Tunes while biking
One thing I love doing is riding a bicycle. As much as I love riding with my husband, he has this annoying habit of throwing out “Audio Cooties” – i.e. he’ll start singing whatever is currently stuck on and lodge it firmly into my head, whether I want it or not.
I could combat this by riding with my own iPod and listening to my own tunes, but listening through headphones while operating a vehicle (a bicycle is considered a vehicle) is illegal. (Aside: it is a HUGE peeve of mine to see people riding with headphones or no helmet).
Instead I came up with a way of playing tunes on my bike while training for the Seattle To Portland bike ride. My design evolved over my training but by STP it included
- An iPod shuffle, attached with velcro to my handlebar stem.
- A head phone splitter
- An extension to the speaker cord
- A cheapo radio shack speaker, placed on top of some foam on the back rack on my bike, attached via a bungie cord
- A Sony compact speaker, attached to my aero bars with a cord.
(I will insert a photo here when I can get one.).
Each speaker was attached to the iPod (which I could change just by pressing a button on my handlebars) and I could pump the tunes out to the front (for me) or back (for my riding buddies). I even used the system at the Lake Steven’s Olympic Distance triathlon (I did the biking portion).
I thought I had something novel, until my hubby sent me this.