131–140 of 141 posts
Others have mentioned it, but it's worth saying again: please don't wear headphones while biking in a busy city. It only takes the one time when you need swerve around that parked car's open door and but can't quite hear the car that is about to pass you...
If there's parked cars, merge into the lane well ahead of them and stay out of the zone doors could open into.
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The problem is that the headphones are extremely close to your ear drum. Depending on the volume, you are more or less tuning out the environment completely when playing any kind of music through headphones. Sometimes people will yell at you when they see a possible accident happening but you wouldn't be paying attention through your music. You need to hear cars accelerating quickly in case you need to get out of the…
You seem to have missed that I wrote " I can easily hear any meaningful sounds through the music ".
Regarding the helmet: they truly are a no-brainer. Even the cheap 30 buck ones the OP talks about must meet the minimum federal guidelines for safety (in the US). No need for a more expensive helmet, which mainly provide less weight (avoid neck strain over long rides) and better ventilation. Helmets save lives and do not have to look dorky. But you do get a bad case of hat hair.
I don't want to discuss if helmets actually have any safety advantage (there are studies claiming both things). But I don't think that biking is a particularly dangerous activity. I don't wear a helmet while walking on the street or while driving a car, so why should I wear a helmet when biking?
As for walking, there are a lot more things that can go wrong on a bike. You can hit a pothole, get your wheel caught in a train track, slip on an oil patch, get doored, have your chain get stuck, not be able to clip out of your pedal, get something caught in your spokes, take a corner on some sand, hit the ground with your pedal, etc.
These things aren't very likely, but any of them provides a fair chance to lose control of your bike and then hit something or the ground at a decent speed. The more traffic you ride in the more likely something will happen. And if you ride every day to commute, you'll almost certainly have some kind of incident sooner or later.
Personal anecdote section:
I bike commuted for 2.5 years in the south bay without any major incidents. Later, I had been bike commuting in SF for about a month when I had an accident that involved hitting my head on a parked truck and then the ground (at least I think). The helmet ended up slightly scraped up. I don't know how badly my head would have been injured without it; it may have been just a scrape as well. But I'm quite happy I didn't get to find out.
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You seem to have missed that I wrote " I can easily hear any meaningful sounds through the music ".
Only time will prove how easily you can hear through your headphones...I only wish you the best, which is why I recommend you take them out.
I have been bike commuting for nine years. The biggest things that change since the initial rush of delight? First, as time goes on, you care a lot more about safety. Newbies may write about how they can meditate or listen to music while riding, but experienced riders know they must always stay alert. You shouldn't be meditating, you should be focused on potential dangers. Second, the weight loss? Not as big a deal a…
> Don't ask me the medical reason why, maybe it's the same phenomenon as when people who haven't worked out for years start a program and quickly lose 10 pounds of water weight but then find the rest is harder to lose It's because the body is extremely good at adapting to whatever you do to it. Even if you were riding for a hundred hours a week at maximum aerobic output, your body would slowly adapt and you would sto…
I have been bike commuting for nine years. The biggest things that change since the initial rush of delight? First, as time goes on, you care a lot more about safety. Newbies may write about how they can meditate or listen to music while riding, but experienced riders know they must always stay alert. You shouldn't be meditating, you should be focused on potential dangers. Second, the weight loss? Not as big a deal a…
> Don't ask me the medical reason why, maybe it's the same phenomenon as when people who haven't worked out for years start a program and quickly lose 10 pounds of water weight but then find the rest is harder to lose It's because the body is extremely good at adapting to whatever you do to it. Even if you were riding for a hundred hours a week at maximum aerobic output, your body would slowly adapt and you would sto…
this is the reason elite athletes keep getting better, they keep up intensity, continuing to push the limits. Bike committing gets easier, and, like you said, your body adjusts to the level of output you need to get to work.
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The benefit? You're not sending out the message that biking is dangerous. Would you send your kid out cycling if everyone is wearing helmets? When cyclists are called "road warriors"? A helmet is necessary when road racing where there is a distinct risk of dropping over your handlebar: remember, a helmet only protects against hits directly on the top of your head. Normal commuting? In the city? Biggest risk is gettin…
Not sure where you get your info, but it is flat out wrong. It's not at all uncommon for bicycle commuters to hit an opening door or pulling out car, go over the handlebars, and smack their head on a very hard window or body panel--right where a helmet would protect them. Ask any ER physician in a city (I know several) about head injuries from bike commuting and they will no doubt have stories. As for sending the mes…
The car driver gets the blame, not the cyclist that forgot to wear a helmet.
So the key to safe biking is lots of bikes. Sadly, dressing up like for an execution ("I will get hit by a car door and the car owner can just say sorry and move on so I'll wear body armor") won't get society nowhere.
Note that it might very well be an individual's best choice in some countries, probably also in yours... But it is a sad best choice.
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Not sure where you get your info, but it is flat out wrong. It's not at all uncommon for bicycle commuters to hit an opening door or pulling out car, go over the handlebars, and smack their head on a very hard window or body panel--right where a helmet would protect them. Ask any ER physician in a city (I know several) about head injuries from bike commuting and they will no doubt have stories. As for sending the mes…
Depend on the country, or more likely on the amount of cyclists. In the Netherlands, they consider the 1000kg steel cars to be the real dangerous threat, not the cyclists. It may sound like a play of words, but it isn't. Everyone cycles, so when you hit a junior cylist, you've pretty much potentially hit everyone's kid. People have been known to get a veritable witch hunt on their asses by local newspapers that way.…
If you don't want to wear a helmet, that is of course your decision. I just object--strongly--to your contention that helmets aren't necessary in commuting. That statement is just not based on any measurable facts.
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Only time will prove how easily you can hear through your headphones...I only wish you the best, which is why I recommend you take them out.
What do I need to say that I can hear so that you believe me?
Like other posters have stated, it's better to be alert and safe rather than trying to listen to your tunes while in traffic.
My ride to work is over an hour each way. Been doing it every day for years here in the northeast U.S. A mostly residential route. Funny thing is if I take the bus, it takes the same amount of time. I started doing this out of a distaste for cars and statistics show that driving is actually much more dangerous then biking. Weather-wise, I far prefer snow to rain. The hardest part is cold feet in the winter - never fo…