Should you listen to music when cycling? No. There need be no vacillating
about this. When you are on a bike you are, cue the dramatic and earnest drum
roll, taking you life in your own hands. You need all your senses about you to
stay upright on the bike. Seeing a cyclist with ear phones on is like seeing a
motorist reading a newspaper or texting behind the wheel: it is mad shit. It is
the sort of shit’ll get you and me killed. If you need music to motivate you on
the bike then you are not going hard enough. Going hard enough you can’t hear
anything but the blood boiling in your ear drums and the wind whistling past. Personally,
I’d favour a ban on cyclists wearing headphones. One survey found 90% of people
agree with me (i). How can you hear a vehicle approaching from behind you if
you are deep into the memories stirred by listening to Barry White? Or you find
yourself playing the air guitar to AC/DC? Joking aside, research (ii) shows listening
to music while cycling is dangerous and puts people at greater risk of injury. The
study found that "listening to music resulted in reduced visual and
auditory perception and reduced speed" and "Negative effects are very
large when in-earbuds are used. Negative effects of high volume and fast tempo
on auditory perception were found”. No negative effects were found, however,
when listening to music using only one earbud, so those who just will not stop
listening to music on the bike (like the gobshites who still ride racing bikes
without helmets) should at least try using only one earbud.
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