IPOD whilst on the road?

nferrar

Firstly the Rachel Atherton thing is irrelevant IMO, head down and on the wrong side of the rode was the issue - the truck she hit was coming towards her for gods sake.

Secondly, when out training solo, I use an iPod and have it on pretty high volume. Personally I don't think it detracts from my safety at all. Sure I get less notice of cars approaching from behind (in daylight anyway - I usually go out in the evening and car headlights give me as much warning) but I don't alter my riding because a car is approaching so why is it relevant? If you cycle in the middle of the road then sure you need warning of cars approaching from behind, I don't - I cycle on the same part of the road as I'd be on even if a car were over taking me.

I've cycled enough on the roads to not be bothered about cars suddenly overtaking me, I don't tense up and go off-line, sure if some knob in a Porsche buzzes me a foot away at 100mph I'll be startled but I'd be the same if I could hear it and it would be so fast I wouldn't be able to react anyway (and again I don't want to react in advance - if you change your line as a car approaches you become unpredictable and IMO put yourself at increased risk).

How many people that don't use headphones do use a skull cap in winter? Certainly the one I have that keeps my ears toasty-warm cuts down almost as much of my hearing as headphones do.

verloren

I use an iPod with the sort of in-ear headphones that reduce, but by no means eliminate, ambient noise. I only ever listen to podcasts, which don't require much volume because it's just speaking voices. Far from making me more vulnerable i think it actually helps - I find I'm most vulnerable when some idiot revs up behind me or blows his horn. With my iPod on I still hear those noises, but don't jump in the same way I do without it and hence don't lose balance/direction. Listening out for hidden dangers isn't a problem, as I always ride as though there are hidden dangers that aren't making a noise. I do think I'd struggle more listening to (loud) music though.

StrangelyBrown

MrChuck wrote:

That just seemed a rather strange argument: it's OK to restrict one of your senses because some people don't have it in the first place?
Driving a car (and to a lesser extent a motorbike) isn't a great comparison either for obvious reasons.

My point is that people can get very black and white on some issues, and hold absolute positions on things that are just not that clear cut e.g. usual helmet/no helmet argument.

Sometimes I use an iPod, sometimes I don't. When I do use one I observe a lot more than I otherwise would. I 'might' be increasing my risk (although I don't think so because I compensate for it), but if I felt that strongly about risk then I wouldn't be on a public road on a bicycle in the first place, which is by far the biggest risk.

And if you don't think traffic comes up on you when on a motorbike in a busy city, see how far you get without being completely aware of what is going on around you, despite being able to hear bugger all. </rant>

StrangelyBrown

vermooten wrote:

My 2 cents - reasons not to use an ipod while riding:

You'll get hit by a car that you didn't hear
You'll lose concentration, leading to getting hit by a car
While training, you'll lose focus and stop listening to your body

Reason to use an iPod while riding:

While training, you'll will get knackered and putting on a banging tune will lift you up and onwards

singlespeedexplosif

Clearly the way forward for music on the move is to follow Damo's example here.


At the Singlespeed World Championships in Berlin a few years ago, you could work out where he was on the lap (usually coming up fast behind) by the AC/DC soundtrack booming through the trees.

davidmiller

nferrar wrote:

Firstly the Rachel Atherton thing is irrelevant IMO, head down and on the wrong side of the rode was the issue - the truck she hit was coming towards her for gods sake

......and if she had n't been listening to AC/DC she might have heard it coming.

verloren

DavidMiller wrote:

nferrar wrote:

Firstly the Rachel Atherton thing is irrelevant IMO, head down and on the wrong side of the rode was the issue - the truck she hit was coming towards her for gods sake

......and if she had n't been listening to AC/DC she might have heard it coming.

And could have taken radical actions such as looking where she was going, or riding on the correct side of the road.

Or maybe if she'd spent an extra minute stretching before she'd set off she wouldn't have been near the truck. Conclusive proof that short-changing stretching can have devestating results.

vermooten

StrangelyBrown wrote:

vermooten wrote:

My 2 cents - reasons not to use an ipod while riding:

You'll get hit by a car that you didn't hear
You'll lose concentration, leading to getting hit by a car
While training, you'll lose focus and stop listening to your body

Reason to use an iPod while riding:

While training, you'll will get knackered and putting on a banging tune will lift you up and onwards

+1 for sure! I use a mixture of trance and RATM - but only on the turbo

cougie

Its also handy to be able to hear any noises your bike is making too. That click could be the noise of your chainpin working free. (not that I stopped to look at it until it snapped anyway - dammit).

I'd like to know what skullcap is as loud as an ipod on full blast too. That must be a really toasty one.