ipod while group riding

[limewave]

I know this topic has come up before, but I'm bringing it up again. What's your opinion on it?

Right now I'm rather peeved at someone who always shows up to our group rides with ear buds on. He does the yo-yo thing where he pedals real hard to catch up, brakes(!), and then coasts. I got stuck behind him and had to swerve off the road to avoid crashing.

Then, last night, after doing his pull, he almost got blasted by a truck when he dropped back. Not only did he not look to see if cars were coming, but he swerved out into the middle of the road instead of inching over a foot or two!!!! He probably could have heard the truck coming (it was a diesel) if he didn't have headphones on. I've never been so freaked out on a ride before.

Do you guys think its appropriate to wear headphones when riding in a group? I feel like he is endangering the rest of us by not being as alert as he could be.

[silver]

I have very definate ideas of safety and I would not ride with someone who wore headphones.

I'd say, "I won't ride with you if you are wearing headphones." to others, I'd say, "I won't be riding with Fred since he's wearing headphones. I'll be riding by myself unless you all would like to join me."

I actually wonder if it's legal.

[indysteel]

Absolutely not. It sounds like somebody needs to have a talk with this guy about the headphones and a few other safety issues. He's going to hurt himself and/or others at some point.

On that note, we had our first paceline accident at last night's tire ride. Tire contact. Three riders down, one with a broken collarbone and one with a bad cut on his arm and a carbon bike that's toast. It was a sobering reminder that pacelines/group riding can be dangerous. It's not clear whether anybody was riding recklessly last night; it may have just been a bit of bad luck.

In any event, I've thought twice about pointing out bad habits before to other riders. I've decided that I need to be a lot more assertive in that regard.

[limewave]

I think I might email the LBS guy who heads up the ride to let him know. Maybe he can have a group ride ettiquete day or something. We have a lot of new riders that don't know anything about riding in a group. When there are only 2 or 3 of us out of 13 that have experience and knowlege about group riding, it's hard to teach it to the majority who don't seem to care and just want to ride fast.

[Kimmyt]

I was on a group ride, a more beginner type group, so ettitquette was a bit... off, anyway a guy not in our group comes up and jumps in the middle of the group. As far as I know he just saw us and hopped in, then later on went on his own way. Well, the problem was, the entire time he was riding with us (in front of me and in the middle of a few riders) he was on his cell phone. Now, I'm sure his bike handling skills were very good, he seemed like an extremely competent cyclist, however I question the judgement of someone who would jump into a group of cyclists of unknown skills (and as some riders were obviously newer to cycling, using flat pedals, on hybrids, etc.) and talk on their cell phone.

Luckily there were no accidents, but I was fuming the entire time.

K.

[missymaya]

I do not ride with headphones on the road and maybe sometimes on the trail when it's very desolate. Sometimes I don't have a choice but to ride with those who have earbuds on. My Saturday ride has a lot of riders and there's always a couple of people with earbuds on, I just try to avoid them. In Florida, it is illegal to wear ear buds on while on the road.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

There are I think already three other l-o-n-g threads on TE concerning the wearing of earbuds while riding.

As to the guy joining the group and talking on his cell phone the whole time...well why didn't anyone SAY anything??? It's so obviously rude, dangerous, and distracting.
No matter what kind of behavior it is- if it puts others in danger, don't keep quiet just to be polite.

[Grog]

I am an assertive club rider. I often lead beginner rides or take the back while another leader takes the front, and keep the group together, in straight lines, even if that means firmly giving instructions to someone who's endangering the group. I mostly do that with new riders. If all are experienced, my comments will take a different tone, more like 'Come on girls we can do better.' I also make sure most important safety aspects are covered before we leave, and chat about the others on the road. Sometimes I apologize after the fact if I barked something in a manner that was rude. But they quickly understand that safety is at play and usually they thank me.

I'm a pacifist, but I think I would have ripped off those earphones from that guy, and given him a good lesson on group safety (sorry this is NOT just etiquette). This is the most absurd thing I've ever read about group riding. Riding as a group is very dangerous and everyone's behaviour impacts all of the others' safety.

Please, please, do something, promptly. Tell him yourself, or seek the help of someone you feel has authority over the group. This is completely unacceptable. I don't want you to be involved in a crash because of such absurd behaviour.

[rij73]

I think he was out of line completely. Sometimes when riding alone I wear ONE earbud to listen to spoken-word podcasts or audiobooks. I feel this does not distract me from traffic noises at all. When I ride with even one other person, the iPod stays home.