GuNoKo

I wear ear buds while cycling because I like some distraction (podcasts) on some of the long slogs, or some music on the steep parts to keep me going. Nobody, car nor bike comes up on me without me seeing them in the mirror or hearing them first first. And I do always pause the sound to allow any conversation as may occur, or when traffic gets heavy. But I go uphill for hours at a time. And I concur with the comment about wind noise on the downhill, I just put the headphones away then if I don't need them for warmth and wind nose reduction.

gsa103

There's always the 41 solution: Bike fast enough that no one passes.

I-Like-To-Bike

Why should I or any other cyclist be concerned about you or any other cyclist "calling us out" from behind if we are already in the correct lateral position on the path, MUP, or street? What are we supposed to do with this call out?
Rather than calling out, why not just be quiet and pass with sufficient room?

daihard 

I've had a cyclist with earbuds embedded in her ears swerve into me while I was passing her on the left. Had she done that half a second later, she would have knocked me down into the traffic lane. I had called her out and she remained on the right side of the bike lane, which had sufficient room for me to pass if she had not make the sudden move.

I-Like-To-Bike

I wish I had a dime for every post on BF from disgruntled posters who complain about other cyclists (and pedestrians) who DID hear the "On your left" call out and then responded by moving suddenly to their left. Often these same posters complain that it keeps on happening without ever pausing to think that call outs, especially in cryptic (to the recipient) gibberish are not all that effective. If in doubt slow down and more importantly give enough room.

BTW, do you also honk (call out) at every cyclist you approach from behind while driving in order to inform them of your presence?

daihard 

I didn't doubt the callouts would be effective. In my short history of cycling, my callouts have never resulted in the other cyclist(s) swerving into me like she did. I usually slow down a bit when I call out, to give myself time to make up my mind whether or not to "go."

And I hope I didn't sound like a "disgruntled" poster who "complained" about other cyclists. I simply described an incident that I believe was caused by the hearing impairment caused by earbuds.

I often (but not always) rev up a bit to notify the cyclist that I'm behind and intend to pass them. If I plan on staying behind them until another lane is available, then I won't do that. I'm not sure if this is in any way related to the incident I mentioned, but just FYI.

Essex

Noooooooo! I was thinking along the lines of some cut-up polyethylene jug container / ear shrouds which looked 'aero', but still Lance-like enough to entice Freds' to wear em.' Costs .10 cents. Sell em' for 20.00.

achoo

Riding with ear buds is like riding with an eye patch over one eye.

mrodgers

I asked the question in the most general sense I could because the OP statement was done in the most general sense, "Those things are not safe to wear while riding. People who wear time while riding are irresponsible and domme idioten!! " whatever language that last sentence merged from English into. I ride on a Rails to Trails out in the middle of nowhere. I've ridden now 500 miles since I started a few months ago. In that 500 miles, I've had maybe 3 people pass me from behind. I see maybe 5 people in total on a 2 hour ride either walking or riding slow and I slow down, announce I'm coming, and go around them or people coming by the opposite way. I ride on the right hand side of the trail. I ride for 6-10 miles and turn around to go back. The trail is 34 miles to the end where you would have to make any kind of turn to the left.

Or any car. Why would you not check behind you no matter what, whether you are listening to earbuds, talking on a bluetooth device on the phone, or just riding without anything in your ears. If I was out on the road in traffic, first I would have a mirror to keep an eye on everything coming up behind me because I certainly wouldn't be traveling as fast as the automotive traffic on the road. If at any point I had to turn left, I certainly would be looking behind me and checking.

So first, we have a general blanket statement that says wearing earbuds while riding a bicycle is unsafe and people who do wear them are irresponsible and, I guess the final statement would translate to, are idiots, without identifying the environment the riding is in. Second, the statement I see assumes that only without earbuds could you have any situational awareness to know that there is traffic behind you on the road which I also assume states that with using earbuds, I would be incapable of turning my head or checking a mirror to see what was coming behind me.

digibud

You can call me an idiot but hey...I knew that. Backpacking alone in grizzly country. Check. Scuba diving in the ocean alone. Check. Flying hang gliders. Check. Camping at -40F without a tent. Check. Wearing ear buds doesn't even get on my radar as a risky behavior unless I get around a city where I ride near other cyclists or some "real" traffic then I take out my ear bud(s). But if there were a law against wearing them I'd just ignore it like a stop sign in the middle of nowhere with no traffic in sight.

bbbean 

People are a lot better behaved on your MUPs than they are on the ones I ride on. When I ride the MUP in Forest Park, I spend half the ride dodging cyclists, runners, and walkers who are lost in ther own little audio worlds.

RaleighSport

This thread amuses me, I do sometimes ride with earbuds though, or rather one in my right ear and volume set to reasonably low. I also happen to have a handlebar stereo.. that goes on a mountain bike that I don't road ride with though. I saw good points about people listening to radio programs, or having buds in place for being hands free on the phone if a call does come in... as was already said I think the OP presumes too much.

bbbean 

You are mistaken. Many of us have ample real world experience that tells us earbud wearing bikers, joggers, and walkers are frequently the very people who drift out of their lane, make unpredictable turns and stops, fail to hear audible warnings, and generally ride as if they were the only ones on the road. While I'm sure you are exceptionaly safe and a glowing example for us all, it is my experience that you are an atypical earbud user.

I don't propose any sort of law or rule against earbud wearing, but I frown on the practice, and take pains to avoid sharing the road or trail with people who wear them. In my experience, I am much safer on the road with drivers who are at least aware that they are sharing the road with other vehicles than I am on the MUP with people who don't seem to be aware other riders exist.

BB

neg

I have not noticed a correlation between ear bud use and reckless be behaviour. Few to none of the cyclists around the university where I work use ear buds, but nearly all are reckless and inconsiderate. The only cyclist who adheres to proper road etiquette is an ear bud user, but that cyclist is me so I will not count myself.

I consider my experiences to be universal, though I only have anecdotal evidence coloured by confirmation bias to attest to that fact.
Therefore, I encourage people to live their lives like I live my life, and we'll all get along nicely.

gcottay

That, alas, works only in the real world, not A&S.

Joemess

You should write a strongly worded letter and use lots of exclamation points, caps lock, and bold type.

I find it extrodinarily hard to believe that an earbud is the devil.

spare_wheel

I do not ride a bike to commune with nature, to smell the roses, to meditate, or to breathe in the "fresh air". My bike is not a toy and cycling is not my hobby -- it's how I get from point A to point B.

wphamilton

Even better, some electronic device which can recognize the sounds of an approaching vehicle and feed them through to the ear buds, while cancelling out all other sounds. If it was sensitive enough we'd be have even more warning than you would with the unaided ear. Add detection for sirens, tire screeches, child noises etc.

FBinNY 

The point is well taken. People ride bikes for a variety or reasons, and have different life styles, and preferences. Many like myself ride different ways at different times and for different reasons. When commuting on busy streets I'm all about getting there, on many long rides it's simply about being out alone to think, and in many places it's about the scenery.

The OPs objections about earbuds are nonsense, and he'd be better off worrying about himself that what everybody around him is doing.

Daspydyr 

Biking is beauty in the eye of the rider. We all want different things from the experience. I doubt that any one has a death wish. There are some riders that seem to want to be an obstacle. I prefer to smile and wave and give them lots of room. Some runners also fit that description.

To argue with a fool is to be brought down to their level. I don't know of anyone who suddenly shifts gears, apologizes and says, darn it, you are right, forgive me for being stupid.

howsteepisit

"I don't know of anyone who suddenly shifts gears, apologizes and says, darn it, you are right, forgive me for being stupid."

I read about it on an internet forum, so it must happen. Stop being stupid

Jan Feetz

Index fingers? Free, but not safe. Must take hands off the bars.

spare_wheel

I've been riding with headphones since the days of the very first sony walkman. Based on this experience I will provide a few hints on how to ride with ear buds without killing young children and/or kittens.

1. Turn the volume down.
2. Use only one ear bud.
3. Perform a shoulder check before passing or changing lanes. Surprisingly, this is also a good idea when cycling sans head phones!
4. Talk radio/podcasts and classical are less distracting than death metal or shoe-gazer.
5. Do not dart out into traffic when there is a really good guitar lick or pop hook.
6. Do not play air guitar or tap out beats while riding.
7. When visiting Almelo and a dude with a 'stache asks you to to ditch the head phones...shout out "Whaaaaht?!!!" very loudly.

ItsJustMe

Can the person in the car with the windows rolled up and the radio on hear you?

It amazes me that people have so much time on their hands that they think they're going to go around and nanny every person on the road.

Be sure to take the license plates of every person who passes you when you're doing the speed limit on the road too, and turn them in to the police.

ItsJustMe

You should look up the phrase "correlation is not causation" then rethink.