added a new element to motorcycling last night

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Muuuusic!

Someone had given me a pair of apple headphones with a lightning connector but I misplaced them right away lol and after many months I came across them a couple days ago. So, since I got my bike back from the shop where it went in for a new rear shock a few weeks ago and it wasn't raining yesterday/today, I went for a ride last night. On the way there I used the headphones just to listen to google maps instructions - worked very well, headphones didn't fall out etc. On the way home I used the Radioplayer Canada app to listen to a local station.

Worked well enough! First time having music on a ride. I did turn it up a bit louder than I had it set for maps, which was a bit to quiet.. so around 85% of max volume.. but even that was fairly quiet due to engine/exhaust and mostly wind noise because my helmet sucks so bad. I only have a single layer visor so it fogs up WAY too easily and the helmet venting doesn't give enough airflow to keep it unfogged. I did wipe it with an anti-fog eyeglass cloth a couple times in the past but I guess that's long since worn off. Sooo, to keep it from fogging up so I can see I tend to keep the visor cracked open a little bit.. which makes for massive amounts of wind noise ripping into the helmet.

Blah blah - I'm going to buy a new MUCH BETTER helmet in every way sooooon - maybe even today if a shop has the one I want in stock, and then a proper radio headset for comms between bikes + pairing to phone for data for gps and radio signal, but in the meantime, even a basic pair of wired headphones = adds a very nice new element to the ride. I almost always listen to music in my car.. but I've been driving for 24 years.. and can turn the volume down on the fly if I need to once I'm off the highway and looking for a street address.. but with the motorcycle I'm kinda glad I haven't had music for the first few seasons so I can focus Only on riding better and better before adding in a potential distraction.

As for safety, with how cheap my helmet is and the wind noise it allows I'm pretty much riding deaf on the highway anyways, so music isn't really going to make anything worse in that regard. I had a F-250 Fire Command Truck *riiiiiiight* behind me before I heard the sirens once.. can't hear much of anything besides wind noise so just have to have your head on a swivel and be visually hyper aware of what's going on around you.

Kinda stoked on having music for rides now gonna be so much better with a library quiet helmet and a radio system installed that has voice commands to change volume, radio stations, use gps, talk to other riders in your group etc etc, though. Soooon!

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