From Guest Writer, John Andrews, Shopper Marketer | 2X Founder/Co-founder & Advisor
My World Before Bluetooth Glasses...
Ever since I was a child I have loved riding my bike on the road. Starting in the safe environs of our dead-end street where everyone is looking out for unexpected kids screaming out of one of the various driveways on bikes, Big Wheels and skateboards, I graduated to venturing out into my small town roads on my super heavy steel Huffy.
After a long summer of mowing laws, I saved up enough money for a Schwinn Super Le-Tour. The aluminum bike still weighed close to 30 pounds but seemed like a rocketship compared to my old Huffy. With the new bike, my rides became further afield and so did my skills of interaction with motor traffic. I think back to those days and as a parent now, there is no way in hell I would have let my daughter ride her bike on public roads. The distraction level of drivers today is appalling and riders need to have hyper-awareness of what is going on around them.
Distracted Drivers Are Everywhere
All of bike safety has changed (as if we wore a helmet…) and like drivers, cyclists also have distractions from electronic devices. In fact, cyclist deaths due to automobile collisions have risen sharply over the past decade after falling for years. There are a host of reasons for this increase including more people riding bikes, larger vehicles, and of course... distracted drivers using mobile devices. In the United States, the majority of cities aren’t particularly cyclist friendly, although many are improving their infrastructure and education to be more accommodative of cyclists. I love this presentation that the town of Cary, NC put together about bike safety and common causes of accidents and the responsibilities of cyclists and motor-vehicle drivers alike.
Bluetooth Glasses with Open-Ear Technology Allows Safe Connectivity in Busy Environments
Certainly, riding bikes is a shared responsibility and some cyclists don’t practice good safety habits or obey the rules of the road. I try to be as safe as possible when road cycling, and also to be very aware of the motorists around me by using a rearview mirror attached to the side of my helmet to spot potential dangerous traffic. I also never use headphones on the road and even on a greenway or trail, I generally use a single airpod for listening to music or a book and even taking a brief call occasionally. I like to have those options, but it isn’t safe given the traffic situation. However, over the past few months, I’ve been working with the team at Lucyd Eyewear on various digital marketing efforts, and learning more about its bluetooth glasses. I thought they would be a great option for cycling, combining eye protection with the ability to stay co-connected to my environment.
I wear clear lenses when I ride to protect my eyes from debris and to help with sunlight and glare. I was curious about the yellow lenses offered by Lucyd as I have used them for night driving. It is easy to configure all kinds of lens options for Lucyd frames including prescription, readers, transitions, and blue blockers; so I ordered a combination of blue blockers with yellow lenses. The yellow lenses really bring a world of clarity to my rides and enhanced biking safety from improved visibility.
The bottom line is that open-ear listening is the perfect experience for road biking that adds a great deal of safety to your ride by keeping you attached to the world around you.
Note: A I was writing this article, we received the heartbreaking news that former NBA star Shawn Bradley was hit and paralyzed while riding his bike near his home in Utah. Please be safe as a rider and vigilant as a driver. We wish Shawn a rapid and full recovery.
