Tunes while riding

[ctdancer]

Guilty of riding with my Ipod (when I'm solo), as long as I'm riding in an area where I know the route really well, and not many cars. Fortunately where I live I have lots of "safe" places to ride, and the music really helps my cadence, especially up hills !
I keep the volume low, and I would never use them with company...

[Owlie]

It scares me when I see cyclists with earbuds in, even on the trail. There are are a few road crossings that force you to rely on hearing because of curves in the road and vegetation. And this group of people often overlap with the "don't even slow down to check for traffic" group!

[lph]

To answer the original question - I ride with earbuds all the time. It helps mightily for my motivation on long rides. It's not something I recommend to new riders because it takes practice and you may have to change your riding style somewhat. It's quite possible to ride safely and responsibly with earbuds, however.

And as a gentle reminder - putting earbuds in doesn't automatically turn an otherwise attentive rider into a self-absorbed zombie weaving all over the place and paying no attention...

[ctdancer]

LPH - Agree ! In some ways, I think they actually make me pay more attention to my surroundings, and be more cautious rather than oblivious !

[amb]

I frequently ride with my iPod, right earbud only, music at a reasonable level. I too can hear traffic, birds, people, other riders....everything. There's a lot of people on their soapbox here assuming we're unsafe/can't hear a thing. Whatever, do what works for you and I will as well. I think more often than not, it's not an iPod that makes anyone unsafe, it's their lack of following the rules of the road!!

[roo4]

I think riders/runners with earbuds in are less aware of their surroundings. Period. For those of you insisting that you can hear cars and birds and crickets and whatnot while wearing earbuds, well goody for you. That is not the question. We are not comparing your super-sensory abilities with average riders. The comparison should be your ability with earbuds as compared with your ability without musical distractions.

[ehirsch83]

If I am riding solo, I ride with one ear but in( right ear- side away from cars). I hear everything just fine. It helps with motivation on work outs- different music helps push yourself farther or on an easy recovery ride something slower and fun(jack johnson station on pandora is great).

I would never ride with them on a group ride.

I feel it is a personal preference and people shouldn't be so negative to those who decide to wear them in one ear, as long as it isn't impeding you- it is ok.

[KateNTx]

I saw a young woman (college age) texting on her bike while riding down a 4 lane road at rush hour the other day. All I could think as I drove past was..."Are you kidding me?!" I ride/walk to escape my life...the last thing I want is my iPhone in my ears forcing me to be "reachable" (I carry a pre-paid for emergencies). a for music...when I was (much) younger I had a little transistor hooked up to a dynamo on the bike I kept at my grandad's place...dirt road, no traffic, usually rode down to the creek to fish. that was enjoyable, so I don't totally oppose music in a safe environment, but here in Town...fughettaboutit, too many other risks on the road for me to deliberately seek one out (and yes, I AM an organ donor).

[hulagirl]

Seriously! It's not about YOUR perception of what you can or can't hear. It's about YOU (earphone rider) placing more responsibility on US (riders overtaking you) because we see headphone and we don't know how loud the music is or is not. You now force us to be over cautious, hyper-aware and way more concerned about you hearing us or jumping into our line because you don't hear us.

THAT'S what pisses me off. I personally don't care what your issues are. (the need for music as motivation or whatever) But when it affects my safety, I do care. And I think using headphones on a ride is rude and places even more responsibility onto the folks that approach you.

[Crankin]

I feel the same way, Hula Girl. It's plain unsafe and is actually against the law here in MA.
But DH wears one earbud when he commutes and it pisses me off no end. I can't stop him, but I wish I could.

[Eden]

Gotta agree with Hula Girl - its not particularly about you... If you wear earbuds it forces me to treat you as if you can hear nothing.

On another note, volume is the least of your worries IMHO - the act of wearing headphones, up loud or not isolates you, and its not about what sounds can physically enter your ears - its about a state that your brain enters.

It's been shown that driving using a hands free device with a cell phone is no safer than driving holding a regular cell phone. This is because it is not the physical holding of the device that is the larger problem - it is the distraction of the phone conversation that causes the problems. It's about the human brain's ability (or rather non-ability) to truly multi-task..

Using headphones, causes a similar effect to cell phone distraction - even if you can actually hear things going, it doesn't mean your brain can effectively shift its focus to them. In a nutshell - the headphones may actually help you to focus more closely on certain things, but lose your awareness of the wider world, independent of your actual ability to hear... (thus why some people, especially ADD kids, can study more easily with headphones - they remove the distraction of the wider world).

This state of being very focused isn't the best brain state for cycling in traffic though - you want to be able to react quickly to a great many stimuli. Can you get yourself into that state without earbuds? Sure, but its definitely easier to achieve with them, so I'd encourage everyone to give up the headphones, even turned down low, even stuck only in one ear.

[mixie]

Seriously! It's not about YOUR perception of what you can or can't hear. It's about YOU (earphone rider) placing more responsibility on US (riders overtaking you) because we see headphone and we don't know how loud the music is or is not. You now force us to be over cautious, hyper-aware and way more concerned about you hearing us or jumping into our line because you don't hear us.

THAT'S what pisses me off. I personally don't care what your issues are. (the need for music as motivation or whatever) But when it affects my safety, I do care. And I think using headphones on a ride is rude and places even more responsibility onto the folks that approach you.

not just you, but others with this attitude. You should be careful passing other riders regardless if they have ear buds on or not. Plenty of sketchy riders out there without ear buds. Besides for all you know you can't see them and they have them in anyway. You should always be "on guard" when riding and what other people are or are not doing shouldn't dictate how you ride.

What if you think "oh great, I'll just pass this person" and as soon as you go to pass, they reach back in their jersey pocket to get a gel or go to grab their bottle or any of a million other things and they swerve and take you out. See, should have been paying better attention.

you're fooling yourself if you think passing anyone regardless of music or not should be handled any different.

[hulagirl]

you're fooling yourself if you think passing anyone regardless of music or not should be handled any different.

I noted in my post that it forces me to be OVER cautious more so than normal.

I sure as hell don't pass without a care in the world. Not because of what's in front of me, but the drivers in Hawaii in most cases are HORRIBLE.

I am an extremely defensive rider.

[blue_angel]

To answer the original question - I ride with earbuds all the time. It helps mightily for my motivation on long rides. It's not something I recommend to new riders because it takes practice and you may have to change your riding style somewhat. It's quite possible to ride safely and responsibly with earbuds, however.

And as a gentle reminder - putting earbuds in doesn't automatically turn an otherwise attentive rider into a self-absorbed zombie weaving all over the place and paying no attention...

Thank you!

[roo4]

People that use earbuds while riding are kidding themselves. People are posting that they only use one earbud. Why only one? If it doesn't affect your hearing, then use two. The truth is that you know it adversely affects your ability to hear, and you are trying to find a compromise that allows you to plug in and ride at the same time. Can you really not ride without being plugged in? C'mon, folks.