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Do you listen to audio books while riding?

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i'm considering adding audio to my bike so that on long trips i can listen to someone besides myself. one thing i've thought about is that you can get audiobooks to listen to.

do any of do this? i've listened to two books on tape in my life while in a car. it was interesting. what im wondering is if you have done this on the bike, did it mess up your concentration? i wonder if my brain can process riding awareness and book content simultaneously for hours at a time. in a car i feel ok zoning out occasionally, but on the bike i'd like to minimize that. so if you've tried audiobooks, i'd like to hear about it.
 
My immediate response would be "not a good idea" and yes I would think it very distracting. but I would have to temper that statement with the fact that I find anything other than the machine, the road, the wind and sky a detraction to riding. Lots of folks like music, but after a few rides with some tunes I decided it was not for me, the *ride* is all.

RM
 
Audio tape stories

I love them. I drive for a living and find them great. I'm not much for music and find these great for passing the time. I have never tried them on the bike though. I have a cassette/radio setup and can't imagine a cassette spitting out the tape going down the highway. I would suggest spending more time trying them in your car before you do the bike thing.
 
In Keith Code's book A Twist of the Wrist, he talks about the $10 bill worth of traction you have and how to spend it. You also have a $10 bill worth of attention. Listening to music is a background task that takes maybe $1. When you "read" a book, even an audio book, you have to PAY attention or you miss what you're reading and have to re-read it. Haven't you ever done that with a paper book when someone comes in the room and talks to you, flipping back a page?

When you are PAYING attention to the book, you are NOT paying as much attention to the road surface, the road topology, the traffic ahead of you, the traffic beside you, possible threats, weather, police presence or a myirad of other things that can affect your ability to survive long enough to arrive at your destination.

I can't imagine the hassle of digging in the tank bag to rewind the tape or go back on the CD because your "reading" was interrupted by the fact that you HAD to pay attention to the RIDE because some bonehead just tried to merge into you. You probably would have seen that coming if you hadn't been "reading." To me, listening to an audio book while riding a motorcycle is every bit as reckless as watching a DVD while driving.

I don't even listen to music when I ride. I FOCUS on the ride.

It's your ass. You make your own choice.
 
no way - books on cd are a cop out. i always read when i ride. (didn't you notice the book mount on the snow queen?) no short cuts for me.
 
Audio Books While Riding

Don't do it. They require a level attention that will be distracting on a motorcycle. I commute a fair distance every day. I listen to audio books when
I can ride along in the slower lanes...and even then I have to force myself to
pay greater attention to the road. Music is OK...it's all background stuff.
Audio books on a bike will scare you...if not worse.
Tyeeman
:brow
 
good feedback.

cliffy - so you read the actual book? i was considering developing a device that would scan the book in my tank bag and scroll the text along on the HUD on my visor. that way i wouldnt have to look down and i'd feel safer.

do you laminate the pages of the books? i hear you ride in some adverse conditions... :D
 
I'm looking forward to getting my XM unit installed on my bike. I noticed that when I traveled across the cornfields going to and from Colorado last summer it was pretty hard to focus on just riding in a straight line on I70 and I80 after two hours straight of the same scenery. Basically I just got really bored, and think that if I had some tunes to listen to it would help me from totally tuning out, and help keep my brain active. I see that their are some different opinions obviously, but I'm just speaking for me.
 
I have tried audio books ( I drive 1000-1500 mi weekly) and found that when I focus on my driving and traffic around me, I may as well not have the book in at all. It takes way too much concentration for me to keep up with the books. they are great for passengers though.
 
Ditto

flash412 said:
In Keith Code's book A Twist of the Wrist, he talks about the $10 bill worth of traction you have and how to spend it. You also have a $10 bill worth of attention. Listening to music is a background task that takes maybe $1. When you "read" a book, even an audio book, you have to PAY attention or you miss what you're reading and have to re-read it. Haven't you ever done that with a paper book when someone comes in the room and talks to you, flipping back a page?

When you are PAYING attention to the book, you are NOT paying as much attention to the road surface, the road topology, the traffic ahead of you, the traffic beside you, possible threats, weather, police presence or a myirad of other things that can affect your ability to survive long enough to arrive at your destination.

I can't imagine the hassle of digging in the tank bag to rewind the tape or go back on the CD because your "reading" was interrupted by the fact that you HAD to pay attention to the RIDE because some bonehead just tried to merge into you. You probably would have seen that coming if you hadn't been "reading." To me, listening to an audio book while riding a motorcycle is every bit as reckless as watching a DVD while driving.
QUOTE]

I generally agree. I listen to music, but avoid anything that requires more attention.
 
Even though my '03 RT is wired for a radio, it'll never see one installed.

I don't have speakers in my helmet. And I definitely don't want an intercom system either. I don't need a CD player, or an MP3, or an X-Box wired into a tankbag. GPS? Naw.....I don't think so. I'll use a map if needed.

Maybe it's just me, but when I ride......I want to do just that! I never get so bored, that I have to be entertained, by anything else, other than the scenery, as I pass by it. :D
 
rocketman said:
My immediate response would be "not a good idea" and yes I would think it very distracting. but I would have to temper that statement with the fact that I find anything other than the machine, the road, the wind and sky a detraction to riding. Lots of folks like music, but after a few rides with some tunes I decided it was not for me, the *ride* is all.
Well put. :thumb



Cliffy777 said:
no way - books on cd are a cop out. i always read when i ride. (didn't you notice the book mount on the snow queen?) no short cuts for me.
LMAO! :D
 
I have a sirius sat radio on my bike and I learned fast not to listen to NPR or anything else that requires me to pay attention while riding. Music somehow doesn't require the same degree of attention. Especially if its songs you already know all the words too. However I did install a volume knob within easy reach so I can shut off the sound when I need to.
 
audio books

Please do not even consider " zoning out occasionally " while riding the motorcycle ! Bad enough in the car ... as a rider, I worry about inattention by fellow motorists ! But that's just me.
Steve :thumb
 
I listen to audio books all the time on long trips. The drone of super highways is ameloriated by the attention to the book. I used to read before the traffic became so congested that attention was necessary. A multi-functioning brain is more attentive to all tasks rather than the other way around.
Jim
 
Not A Good Idea

I can't believe it would be a good idea. I don't listen to music (except my own singing) when I ride, let alone abook. As several have said, you want your concentration to be on the road and what's around you, not on the book.
 
username said:
i'm considering adding audio to my bike so that on long trips i can listen to someone besides myself. one thing i've thought about is that you can get audiobooks to listen to.

do any of do this? i've listened to two books on tape in my life while in a car. it was interesting. what im wondering is if you have done this on the bike, did it mess up your concentration? i wonder if my brain can process riding awareness and book content simultaneously for hours at a time. in a car i feel ok zoning out occasionally, but on the bike i'd like to minimize that. so if you've tried audiobooks, i'd like to hear about it.

Only if you want to DIE! I don't, so I never listen to books on tape, not even while driving a car. The only things I do while riding are:

1. Look ahead, far ahead
2. Scan left-right as you bring your sight picture back
3. Check mirrors.
4. Check gauges.

Repeat.

NO BOOKS AN TAPE.....MYSELF...NO MUSIC!
 
MIKETHEBIKE said:
Only if you want to DIE! I don't, so I never listen to books on tape, not even while driving a car. The only things I do while riding are:

1. Look ahead, far ahead
2. Scan left-right as you bring your sight picture back
3. Check mirrors.
4. Check gauges.

Repeat.

NO BOOKS AN TAPE.....MYSELF...NO MUSIC!

mike, i'm highly skeptical of your claim above that if i do not listen to books while riding, i will achieve immortality.

also, i'll bet you $100 that those aren't the *only* things you do while riding.

i think you need to take a good look in the mirror and think about what you say to people like me. i admit that i am highly gullible. and regardless of how much money i've lost, i still think amway products are superior to those found in the stores! i can't believe you are treating me like this!
 
Stick w/music

Well I'm not adding anything new, but I'll join those who said it's not a good idea. I love books on CD or tape in the car, as I'm in the car ~3 hours a day. But we all know the level of effort does not compare. I found that on my ride out to Spokane last summer, I'd listen to tunes only 3-4 hours a day, I needed more focus in the AM, and in city traffic; where as long stretches in Nowhereville, MT was perfect for music. But a book takes your mind else where, and builds scenery, characters, thinkgs about plot etc. Else you zone out on the book, and realize you have no idea what is happening!

Gail
 
Last edited:
Well, I've been silent up until now about this thread, not wanting to draw anybody's wrath or ire, because I am a listener. An audio book listener, that is. I have been listening to audio books for over 20 years while riding and driving. I listen to them daily. My comute is only 3 miles, but anytime I'm on the bike or in the cage I usually have a book going. I am 50 years old, ride over 20k per year, and have been riding on the street since I was 15 yoa. I've been down 4 times in that 35 year span, the worst get off required surgery to repair a shoulder when I high-sided a brand new Goldwing in 1981 avoiding an errant oncoming left-turning cage (who's insurance company paid for all my expenses and lost wages plus some). My long winded point is that none of my mishaps have been related to inattention on my part due to distractions while listening to audio books. Our brains are mighty complex and powerfull. Some of us can even multi-task. My SO can even read a newspaper while listening to an audio book. A great source for audio books is your public library. I also belong to a service, audible.com, where I down load books to listen too while riding. I prefer the unabridged recordings.
 
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