail trail rides.
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Old 05-06-20, 09:00 AM
  #120  
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Originally Posted by russtopherb
Before this thread, I had never heard of bone conduction headphones. Something new to check out.

I could never listen to music with just one headphone in. It would feel so unbalanced, missing guitar parts, only hearing parts of drum fills... I'll stick with no headphones on the bike.

Originally Posted by Hypno Toad
This is definitely noticeable on some tracks ... and to be honest, I can't deal with this issue at home, but out riding I don't find it as annoying.
On Apple iOS. Android has a similar setting.



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Old 05-06-20, 09:02 AM
  #121  
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Originally Posted by mr_bill
On Apple. Android has a similar setting.



-mr. bill
Well that's two new things I've learned from this thread!
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Old 05-06-20, 09:39 AM
  #122  
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Originally Posted by eja_ bottecchia
I am sorry Jim, I can’t follow all the quotes going back and forth. It is not you, I am an old guy who likes to follow thing linearly.

i use the Garmin Varia radar unit. I like the warnings that I get and I like seeing the alerts on my Garmin head unit.

BUT, I still use an eyeglass mounted mirror.

When I get an alert, I quickly check my mirror to see what’s coming my way.

Cars now have a similar system, there is an audible alert when cars are nearby, then you check the mirrors to confirm the location of nearby vehicles.

I like the peace of mind.
Thanks for your reply @eja_ bottecchia. It appears you have an advanced system for monitoring traffic behind you. I wrote my series of posts, without reference to listening devices, to answer the earnest question of @MattTheHat,
"Can someone...anyone...explain how knowing a car is behind you makes any difference whatsoever? Please?...

In other words, what do you do with the information? What do you do differently?"

I linked to this real-time video "Cyclist Rear Ended at 55mph"


And asked the counter-question,
At what point do you realize that the upcoming car ain't gonna swerve out of your line of travel?”
Is it at your limit of detection of 153 meters, my suggestion of about 27 meters...when or if?

I advocate for a mirror to decide, but @mcours2006 suggests:
"For those of you who think that you could have avoided such as situation if you were monitoring the rearward traffic using a mirror, I highly doubt that.

I was wearing a mirror at the time that I was hit. I saw the car coming up from behind me, but like every other car that has passed me in all of my riding up to that point, I expected it to move over.

Sometimes they move over early. Sometimes they move over later. But they always move...until they don't
.”

@MattTheHat takes a more passive approach:
I asked the question based on how i ride. It’s the only way i know how. Admittedly, i don’t ride in heavily congested areas.

i ride like there’s always a car behind me… I visually turn my head to see what’s coming behind me…

I have to trust that a car behind me is not going to hit me because i don’t have a choice. … You have to trust that they’re going to avoid hitting you. If not, your only choice would to literally get off the road until the car passes. For every car.

This doesn’t take into account distracted drivers…How close do they have to be before i realize they’re distracted?

Riding as described above, i honestly don’t know how hearing anything is going to help. I’d prefer to know for sure when a car is behind me. But it doesn’t make me do anything differently.”

Not to be contrarian, @eja_ bottecchia, but rearward monitoring does not bring me peace of mind, but rather sets up a tension of monitoring behind and looking forward down the road to consider, perhaps subconsciously, a strategy to handle the imminent situation.

For example as described by bargo68:
"If you're humming down a slight hill at 28 mph on a rutted mountain road with about half a foot of "shoulder" and you know a car is coming up on you and you see giant pothole/gap/dirtpile/roadkill/injured cyclist/hallucinated leprehaun, instead of swerving into the lane and getting hit, you have to make a very fast decision about how to handle your bike.
.
As to the discussion at hand, maybe you are used to riding with earbuds in, bluetooth speaker blaring, whatever... And you can handle it. Great, you're rad!!"

For me, peace of mind briefly sets in when I note there is no one behind me, and I can concentrate solely on the upcoming road and intersections.

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 05-07-20 at 06:22 AM.
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Old 05-06-20, 10:09 AM
  #123  
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Last song of the ride

Video Girl -- FKA Twigs

It's like... a thing for me now. It's in my head.
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Old 05-06-20, 10:27 AM
  #124  
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Having any kind of ear phones on is a safety factor period!!!!
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Old 05-06-20, 10:37 AM
  #125  
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Constant exposure to the +85DbA wind noise level @ 15mph is gradually putting us deaf period!!!

See what I did there? I used your rhetorical style to present a fact, rather than a baseless opinion. Aren't facts neat?
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