Thomas Hoffman
I never knew that I-Pods could carry so much controversy.
I love riding with tunes. I always seem to hear the traffic anyway.
I find that riding with music helps me fall into a wonderful Zen like trans
where miles of road disappear, leaving behind the worries of life.
But riding with tunes requires some etiquette and responsibility, never
bring it to group rides (riders in groups need to communicate), turn it off
to ride in heavy traffic and always pull off the head phones when
approaching a fellow cyclist, mostly to exchange hellos, (leaving them on
seems rude.)
These are my choices, I don't see myself as endangering anyone, save for
myself. I don't see the difference between this and the goofballs riding
Harley's in jeans and a T-Shirt, something I would never dream of doing. But
I bet most of us could keep up with that same rider heading down Germantown
road, wearing 9oz of foam and a thin layer of Lycra, and we think nothing of
it. Heck we may even ride elbow to elbow, fighting for a better line.
(Motorists would be arrested for this)
So to my Fellow I-Pod People, I say Rock on! But please be safe out there.
Thomas Hoffman
_____
From: Long, Steve [mailto:Steve-@clark.wa.gov]
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2005 6:59 AM
To: marila_-@yahoo.com; nelle-@earthlink.net
Cc: ob-@topica.com
Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] I-pod recommendations
Bicycling is, inherently, more dangerous than driving a car. I seriously
doubt that a correlation between the two applies. When riding a bicycle,
I've seen something as slight as a small, dead carcus in the road cause a
cyclist to go down with major injuries. This is very unlikely in a car.
Because riding a bicycle is so dangerous, and even if hearing perception is
a small part of a cyclist's early warning system, it remains, nonetheless,
an important part of the overall defenses a cyclist has in staying as safe
as possible on the road and keeping other cyclists safe as well. When riding
in a situation where other cyclists need to communicate with the earphone
wearing cyclist, it can actually cause accidents.
HTH,
not intending to offend
_____
From: Marila Alvares [mailto:marila_-@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 4:13 PM
To: nelle-@earthlink.net
Cc: ob-@topica.com
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] I-pod recommendations
Ellen,
Perhaps you can step down from your soap box long enough to read some
interesting points made in a recent issue of Bicycling Magazine:
"Even under quiet conditions, hearing is only a small part of a cyclist's
sensory warning system," says John Allen, an MIT-trained engineer who has
served as an expert consultant in hundreds of bicycle-related lawsuits, and
whose study of acoustics includes the English translation of the book
Spatial Hearing. "While the sense of hearing can indicate that something is
there, it cannot indicate that nothing is there," he reasons. Indeed, as
Allen points out, there are no laws restricting deaf people from riding a
bike, nor are there reports of high accident rates for hearing-impaired
riders. And we've never heard of a problem from wearing an ear-covering
headband in cold weather. Between engine growl and ear-covering helmets--of
which the latest ! have built-in speakers--a motorcyclist hears far less
than a bicyclist. Modern cars are designed to insulate the driver from
outside noise. Deafeningly loud music is perfectly legal for drivers, but a
cyclist wearing headphones--regardless of the volume--may be breaking the
law.
While I often ride with my iPod set on a low volume, the one time in my life
that I have been hit by a car (a delivery truck, specifically), happened
just a couple of months ago, and I was NOT wearing my earphones. Unless the
person that caused the STP pileup that you mention was playing air guitar, I
seriously doubt that the his/her listening to music was the cause of that
crash.
Marila
nelle-@earthlink.net wrote:
Pablo Espinosa wrote:
For those geeks/cyclists a! t heart, I built a custom case for my nano out
of an altoids box.
Some kid had lots of time in his hands:
http://www.ipodgarage.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2919
The case works fantastic during rides and it took about 20min to build.
Pablo
adcamp-@earthlink.net wrote:
Thanks to all who helped/contributed. Many were interested in the
findings. My conclusion is that the Nano is the way to go but getting a
good cover is key as the screen scratches easily. Thanks!
Dave Campbell
adcamp-@earthlink.net
EarthLink Revolves Around You.
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