Musical Bikes

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Not because they stay dry when it rains. Not because they travel faster. Not even, because they are less likely to be injured in an accident than me. No, my main point of jealousy stems from the fact that car drivers have flashy stereos and can sing along to their favourite music as they drive.

I very often sing to myself as I cycle about, but that�s not quite the same. Plugging myself into earphones is just dangerous. However, I�ve recently purchased a set of waterproof speakers that house my iPod. Finally I�ve got a bike stereo!

As far as I�m concerned, there�s now no competition between bikes and cars. Not only do motorists have to pay for tax, car insurance and petrol, there�s the ever-present knowledge that their carbon footprint follows wherever they go.

I can cycle about, with a certain �green� sense of smugness, never worry about the rising price of oil and sing! However, my new bike stereo is causing some strange reactions.

Perhaps it�s my slightly eclectic choice of music? Last week, as I cruised through town singing my heart out to Fly Me To The Moon, I wondered if I might have forgotten to get dressed. People kept staring at me. The same thing happened when I pulled up to traffic lights belting out Wham! songs. Even more worrying was a traffic warden who looked as though he�d like to give me a ticket as I locked my bike up whilst Rehab was still playing from my bike�s basket.

To be fair, I�ve had a lot of friendly, if slightly bemused, smiles from pedestrians. But, I�m mystified as to why it should be such a big deal. The music isn�t especially loud. It�s certainly far less intrusive than any boy racer speeding along with drum and base blaring out from a boom box. It leaves me with two key questions. Firstly, why should it be considered so unusual to want to listen to music as I cycle? And, secondly, why did it take so long to invent small waterproof speakers that clip onto a bike?

According to wikipedia, the first car audio systems were introduced as far back as 1930. Nearly eighty years later it seems strange that a bicycle with music should seem so unusual. Perhaps cyclists in London have been cruising with them for a while, but certainly in the seaside town that I call home, my bike tunes are causing a minor stir.

The benefit of all this is that I�m getting super fit � I find myself going out on my musical bike for pure pleasure rather than any specific reason. Cycling for sheer fun is something I�ve not experienced since I was a kid. However, I can see one potential problem looming. The time will, surely, come when every other bike you see will also be playing music. I shudder to think what might happen when the first bike basket sound clash takes place�