Headphones on bike?

I bike around my community (within 3-4 miles of my home) about 35-50 miles a week and always have my headphones at a low to medium volume. It gives me motivation to work hard and push myself. However, this is strictly a personal choice based on your preferences and your whereabouts. People running and biking are injured everyday by vehicles, with and without music in their ears.

Bad idea --- bike path or road way.

This. I cycle a lot, mostly commuting on mostly road, but some riding on a bike path. It's every bit as important to hear the Lance Armstrong wannabe muttering "on your left" as he whooshes by at 25MPH down the bike path as it is to hear the car coming up behind you.

Your call, but I don't even do one ear. Ever. I've had people pass me on the right and do other crazy things - I like hearing it all.

You can wear a single ear bud and keep it at a lower volume and still hear traffic, etc.

This is what I do when I do wear them. I only wear if I'm planning a longer (20+ miles) ride.

I think bad idea... . Even on a cycle path you still need to be able to hear bikes coming up behind you.

I also like to hear the wildlife

On paved bike paths yes I always wear them. Out in the woods on single track then no I tend to just enjoy nature and try not to wrap myself around a tree.

I don't ride on any roads that allow automobiles but if I did I'd probably skip the music and just concentrate on not getting squished.

Ride on roads everyday with headphones in and have never had any issues

I wear them and I don't feel any less safe. I have a helmet mounted mirror that I use often so I know my surroundings and honestly I hear subtle sounds like people better with them in. If I don't use earphones the noise of the wind and traffic makes it impossible to use my hearing to help in any way.

If a car is on a collision course with me, how is my hearing going to tell me that? They drive close enough to me that the only way I will know there is a problem is my mirror. I think riding without a mirror is very unsafe but earphones? If you feel safe, go ahead. It makes my 100km daily commute less tedious.

I ride 13km on a bike path (that crosses roads) and then another 9km on the roads, this is my commute and I NEVER wear headphones while cycling. It is far too dangerous. I also never wear headphones while running early in the morning although I will wear them on the weekend if I go for a run around the lake later on (say 9am) but usally I like to give myself little pep talks and listen to the birds and the dogs comming up behind me or infront of me. It doesn't hurt to have your own voice in your head sometimes! :happy:

I did the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer twice and the Breast Cancer 3-Day once, and love to take my dog for nice long walks. Both breast cancer walks forbid Walkers from wearing headphones/earbuds during the events, and strongly discourage them during training, for safety reasons. That said, I do use ear buds sometimes, but I mostly listen to podcasts, not music, and find that it doesn't drown out my surroundings or distract me much. I'm super-careful about crossing driveways and intersections (I think having my dog along to think about helps there). On the Walk itself, there's always a couple of people who have speakers playing music, and last time, I found a little bitty speaker thing that my iPod could plug into and used that. I suppose I could use that during training, too, if I wanted music then.

Biking is another matter. I'd like to ride my bike to work and for recreation, but my experiences on local roads have not been good. I've been yelled at, cut off, had cars go by so close their mirrors almost hit me, etc. No, I don't go very fast, but even a fit cyclist isn't going near as fast as a car would. I go up on the sidewalk, even if it is technically illegal, rather than ride on a busy road. The cops won't do anything to protect bikers -- I've never heard of them ever giving anyone a ticket for not giving a bike enough room etc. Given that environment, I wouldn't add to the risk by wearing headphones. What I've seen of the local bike/walking paths has been pretty crowded, too, and a rung bell or friendly "on your left" is needed pretty frequently, so I wouldn't be likely to use them there, either. However, if I were to go on a long ride in the Forest Preserve District, where paths are wide and much less crowded, I would probably use them there without too much worry. I guess it depends on the circumstances, but better to err on the side of caution.

If you bike early in the morning or late in the evening, any time there's *any* chance of still being out when it's getting dark, you *need* a set of lights. A headlight and a red tail light make a *huge* difference in how visible you are. If you find yourself out after dark even once, spring for a reflective vest and/or ankle and wrist reflectors, too. Remember, a headlight isn't just about you being able to see the road, it's about the cars being able to see where you are and where you're going. There are plenty of good drivers out there, too, despite what I said above, and you need to give them every chance to avoid hitting you. I've been on the driver side of this one far too many times, with a bike being almost completely invisible until they're only a few yards away. And don't forget about parked cars -- a door opening into a bike's path is one of the most common causes of accidents!

Interesting trivia -- not sure if it's national, but I know the Rules of the Road here forbid using headphones/earbuds while driving a car. Always seemed silly to me, since you can turn your car stereo up loud enough to drown out anything you might need to hear, *and* since it's not illegal for deaf people to drive. Still, that's apparently the letter of the law, make of it what you will. :-)

I don't bike, but when I run I keep the volume pretty low so I always know what is going on around me.