Biking and Music

[redrhodie]

I don't listen to music on the bike, but there's always a song playing in my head. Today I did a climbing ride, and the best song came on my internal radio, "Relax" by Frankie goes to Hollywood. Really good climbing song. At another point, "Road to Nowhere" by the Talking Heads was on.

I love music.

[lph]

I'm definitely in the minority here, but I ride with music, also in traffic. It's possible to do so safely, just as it is possible to ride a bike safely when deaf, but I would not go out and recommend it to anyone because your safety depends on you not zoning out and getting distracted, and scanning your surroundings actively and often. My personal opinion is that you have to do this anyway to be safe. Relying on your hearing to hear something coming and not using your eyes is very dangerous.

Just for the record, since the same points often come up: I can hear sirens, and trucks, and cars through my earbuds, I just can't hear them from as great a distance. I don't drift anywhere, left or right, without checking my back. I ride the same commute every day, and know where every single intersection and driveway is. I would be bored out of my skull, especially in winter, if I couldn't listen to music.

[Norse]

I don't listen to music on the bike, but there's always a song playing in my head. Today I did a climbing ride, and the best song came on my internal radio, "Relax" by Frankie goes to Hollywood. Really good climbing song. At another point, "Road to Nowhere" by the Talking Heads was on.

I love music.

Oh, that is so true ... especially climbing a hill on a solo ride. Sometimes I can't get my internal radio to stop repeating and just turn off!