Modern Buddy

Since riding a scooter is - for the most part - a solitary affair, I was curious what people do underneath their helmet while ridding... to entertain yourself?

So I thought I would ask the question to the group.

Me... I tend to talk in accents or beat box.

What do you do?

Sing imaginary Black Sabbath rhythm guitar lines. LOUD.

I wear a 3/4 helmet, so I have to exercise some discretion. But lately I've been singing rock-n-roll songs in the style of a crooner (e.g. Sinatra). If I may say so myself, I'm a decent baritone, and it amuses me.

yeah...there are times I sing in there...the acoustics in a full face are nice with the shield tight

"Singer" here, too -- often, though, I confess I make up completely inane and repetitive lines about my ride as it is happening -- such as, "Scootin' right in to the morning sun" on a cold morning a few weeks ago -- and I'll keep on scootin' til the day is done, doncha know, because the very worst ditties have to rhyme, of course.

Or whatever earworm I have at the moment -- often recently that has been the Daniel Boone theme (courtesy of surfing by MeTV) -- or when I feel my front tire vibrations and remind myself I want to try Dyna Beads -- then I'm ALWAYS off and running on "Dinah, is there anyone finah, in the state of Carolina, if there is and you know her, SHOW her, Dinah ...."

RoadRambler wrote:"Singer" here, too -- often, though, I confess I make up completely inane and repetitive lines about my ride as it is happening -- such as, "Scootin' right in to the morning sun" on a cold morning a few weeks ago -- and I'll keep on scootin' til the day is done, doncha know, because the very worst ditties have to rhyme, of course.

Or whatever earworm I have at the moment

Yep, I do all of these as well. Maybe.

I talk to myself, or listen to the voices.

Honestly, with the modular closed, I have a bad habit of critiquing/heckling drivers who are being aggressive, distracted or just plain inept.

If a roundabout is encountered, I'll lap it at least once, all while humming "Fly Me To The Moon". Points if you know where that's from.

If I get really bored or start flagging while on a long ride, an old standby tune is "Proper Cup of Coffee". Other tunes come to mind, but I got that one burned in on a long road cross-country trip in a diesel Vanagon that had no radio and tends to come to mind frequently.

I'd love to have music on the bike, but I don't want the distraction when I need to focus on riding.

Syd wrote:I talk to myself, or listen to the voices.

....and your still not getting the unicorn.......

Beat boxing and Sinatra tunes for me. I love how good a full face makes you sound!

az_slynch wrote:Honestly, with the modular closed, I have a bad habit of critiquing/heckling drivers who are being aggressive, distracted or just plain inept.

If a roundabout is encountered, I'll lap it at least once, all while humming "Fly Me To The Moon". Points if you know where that's from.

exactly!

once, after a highway stint, we were in traffic, and the driver's window was down. I became very aware that he could tell precisely what I was saying

Sometimes I sing. Sometimes I say things about the other drivers around me that would shock people if they could hear it.

walke2jd wrote:Beat boxing and Sinatra tunes for me. I love how good a full face makes you sound!

Yeah - kinda like singing in the shower! All that reverb .... and steam....

running narrative of what idiots I have to share the road with "...stay in your own lane you b!@#$, stay, stay..crap, you blind DOB!..."

DOB is like a Son of B!@#$, but Daughter!

it's all similar to what I say in my head at work (long-term tech support dude here).

"Are you retarded? Literally, how are you alive? Yes, why don't you get on your phone as you're moving through traffic at 95, eating a burrito!"

On a more positive note, when things are going great and the scenery is gorgeous, I'm all gasps of awe and "oooh! look at that!" even though there is no one to hear me.

I do what all guys do. I checkout the girls, assign a score of 1-10, and designate as “Would Bang” or “Would not Bang.” I do the same thing for guys but it’s a score about what I think his fighting skills would be and I assign a “Would Fight” or “Would not Fight” to each person. Ladies when you see your man surveying the nearby population in a store or something this is almost always what he is doing.

I think that's built in to some reptilian part of the brain.

Thank heavens for sunglasses....

Loren wrote:I do what all guys do.

Yeah... not so much.

With the large numbers of them around here, I'm usually cursing out the idiot drivers. Or like my Cuban buddy Mario, when I see a good looking whatever, "Nice-a-stuff!"

Of course I do the same things even when I don't have my helmet on.

I sing sometimes...I yell sometimes...and I try not to sneeze....you don't want to sneeze going 55 mph, around a curve, in your full face, or modular, helmet...

Swear like a F*kin sailor.

Not entirely different than sans helmet, but probably louder. I think. Hard to tell.

i just ride along and listen to music and don't think about much or secretly anything?

i don't quite understand this question

I listen to music and sing along in funny voices. Sometimes I have nice conversations with my scoot. Oh and if we're about to go up a really big hill, I'll give her a pep talk.

Honestly, almost nothing. With all the stresses of work and home life, the time I spend riding is virtually the only "me" time I have. I basically just shut down everything except what's needed to ride safely and immerse myself in the white noise of the wind and the engine. No singing, no humming. no yelling, just (sounds odd, I know) pleasant nothingness.

michelle_7728 wrote:I sing sometimes...I yell sometimes...and I try not to sneeze....you don't want to sneeze going 55 mph, around a curve, in your full face, or modular, helmet...

I sneezed in my full face. I'm pretty sure that's how I got pink eye.

yep, besides not sneezing, I also tell Yoda how awesome it is, and how cool it will be to get the next service .

I've solved the sneeze issue. Sorta. Just keep your mouth open wide, less velocity (big facial hair and sneezing in a full face helmet produces less than optimal results).

I sing, yell, talk to myself... Occasionally lick the chinbar (it's fuzzy and I don't know why I feel compelled to do it).

Say things like "Aw! Izza fuwwy goggie!" When i see folks walking their dogs.

"Izza WIDDLE goggie!" if it happens to be a small dog.

Also road rage in the most colorful language I can think up.

az_slynch wrote:Honestly, with the modular closed, I have a bad habit of critiquing/heckling drivers who are being aggressive, distracted or just plain inept.

If a roundabout is encountered, I'll lap it at least once, all while humming "Fly Me To The Moon". Points if you know where that's from.

If I get really bored or start flagging while on a long ride, an old standby tune is "Proper Cup of Coffee". Other tunes come to mind, but I got that one burned in on a long road cross-country trip in a diesel Vanagon that had no radio and tends to come to mind frequently.

I'd love to have music on the bike, but I don't want the distraction when I need to focus on riding.

In one of those, even a cross-county trip can take a while. I know, I had one with the 2L aircooled engine -- not much more power than the diesel.

But there's never been a better laid-out campervan, before or since, than the Westy Vanagons. (I'll concede a bit of bias here...)

On-topic? Ok, I make predictions of what other drivers will do. I'm usually right.

Sing Harold Arlen songs in the manner of Ella Fitzgerald... Or belt out Mott the Hoople songs... Depending on my mood. Berate and swear at rotten drivers... OR, if I'm not in a swearing mood, do a commentary on the lousy drivers while imitating Jackie Stewart. But only when I wear my helmet with the plaid stripe. Ahem. Yeah.

Mutt the Hoople wrote:do a commentary on the lousy drivers while imitating Jackie Stewart. But only when I wear my helmet with the plaid stripe. Ahem. Yeah.

"Et's a greet dae fur a motorscewter ride!"

TVB wrote:

Mutt the Hoople wrote:do a commentary on the lousy drivers while imitating Jackie Stewart. But only when I wear my helmet with the plaid stripe. Ahem. Yeah.

"Et's a greet dae fur a motorscewter ride!"

You got it!!!

how do you guys listen to music?? I soo miss blasting my radio in my car. Isn't it illegal to wear ear buds?
I always sing to myself and tap to the music in my head.

Tomato Bisque wrote:how do you guys listen to music?? I soo miss blasting my radio in my car. Isn't it illegal to wear ear buds?
I always sing to myself and tap to the music in my head.

I play music with my blue tooth. I originally got it so I could communicate with my fiance when we ride, but turns out I can play my music with it too! And since it's only one ear, I can still hear what's going on around me.

I sing to my scooter, haha. Nonsense stuff like "doo doo doo, scooterin' down the street with my Miaaaa" or something, heheheh.

Tomato Bisque wrote:Isn't it illegal to wear ear buds?

This would be up to state laws.

I bought U CLEAR Bluetooth communication systems for my wife and I. You can listen to music from a device like a smart phone, take and place phone calls, and communicate with others in your group. Even get instructions from a Bluetooth enabled GPS. Very clear and great range.

I bought a set from my local Cycle Gear store. The set of 2 is about $400, so they are not cheap. But to us they are totally worth it. Makes the ride a lot better when we can talk and such as we scoot.

Tomato Bisque wrote:how do you guys listen to music?? I soo miss blasting my radio in my car. Isn't it illegal to wear ear buds?
I always sing to myself and tap to the music in my head.

CA law allows you to wear ONE earbud/phone, ostensibly for communications.

Folks get pretty uppity about whether music is a good idea, so I'll just remind everyone right now not to get preachy and that we all should use good judgement in deciding what's right for us.



THANKS

Oh, and I do use earbuds on some long rides out of town. Music helps me keep my mind from wandering, which isn't a problem in the city and when commuting. I've had a Chatterbox and another audio system, both meant more for communications. The best, easiest and cheapest solution is decent earbuds, though. Normal ones don't stay in my ears, so I use Skullcandy Chops with over-the-ear hooks and inline controls. (Got them for half price at Target.) The audio is actually too good — it can get very loud and blocks out a lot of noise.

Ninjasurfergirl wrote:

Tomato Bisque wrote:how do you guys listen to music?? I soo miss blasting my radio in my car. Isn't it illegal to wear ear buds?
I always sing to myself and tap to the music in my head.

I play music with my blue tooth. I originally got it so I could communicate with my fiance when we ride, but turns out I can play my music with it too! And since it's only one ear, I can still hear what's going on around me.

We use the Sena headsets for both communication with other riders and the Bluetooth interface as well. I'll admit that I do a little personal Karaoke riding from time to time, and playing my music while riding makes it just that much more enjoyable for me.

Rob

wow you're blowing my mind. I don't know why I didn't realize I could do that before, I guess I figured it wouldn't fit under my helmet but I'll give it a go.

Same as Rob: got Sena (earlier version). My mom always checks in with me when I ride which is good safety practice. Sena filters out all of the riding noises so we can hear each other perfectly. Actually I just saw the announcement that Sena and HJC are forming a partnership to build in Bluetooth into some of their helmets. If the build in unit performs as well as the one I have it should be a nice Bluetooth helmet.

Geeze.. I go away for a bit and everybody chimes in... Awesome!

I'm also glad to see I'm not the only one who does weird stuff with the helmet on