what's going on in your life that you are so bored that you can't do anything without music?

If I remember correctly STers were wondering why you were so slow that the selfie takers were even an issue.

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Find out what it is in life that you don't do well, then don't
do that thing.

Pass when its safe, or speak up and be heard. This is not a big deal, i'm out there everyday and this happens all the time, and it is easily dealt with no problems at all. This is a can of worms best kept closed, stop making an issue out of nothing.

I can't agree enough with the OP. I gave up on the headphones a long time ago & I love it. I have said it before that headphones are a crutch as a motivator and if you need music to keep you entertained while enjoying the great outdoors, then you lack common appreciation for the symphony of nature.

Last week doing hill repeats I nearly ran into the same jackass on the sidewalk THREE TIMES going up, down, and up the hill again while his face was buried in his iPhone & had his headphones in. It was a sidewalk barely wide enough to pass & this jackass was just trotting along with no regard for the world. You would think after the first time that he might blow it off, but after the second time he would maybe take notice. Nope. I ran the asshole over on the third pass.

And I won't even respond to anyone who wants to argue that you can safely ride your bike with headphones in that block out the world. It's an asinine claim & will fast track you to eventually becoming another statistic. If you have made it this far without incident, you have an angel on your shoulder, but eventually I believe that angel will take a break, and so will you.

Not sure I can agree with you, I regularly ride in winds gusting to 20-25 mph and trust me there is no way I can hear traffic.

I do not see anything wrong with riding with headphones especially because most of my rides are solo and are on the same boring routes. Music helps me log the boring base miles and just keeps it interesting. Now if I was doing a group ride that would be a completely different thing as I am totally against headphones on group rides.

I always ride with music, but only in my right ear. I can very easily hear cars coming long before they pass me. In addition to that, I keep my head on a swivel at all times.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

Who said I can't do anything without music? I believe I even mentioned I do unplug, so where are you getting your statement from? I choose to listen to music. Why do you take is so personally that you attempt a personal attack? As for the selfies, that doesn't even make sense. I take it you've never passed anyone in a race. Being slow or fast is irrelevant. Seriously, you are trying to hard to be an asshole. Step back and take a deep breath.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

For someone with an apparent 'live and let live' attitude, you are quite judgemental. Who cares if someone takes a selfie during a race?

Or...even if they ARE unplugged and just riding...for example, two weeks ago I was trying to pass a couple riders on the left after saying, "On your left..." This was on a busy highway, expecting them to follow suit & go single file & take a pause from their "discussion" they were in. You'd think they'd move? Nope. The guy on the outside said, "Okay, thanks." To which I replied, "Uh, move over, you're forcing me to attempt to pass with all this traffic? Stay to the right and give me some room to pass!" Amazing how few even when they CAN hear you, are oblivious to riding protocol.

It's actually against the law to use headphones while riding a bike in BC... I suggest a boombox bungie corded to a rack.

No surprise that ST is full of self-entitled whiners who don't really care how their actions effect others. If you need music, maybe you should HTFU.

Priceless....

Actually, I like if other riders ride plugged (preferably with white earpieces and an white i-phone cable flapping in the breeze or running down their back).
This clearly indicates an unpredictable and dangerous rider, and I can give them some extra space when passing.

My favorite right-ear-only track is the sound of a disc wheel. Sounds terrible in the left ear.

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

Why not trying "Good morning!" first, and then take some precious seconds from your workout to educate them, explain the reasons behind your rationale? How are they supposed to discover the 'riding protocol' if nobody explain it to them? I would agree that some aspects could be thought as evident, but what is obvious to one person may not be for another. For instance, some motorists think that the 'road protocol' is that cyclists should not be on the road.

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Francois-Xavier Li @FrancoisLi
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." George Bernard Shaw
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Who did I judge? I made a statement that I didn't care for people who take selfies during a race. That's an opinion not a judgment. I also don't like people who text and drive because they tend to drift. I guess if I had your mentality that shouldn't bother me. I should be the one to get out of their way so they can complete their text. if they should hit me, I'm guessing you'd blame me for not getting out of the way.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

The headphones thing isn't my bag, but if that's what people want to do in training then they can fill their boots. What annoys me is that people use them in a race... I dunno, it just seems wrong.

I was spectating Sydney marathon recently and couldn't believe the number of people running with earphones. The upside for me was that I didn't need to cheer for them because are obviously in their own moment and won't want me offering any encouragement that might distract them.

Nah, that isn't going to fly. I have ridden for the past 6 years thousands of miles per year and nearly every single solo ride has been with headphones. You can't seriously claim that my headphone usage is unsafe! And for those wondering why I have to have music when outdoors, I don't, I listen to audiobooks because my two favorite things in life are working out and reading. What better way to unwind after a stressful day than combining my two favorite things?
If you guys really cared at all about safety you would be complaining about the riders who ride without a mirror! Yes they look dorky but they actually affect how safe you are on a bike. You can't hear the difference between a car that is about to run you over and a car that is giving you space. And if you are constantly looking backwards you are losing some of your reaction time if something happens in front of you. There has never been a time when a rider has had to tell me "on your left" because I saw them coming for the past 10 minutes in my mirror. I always know what is going on behind me, just like I do in my car. Headphones have no impact on rider safety! Head-up-ass is what you guys are complaining about. The connection being made by the OP and several on this thread between riders with headphones and unsafe behavior is similar to the complaint I always get that cyclists are arrogant a-holes; some of them are but it has nothing to do with them riding a bike, plenty of drivers are just as bad.

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Powertap / Cycleops / Saris

Couldn't agree more.

People in this thread are trying to pigeon-hole ALL riders as safe or unsafe with headphones. In reality, there is a continuum of safety while riding and there is a massive variation in how much headphones affect a given rider's situational awareness and safety.

By that I mean, there are plenty of cyclists who are horribly unsafe ALL THE TIME (or even downright douchey), even without headphones.
There are plenty of cyclists who are VERY safe, with high situational awareness despite wearing headphones.
And there are plenty of cyclists somewhere in the middle.

Unfortunately, like with all things, it doesn't work to make a blanket statement about ALL riders and how headphones affect them. We, as cyclists, need to assess our own skills as best as possible and make a determination as to whether headphones will distract us or if they are, in fact, safe to wear.

...I always wear mine when riding solo, but I also ride with a mirror and check over my shoulders a lot.

You're remarkably and obnoxiously judgmental about what other people enjoy doing. That's doesn't reflect well on you.

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http://www.jt10000.com/

There are plenty of riding behaviours that cause more safety problems than riding with headphones. Not holding a line, not looking around or signalling before a move, jumping red lights, etc. I'd certainly far rather be on the road with riders listening to music but doing everything else right than riders who are headphoneless but riding like douches.

Problem is that from pure observation there's a pretty strong correlation between wearing headphones and riding like a douche. It's by no means a hard and fast rule, but if I see somebody wearing headphones on a bike I will automatically assign them a slightly higher likelihood of doing something stupid/unsafe/unpredictable than a rider who doesn't have phones in, based on years of experience. I'll also assign likelihoods of riding style based on whether somebody is wearing a helmet, what clothing they're wearing, whether they have lights on, what kind of bike they're riding, etc. If I see somebody on a fixie with no helmet, no lights, headphones in, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, they're going to get a very wide berth as I go past.

It's certainly possible to have headphones in and ride safely with good road awareness, however all other things being equal I'd still say you're at least slightly handicapping yourself compared to a rider without phones. Probably doesn't make any difference the vast majority of the time, particularly if you're on quiet roads, but personally I ride on very crowded roads most of the time (both cars and cyclists) and I want every single sense as fully available to me as possible.

I like your distinction between wearing headphones and riding like an idiot. But it's possible there is some observation bias here - we might not even notice people with headphones who are not acting like idiots since there isn't much reason to look closely at what they are doing.

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http://www.jt10000.com/

I had this problem at times, but no more. Got one of these airzounds, 115 db of pure unadulterated sound. Headphones or not, bikers, drivers, truckers, everybody can hear it.

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I used to be like you. Now, I'm just happy to see other people out there exercising. If wearing headphones provides them with the inspiration to get off the couch, I'm all for it. I'd rather people were out listening to music and biking/ running/ walking/ etc. than becoming more and more sedentary. Let them do things their way just like they are letting you be yours. You'll be a much happier person.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

i have never run or biked with headphones. too cumbersome and distracting especially on the bike. without them I am able to hear traffic coming up from behind and am able to move over if I need to before they get close. I usually try and be out 3' in the lane so that is where they expect to move around me and as they approach I move over anyway for that extra space......some people don't move over so I still have room that way.

Now that is pretty damn funny.....and pretty much the exact opposite of what is going on.

Me wearing headphones has ZERO impact on you and those who use headphones are not the ones who are whining.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Please clarify, I thought we as cyclists had a responsibility to ensure that faster traffic could pass us safely.