Nope, random play list. I can remember at least the last 10-12 songs.

I do indeed live in the present and enjoy the ride. That almost always includes listening to music.

Matt,
The only thing (In my opinion) regarding area around bike/cars near you, is that you are more aware/cognizant of threats to your health. Using my mirrors, I can constantly assess the situation, especially when I'm on a 4-lane (45 MPH) road. If I see a situation approaching with two cars attempting to pass each other, or just using the roadway as intended, I can look for an escape route, or be ready to bail out to the right (since I'm in the right tire-track on the road). BEING AWARE OF THE CARS BEHIND YOU IS A TREMENDOUS ADVANTAGE. You can listen to your music on your headphones, but still have a plan when/if someone decides to pass you a little too close for comfort. Just my opinion. I'm sure others are going to chime in and tell me I'm a dumbass.

Ten thousand since 2011? We’re not even talking about the same activity, guy. The bike I just got off of has 20,000 miles on it, and I got it in the middle of 2017.

Oh, and for the record, Sweet Nothing (feat. Florence Welch) — Calvin Harris

I enjoy riding a bicycle, and I enjoy listening to music. There’s absolutely no reason I can’t do both. I am in fact living proof.

For me, with the Garmin radar, it helps when you need to move into the traffic lane to pass another bike or walker or trash in the shoulder/bike lane or making a left turn. OTOH for just riding down the road, it doesn't change much, just information and being aware of your surroundings ... like checking your mirrors while driving a car.

A music-head will likely know the last song that played, the year it was released, the bass player's name .... For me, it's that song that was on at the right time. I have the best memory of Atmosphere's Sunshine playing at mile 210 of the DAMn, right after missing a turn and making a long descent on the wrong road. I got back on route as this song shuffled through, it totally put me back in a good mind frame for the last 35 miles of my day.


How many can name the last song on the radio in their car? & How is naming a song make music good or bad or unsafe while biking??

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.
But that's just me.

Break time.
I said rap song in an earlier post but it wasn't. It's what some have a described as neo soul. It was a song on D'Angelo debut album Brown Sugar. A great album btw. If you look at the track titles it's the one with Curse words. And when you listen to the lyrics you'll see why it's appropriate 😂.
Anyone here ever heard it? Trust me it's worth a listen. The cool laid back vibe of the song, the harsh reality lyrics, the modulating of track title.
I haven't heard the album in years, wish I could post it but if you want to listen to the song it's called
​​S#@#, Damn, M##_&-+(()/%
Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Why not enjoy the natural sounds of the ride? I never could understand how someone could enjoy doing two specific activities as the same time. If you are enjoying the ride your mind is focused on the sights and sounds of the ride. If you are listening to music via earbuds, thats the only thing you can hear and focus on. Of course, what one does is one's own business, but the whole idea of focused listening via earbuds while doing something else strikes me as strange.

All sensory information makes it just more likely that you will make the right decision in a specific situation. I ride quite a bit on MA Route 4, which has a section in Billerica with a bunch of unevenly spaced potholes on a rolling somewhat curvy hill road. I'm extremely aware of whether or not cars are behind me on that section because successfully travelling that road requires taking the lane at some points. The roughness of that road also makes the cars behind me very loud, while the rolling hills and curves can actually make it hard to see the cars when you turn your head. So yes, I am able to know to avoid taking the lane when I know there is a car behind me that may or may not be able to see me in time to react.

I know you'll quibble with this and I won't care to answer it because I have found it useful and I really don't care why you think I shouldn't. I also have heard cars backing out from places where my view was obstructed. I consider riding anywhere with shrubs and driveways with obstructed hearing a really bad idea for me. You do whatever you like.


Just so you know, I've witnessed a few times where people wearing earbuds went right in front of cars and bicyclists and been totally unaware they had a close call. The other person evaded hitting them, and they never saw or heard it.

Admittedly, I’d rather know If a car is behind me. I’m not a fan of the close pass. A really close pass when you don’t know it’s coming is even less enjoyable. I’ve been thinking about upgrading to one of the Garmin radar lights.

Firstly, thank you for noticing I’m rad. :lol:

I agree with you 100 percent. I’m a big advocate of people determining for themselves what’s safe and sticking to it. I’m also a big fan of other people not trying to determine what’s safe for me.

I don’t ride mountain roads like what you describe. I’m not that tough.

I classify my Varia radar as one of my best ever cycling purchases. A taillight is used in the hopes it will increase our conspicuity-- while a radar unit will actively tell a rider something is coming up behind them. It's active. I've had much better tire life since the radar went on, because most times I just ride right out in the middle of the lane-- with +500ft of warning, I can easily move to the shoulder when a vehicle approaches. The middle of the lane is clean of debris 99.9% of the time. The space we're usually relegated to is full of glass and everything else. Radar keeps me out of the gutter.

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.

I do care to answer. I never said anybody shouldn’t care for doing anything that makes them feel safer. You make my point for me when you say “do whatever you like.” That’s what I’m saying too. Do what you feel is safe. I’ll do the same. For the way I ride and the area I ride, hearing more doesn’t do anything to improve my safety.

I think the people you describe as having close calls have more wrong than wearing ear buds. Not wearing earbuds doesn’t do away with the need to watch where you’re going. And yes, I’ve seen the same thing happen.

I think I’ll pick one up. I’m glad to hear you’re pleased with it. More input is more better.

I got the radar for Lisa, she has poor vision in her left eye, making checking for traffic difficult. She never really liked it, and I thought about selling it ... but decided to try it out before selling it. It only took a couple rides to realize it's a great gadget. I almost never ride without it and feel kinda naked when I do ride without it.

I, for one, certainly enjoy listening to music while working out in any form. Of course I do enjoy the noises of the great outdoors and find it to be safer so I can hear cars, other cyclists, and pedestrians.
I have certainly witnessed many cyclists listening to music with headphones on and wonder how in the world?! Going so fast and in the zone, it struck me how they can be so confident with earbuds and music playing while biking! I’m sure they have the volume down low (I would hope!) But nonetheless, I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer after reading everyone’s post! It all depends on how safe you feel, as another cyclist mentioned on this thread. Thanks for all your input, everyone!

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.

It's not being tough, they're the only roads we have! Sonoma county here in the Bay Area has some of the worst tarmac in California. Beautiful scenery, though!
And I agree with you, we all have to figure out what's right for us and do our best to respect other's ideas.

Let me be clear--as a matter of probability, I do think you are giving up some safety by obstructing your hearing. Human beings simply aren't capable of looking in all directions at once, and our attention is very selective. Sound, like vision, provides cues to aim that attention to places where there are threats of various sorts emanating. Our brains are "hard-wired" for this. You happen to think that this effect is marginal enough that it isn't worth worrying about, and in your case, there may be factors that make it less essential for you than it is for other people.

Frankly, I still can't fathom why you asked the question in the way you did, and that may have led me to think you were being more hostile than you were--not knowing if there's a car behind you would make it impossible to safely change lanes, stop, turn, all sorts of maneuvers. That seems rather obvious to me.

As to whether the sound-blinded riders have bigger problems, maybe, but sound is a way people use to shock them out of their obliviousness before oblivion may become permanent. As human beings, we all may be subject to moments of inattention. You cut off a check on that at your peril.

Thank you for citing some actual reasons. I’m going to go for a ride and when I get back I’m going to read your response very carefully. I anticipate it won’t change my riding with music but that it will encourage me to pull the trigger on a Garmin radar unit.

Again, thank you for a response with some actual substance instead of just knee jerks.

Pretty much unsafe. There is a dumbass who always blocks my way and then yells "get a horn!" and this moron has earbuds blaring. No, you stop taking up the whole sidewalk while blocking out all the noise moron. Last time I told him next time I will just run him down, who does this idiot think he is to impede me and yell at me every day?

What are y'all doing on the uh.... sidewalk? Bikes don't belong on the sidewalk. That's where pedestrians go.

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. 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.

Not using earbuds during riding is something I evolved into, since I actually used to do it. I went from using two earbuds, to just using one, to using none. That evolution was influenced by my experiences. I listen to audiobooks more than I listen to music, though I do listen to music as well. With the audiobooks or podcasts or whatever I've found that if I'm actually listening to the story or discussion or whatever, and paying attention to it, it takes me a microinstant or three to "disconnect" my brain from that particular train of thought and refocus it on what's going on around me, and that refocusing is made more difficult if the audiobook or podcast or whatever is still playing in my ear while I'm trying to mentally shift gears. Through experiences I had on the road where I recognized that a particular reaction time I needed in a given instant was hampered by having that earbud talking to my brain at that instant, I just realized that for me it was a bad idea.

On the other hand I've had very mild symptoms that might be like ADHD all my life, and sometimes having some music (preferably with incomprehensible or no words) on helps me to drown out other brain inputs that otherwise would distract me, and help me focus on what I'm trying to do. Whether that translates into any kind of benefit while on a bicycle I couldn't say, but at least I recognize that having a constant brain input from music or whatever is going to help or hinder different people differently depending on how they think, how they focus their thoughts, how able they are to tune out unwanted inputs so they can focus on something, etc. We're not all the same, and so any opinions I have on what I need to function mentally are only applicable to me, since I can't possibly know how someone else's brain works.

Speaking of the Varia radar, I don't have it, but I've read so many comments from folks who do that it's made me think hard and I've come close to pulling that trigger too. The thing that's competing with that idea right now is the parallel development (ie: two newish techs coming onto the scene at more or less the same time) of light/camera combo units. In response to my recent "coal rolling" experience I've mounted a Cycliq Fly12 CE front headlight/video camera combo unit, and am thinking I'd like to put the companion Fly 6 rear taillight/camera combo unit so I get dashcam coverage both fore and aft. I don't want to mount too much crap on my bike, so right now it's either a radar/taillight combo or a camera/taillight combo. It would be awesome if Garmin or a company like Cycliq could combine these into a radar/camera/light unit. I don't intend to mount these as separate units, though I've seen folks do that. There's a limit to the clutter I want on my bike, and that crosses that limit for me, at least for now.

Either you didn't read what I wrote or you can't do simple math.

25,000 + 10,000 = 35,000 miles, so I think that disqualifies me as a "Internet Cyclist". I guess that's some sort of new insult?

According to some municipal codes they do.

I can hear my bike noises while riding and listening to talk with my airbuds. I wear them without anything playing. myself I cant just sit and watch tv I have to be doing something else like building lego or playing a video game. I don't listen to music as it does not hold my attention and my mind wanders and I don't hear it been that way for 30 years I have been working by myself for 25 years now audiobooks and podcasts help me from feeling so alone. I don't know if I will listen while riding with my wife yet. we have a lot ot learn yet. she would be the one listening to music..

Another point I don't think has been made yet is that I like to hear my bike! The freewheel clicking, the small clicks and pops of detritus going under my wheels.
Also, I have a couple bikes with triples up front that use friction shifting, so I need to hear if my chain line need some trimming.