There's an app for that.

[wheel]

My friend an I bicycled a 'century' this past weekend - a bit over 100 miles in a day. I've got my ipod on my sleeve to listen to my tunes. He, on the other hand...

has a bicycle mount for his iphone. Around the iphone he's got a waterproof case. Wires running to the extra battery packs for power, and headphones so he can listen to streaming FM radio while we're riding.

Then he's got the GPS program running with a prerecorded map of our route. Every 35 miles it emails a distribution list (our family) in realtime our current coordinates, time, distance travelled, avg speed, calories burned, etc.

His wife asked if he was going to set the app to auto-tweet as well but he figured email would be good enough.

How geeky is that?

[LifeinAsia]

Fairly geeky except for the headphones- that part is just plain stupid (and illegal in many jurisdictions). I think he should have gone the extra mile (so to speak) and done the tweeting.

[Demaestro]

Uber nerd alert!

That is what this stuff is for though... totally awesome!

The only thing is streaming radio is a big data hog if you are on a limited plan.

Fairly geeky except for the headphones- that part is just plain stupid (and illegal in many jurisdictions)

Illegal in many jurisdictions?!?! That is outrageous, do these same jurisdictions allow deaf people to ride bikes or is that illegal as well?

I understand that being able to hear adds to the safety of riding a bike but requiring that one can hear in order to ride their bike is a real shame.

I would be careful, you are basically saying a deaf person is "plain stupid" for riding a bike.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

Every 35 miles it emails a distribution list (our family) in realtime our current coordinates

Do the sit patiently by their PCs waiting for updates? ;)

[LifeinAsia]

I would be careful, you are basically saying a deaf person is "plain stupid" for riding a bike.

Not at all. A deaf person has (presumably) lived a life of dealing without the sense of hearing, with the other senses being heightened to compensate.

A headphone wearing person does not have that experience and is also more likely focusing on the music, to the detriment of the other senses.

[Demaestro]

That is a lot of assumptions.

Too many gray areas to make a rule like that IMO.

[LifeinAsia]

Not from what I've seen. Almost everyone I've ever seen riding with headphones was completely oblivious to what was going on around him (or her). I've seen several near misses of accidents to (or because of) those people.

Most of the organized rides I've done (and most clubs I've ridden with) explicitly banned wearing headphones or ear buds (or at least prohibited wearing over both ears).

The opinions expressed by me in this thread are spoken in my role as a long-time bicycler with almost a dozen centuries and double-metric centuries under my belt and not from in role as a Mod. They do not necessarily represent the views of WebmasterWorld.

[Demaestro]

lia... love the caveat.

Almost everyone I've ever seen riding ith headphones was completely oblivious to what was going on around him (or her). I've seen several near misses of accidents to (or because of) those people.

I have seen the same thing from guys riding on Venice beach looking at girls in bikinis, and even some girls looking at oiled up muscles.

That isn't a reason to ban bikinis or oiled muscles.

I am also an avid rider, I rarely don't have both headphones on. I don't find it to be stupid or dangerous at all, and it has never resulted in so much as a close call.

[john_k]

That is a lot of assumptions.

Too many gray areas to make a rule like that IMO.

That is also the opinion of a lot of other people. Never the less - wearing headphones while operating a vehicle (motorized or not) on public roads is illegal in some areas. Pay attention to the road and the candidates on your ballot.

[LifeinAsia]

I have seen the same thing from guys riding on Venice beach

Which is why I avoid riding the Venice bike path (I mean the sand covered pedestrian/surfer walkway that happens to have numerous "bicycles only" signs that are ignored).

it has never resulted in so much as a close call.

That you know of. Not sure that others would give the same status report.

Anyway, I'm willing to agree that we're going to disagree. There are plenty of people who think we are stupid for riding in the first place, headphones or no. :)

FYI- the California Vehicle Code (27400) prohibits operation of ANY vehicle (including bicycles) while wearing headphones or ear buds in both ears.

[Demaestro]

You are right, many people think that riding a bike is dangerous.

If you are going to allow 1 headphone in and 1 out then to me that says the concern the law is addressing is the ability to hear your surroundings and not the potential distraction of the music.

If the music was the distraction and the problem then allowing 1 earphone would be the same as allowing 2. If you can hear the music in 1 ear it can distract you as much as if it was in both ears.

If the issue is that people can't hear their surroundings as the 1 ear only rules suggest then I again ask what about deaf people?

If enhanced senses are enough to make up for the loss of hearing then how long after you go deaf until you are allowed to ride a bike?

[LifeinAsia]

You'll have to take that up with the legislators. However, trying to make a law prohibiting a "handicapped" person from doing something opens up a whole can of worms and I'm not going to go there.

So I guess that if you REALLY want to ride with headphones, the solution is to bash your ear drums so that you are legally deaf, wear your headphones until you're ticketed, then take your fight all the way to the Supreme Court. :)

By the way, riding without a helmet (which I consider even more stupid than riding with head phones) is NOT illegal in California (if you're over 18). So go figure.

[graeme_p]

Riding without a helmet is entirely different. By doing that you put yourself at greater risk in the event of an accident. Your choice; evolution in action.

By allowing yourself to be distracted, you are putting other people at risk or injury (running into pedestrians) or worse (a car swerves to avoid you and hits someone).

[tangor]

Deaf folks do ride bikes: In closed none traffic circuits and mounted rear mirrors to observe cyclists overtaking them, but they are not allowed (most jurisdictions) to operate on public roadways for the same reason folks with two ears covered are not allowed. They can't hear the traffic or emergency sirens.

As to the op's tech ride... grins! When I'm on my bike I'm trying to get AWAY from the tech!

[topr8]

>>Riding without a helmet is entirely different. By doing that you put yourself at greater risk in the event of an accident. Your choice; evolution in action.

actually i feel that by not wearing a helmet a cyclist is putting me as a car driver at risk of greater trauma ...

eg. if i am involved in a terrible accident with a cyclist (no matter who's at fault) if the cyclist is not wearing a helmet there is a much greater chance of serious injury and i would have to live with being a factor in someone's potential death or serious injury (even if i might be blameless) because they didn't wear a helmet.

ergo ... not wearing a helmet is not only putting the person concerned at greater risk, it potentially adds to someone else's trauma too.

[Old_Honky]

I can't imagine someone who is profoundly deaf even wanting to cycle, it would be a dangerous risk no matter how heightened their other senses were. So the laws banning earphones are in my opinion quite sensible.

Regarding disabilities, the one area where discrimination is right and proper is when it prevents people from doing something that would be highly dangerous to themselves and others. It is unfortunate but profoundly deaf and completely blind people are incapable of controlling any vehicle safely on a public highway. It is not being unfair, cruel or bigoted to legally deny them the opportunity.

[wheel]

that part is just plain stupid

I'm pretty sure that if anyone in the conversation is stupid, it's not my friend. But thanks for your opinion.

[rj87uk]

What about loud music in a car?

[StoutFiles]

I am also an avid rider, I rarely don't have both headphones on. I don't find it to be stupid or dangerous at all, and it has never resulted in so much as a close call.

Would you agree it would be less dangerous to have no headphones on? That said, working out with music is much better than not and I doubt many places would enforce such a law.

What about loud music in a car?

I believe cops can pull you over for that as well...another law that is rarely enforced. Loud music in a car is distracting; it would be less dangerous to have no music on.

[Brett_Tabke]

> How geeky is that?

I run quite often. Gear:
- I have garmin gps watch that I use for a route record and timing.
- I often wear my iPhone that links back to "mapmyrun" (there is also "mapmyride").
- I use a iPod shuffle for tunes. (Instead of running tunes through iPhone (which is crap for control through a plastic "sweat proof" case))

I thought about trying the nike Footpods, but 2 gps units (garmin and iphone) seem to be enough.

> Do the sit patiently by their PCs waiting for updates?

Yes, to go look for him if he doesn't checkin. The number # cause of Biker, walker, and runner death is not from the exhausting or heart attack, but from no one getting them med attention in time. I don't have the figure handy, but something like 95% of all deaths from runners and bikers could have been prevented by getting them medical attention within an hour of a problem.

> . I've seen several near misses of accidents to (or because of) those people.

It is very easy to lose track of what is going on while listening to music. I nearly ended up as a hood ornament while running myself. I was running my normal 5k route and ran accross an intersection like I always do - I didn't see the car trying to turn over my right shoulder and he didn't see me until the last minute. You get to working hard as you excersize, and your focus is on making it the next xx blocks and zoning out to the tunes instead of being aware of traffic.

[tangor]

A little heads up on some of the tech gear used while cycling...

Garmin Connect, which allows members to upload GPS computer data from cycling trips, shares this data by default, creating a privacy issue that many users may have failed to notice. The feature was spotted by Mark Croonen, secretary of the Australian Defense Cycling Club.

Croonen warns that even if a user shields ride data from public view these changes will not be applied retrospectively, so previous ride data will be disclosed.

"When you upload your ride data, by default Garmin Connect shares your data with the world unless you specifically change the privacy settings," Croonen explains. "So all things being equal the average user won’t give this a second thought and will leave the settings on public access. Furthermore even if you do change the default settings it won’t change the settings for any rides you have already uploaded, you’ll have to go back and manually change the setting for each ride."

[theregister.co.uk...]

[LifeinAsia]

I'm pretty sure that if anyone in the conversation is stupid, it's not my friend.

I wasn't trying to imply your friend was stupid, just the act. Smart people often do stupid things- I'll admit to a few myself. :)

[lawman]

Interesting how it took 6 minutes (1 post) to completely change the topic. Those darned moderators. ;)