Abide By These Rules To Ensure A Safe Bicycling Session While Listening To Music
Listening to our favorite jams has the power to put us in a good mood no matter what we are doing. Although most people are not fond of living dangerously, some get a kick out of it, say, riding a bike while listening to music.
Many see this activity as extremely dangerous, however, there’s no helping for people who love to rock out while riding. Especially not when music can help their ride become more enjoyable, stimulating, and quicker. In fact, for athletes, music is like a drug that gets them instantly fired up for their performance.
Nonetheless, there are also things you should be careful of when riding and listening to music at the same time if you want to get to your destination in one piece. Below are some precautionary measures you can take to ensurfe your safety and avoid risking other people’s lives when you’re on a sound trip while cycling.
Put one earbud or headphone only
You may be tempted to reach for your headphone because it offers better quality than earbuds, however, a headphone isn’t really safe when riding a bike. Using a Bluetooth headset is great and all, but only if you’re not on the road and not cycling. On the other hand, with earbuds or headphones, you have the option to leave one earbud or headphone out. That said, as much as possible, use the right earbud or headphone so your left ear, which is the one that’s facing the road, is uncovered. This way, your auditory sense can perform better at capturing the sounds and noise from your surroundings.
Mount your bars with portable speakers
If you disapprove using any device that will keep both or either of your ear enclosed, you can choose to mount your handlebars with compact and wireless speakers. By doing so, you can enjoy your songs when you’re cycling with your ears completely open. Many Bluetooth speakers today are loud enough for riders like you to hear them, all the while, keeping the volume down enough so as not to disturb other people.
Lower the volume down
When it comes to riding a bike, safety is being cognizant of your surroundings. The best way to do this is to keep your music’s volume low until you can hear everything around you. However, it is only when you’re out on the road that you’ll know how loud ‘too loud’ is. Hence, if you want to adjust the volume while you’re cycling, always pull off the road then stop before fiddling the buttons. Even if you think you can easily make adjustments while riding, don’t do it. Life is too unpredictable.
Play it close to your head
Did you know that you can still hear your favorite cycling playlist while riding without having to cover your ears? Uh-huh, it is possible if you have a regular set of headphones. You just need to turn the volume to the maximum and keep them sitting around your neck, thus, leaving your ears completely bare. So, if you don’t like the single earbud or headphone method and you don’t mind compromising the sound quality, then this one may work for you.
Either that or you can also opt for a sophisticated, albeit, pricey, way. Thanks to technology, we now have a horseshoe-shaped Bluetooth speaker that sits around your neck. It works the same way as the conventional method, but it is unrivaled when it comes to sound quality.
Bottom line
Riding with our ears engaged from listening to music has been a constant debate among cyclists. It’s no secret that being able to hear your surroundings is what makes bicycle riding safe. Nevertheless, with the options mentioned above, music and safety put together one sentence has become possible. The takeaway here is to stay alert and to not let the music, no matter how soul-stirring your jams are, distract you while you’re on the road.