I'm just working through this humorous article on the unwritten rules of being a cyclist and his bit on iPods made me ponder this little phenomenon. His point is that they are not cool, but you're going to do it anyway. Really?
iPod ear warmers
I've been riding in France for over 6 years now and I would guess that I've seen oh, maybe, ZERO French riders with ear buds. The only ones I've ever seen have been North American (or maybe Australian) friends and clients who come over here to riding paradise.
I usually don't have opinions on these sorts of things...no, that's not true - I have an opinion on just about everything - anyway, I shall pose my opinion in the form of a question:
Why do you need to listen to music to ride a bike outside?
Okay, I'll answer that. Music makes the time go by quicker, for one. It can also encourage you to push harder, if you choose the right playlist, I guess. There must be a third reason. Educate me, please.
I can only speak for myself, but riding my bike is one of the few times during the day that I'm actually unconnected to the virtual world, so those precious hours on the road are a breath of fresh air. I also get tons of inspiration on the bike, not to mention a fair few good ideas (or 'ideas', at least). I might be wrong on this, but I bet that this wouldn't happen as much if I had that next guitar solo to think about. I'm guessing, too, that having music blaring into your brain inhibits your ability to hear, lets say, a car coming up behind you?
I'd be interested to hear what you have to say about this, especially if this sort of behavior occurs where you're living. I've only got France as a reference at the moment.
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