Cat4Lifer

Been riding on-and-off (more off) for twenty years, and I've never had the
desire to listen to music while I pedal along the coast or Mulholland or wherever.
I just enjoy the sounds of wind whistling and the birds chirping.

Jim from Boston

I use my cadence meter faithfully when I ride, but I only synch my cadence to the beat when going up hills if I want to raise my cadence. On stiff hills then, even a low cadence, say 50-60 can be beneficial. I select my playlist not only by cadence but by the melody and harmony. So on the flats or downhills, the music is a pleasant accompaniment. My main criterion to put a tune on my playlist is "Do I want to hear this while struggling up a hill (and do I want to hear it more than once, since it is on my playlist)?".

BTW, don't knock Lawrence Welk; he had good musicianship. If you object to his tunes, IMO, Big Band standards (and Classic Rock) are great for cycling.

Cat4Lifer

no matter...
wasn't like i was gonna get any, right?

substructure

I doubt it.

Jim from Boston

I pretty much wear headphones 7 days a week 52 weeks a year, when cycling, working at my mentally intense job, reading the newspaper, walking along anywhere, and falling asleep at night. I listen to music, and even more to talk shows. I find that listening to external sources (of my own choosing) helps me focus on the task at hand. So to me, the background sounds affect me in a not only a meaningful, but IMO a beneficial way. I may not fully catch the content of the external sound, but without such, the silence is deafening and distracting.

Tsuru

Can't believe we are having this argument again....

I ride sometimes without and sometimes with headphones. My headphones are nice, isolation, full glorious sound Shure headphones, I wear them in both ears and the volume pretty loud. All I hear is the music when I wear headphones.

20 miles each way on the commute, with or without headphones makes no difference. I look back periodically and before I do anything with or without the headphones. I stay in my little side of the street and watch for cars as I zoom zoom home. The end.

One great thing about the headphones (besides the sound quality), I never get distracted by anyone who feels compelled to bark something stupid at me, very easy to ignore them when you can't hear them and move on. No road rage, just a sweet & musical ride.

Group rides, no headphones.

But whatever... that's me, not you. Do what you want and what makes you feel safe and let's you have a good ride. No point in arguing it.

Is it safer without headphones? Maybe, a little, I don't know, doesn't seem like it to me, and honestly, I don't care. Same with a mirror. It's debatable (as proven on BF ad nauseum).

But I'll say this... headphones/mirrors, whatever, the cars in my lane behind me are not my problem. The problem is the people in the opposite lane wanting to turn left and the people in the right cross street wanting to turn left OR right. ALL they are looking for is a gap big enough between cars to go, what they almost never seem to look for is a bicycle. Headphones and mirrors have nothing to do with it. Good friend who took up cycling in our little tsururadio community (lost over 100lbs so far!), she just got hit by a car from a woman who was turning right from a cross street on her right. She's fine, whiplash, ruined helmet, and a f**ked up new bike that her parents got her for all the riding she's done, but she'll be okay... thankfully.

I guess my point is... it's not the headphones that are the issue. It's you. If you can't wear headphones without getting distracted, don't wear them, you'll probably do something stupid. If your music is just a motivator but doesn't take away from your ability to ride smart, then wear them if you want. If they are a distraction, but you don't think so, you'll probably learn about it soon enough...

Whatever, who cares...

DScott

Will listening to music on your bike lead to your instant demise? Nope.

Is it a completely benign activity while on a bike? Nope.

If you can hear it, it IS a distraction. Your brain is processing additional info, and there is some diminished attention as long as it is. That's a fact, jack. You just can't argue that.

Again, if you can't hear it and process it, why are you doing it?

Whether it interferes with your ability to safely ride your bike or not, well I suspect that's going to vary alot by who the rider is. I'm sure many riders can handle it, but there are those who can't.

The research is becoming very, very clear that distraction is an ever increasing problem among drivers. As an example, driver distraction has been shown to be a factor in as many as 30% of traffic accidents*. There's no shortage of research on distraction increasing pedestrian accident risk as well. **

We should learn from this.





* Insurance Information Institute. Dangerous driving distractions.

Text messaging. https://www.roadandtravel.com/safetyandsecurity/
teensandtots/2008/text-while-driving.htm. Accessed October 2,

2008.

** Mobile telephones, distracted attention, and pedestrian safety.
Nasar J. Hecht P. Wener R.
Accident Analysis & Prevention. 40(1):69-75, 2008 Jan.

BarracksSi

Is that while passively listening to stuff, or actively doing something that takes attention away from the windshield?

Car and Driver's own test ended up with legally drunk driving being less dangerous than texting, surprisingly enough. The gist of it was that the test subjects were still looking out the front window while drunk, while typing and reading texts meant that they were not even looking.

That's the key point, then -- the difference was that they were looking somewhere other than on the road ahead.

That's the same thing that the Ocean City woman did when she got hit by a truck. She didn't look. The fact that she was listening to her mp3 player is absolutely NO excuse for not turning her head to look.

Again, if you're blinded by sound, you shouldn't be aggravating your condition by listening to music.

And, if you're legally deaf, you shouldn't ride a bike at all. Wait, that's not true...

DScott

It's distracted attention, not listening to music that's the problem. It could be having an arguement with your passenger, trying to get directions, or having your girlfriend's face in your lap... it'll take away from paying attention to what you're doing.

BarracksSi

.... Which aren't like listening to music.

DScott

"It's distracted attention, not listening to music that's the problem."

BarracksSi

Right -- so, in other words, let's learn from the studies about driver distraction and continue to not worry about listening to music.

NathanC

I do most of my cycling on dedicated cycling paths that pretty much get road cyclists with plenty of room to pass, so I can pump the music and not lose out from a safety perspective.

DScott

Right -- so, in other words, let's ignore the data about distraction among pedestrians and vehicle operators increasing accident risk and continue to rationalize doing whatever we want to do.

You'd have to agree then, that you feel completely safe riding your bike around other cyclists listening to music?

daredevil

Hearing is not a distraction. On the other hand, a conversation type of hearing is. Big difference. That's why radios have never been an issue in automobiles. There's never been legislation considered to ban car radios.

I'll still take my music on my ride thank you.

CrimsonKarter21

I still have never come across a situation where I thought "gee, I wish I could have heard that to it's fullest". In fact, I'm sure I've missed more than a few horn honkings by listening to music. I'll also have to say that I've never needed a mirror either. I know there are cars behind me already.

daredevil

No hearing and no visual awareness...now that is a little scary.

DScott

Yes it is.

daredevil

You've got to be kidding....not for me....I'm sorry you have that issue. Maybe you could invest in some ear plugs.

So what about the car radio analogy?

While we're at it, conversations in the car are not a problem either. At least not for me. You have trouble talking to people when you drive as well?

umd

Again you are ignoring the distinction between active distractions like a conversation and passive distractions like music. Those studies say nothing about listening to the radio, which is the basic equivalent.

I feel completely safe riding around other people I know, regardless of music. I don't always feel comfortable around people I don't know, regardless of music.

BarracksSi

You just said -- twice -- that listening to music isn't the problem.

DScott

Once again, you (all) wouldn't listen to music while riding if you can't hear it, and aren't processing it. This is just brain processing fact: If you're processing it, it's taking some of your attention, and is a distraction from attending to other things, including riding. It really doesn't matter if it's earphones or a car radio, it's the same basic process. If you're not actively attending to it, it's just noise.

No one has ever been so engrossed in what you were listening to in the car that you missed a turn, or ran a stop sign, or something similar? How about having an arguement in the car? C'mon, be honest here...

Now, if it takes enough of your attention so that it impairs your ability to ride safely, then it's a bad distraction and increases accident risk. Otherwise, it's not a bad distraction.

I'm not saying all people can't effectively multi-task on the bike, just that some can't. And as the distractions become more intense, the accident risk increases, whether it's car, ped, or on the bike. We've all seen it. Obviously, the less intrusive the music is, the less distracting it's likely to be.

I'm with umd- I trust people I know, but if I don't know you and see you're wearing earphones (especially both of them), I'm usually giving you a wide berth, until I know better.

umd

Just answer this: how is it any different than listening to the music on the radio in the car?

gregf83 

I've gone on auto-pilot (and missed turns) while having a conversation on a cell phone which is why I try to keep it to a minimum. I've also zoned out and missed turns with no distractions but my own thoughts. Maybe I'll stop thinking while riding.

If you are so distracted by background music what happens when you're riding on the road near the beach?

WCoastPeddler

When I drive my car, I almost always have the tunes cranked. So much that I generally can't hear anything outside the car. I know I'm not alone in doing this. Is it any different than riding with earbuds?