Music to my Ears

Before February had turned into March and the snow had disappeared from the Wold tops I managed to break through 1000 miles for the year.

By the same time last year I had only done 368 miles, so I am well ahead of schedule for my goal of breaking 6,000 for the year.

In fact 7,000 may come into my sights very soon or even 8,000 (Steady Philip).

Although most of the cycling has been on my own I am always accompanied by my I Pod Shuffle.

Which is almost as helpfull as having Lance Armstrong riding beside me...although he may tell me off.

I know that the use of headphones raises emotions in a similar way to the 'helmet' debate, but I do believe that you can use them responsibly. I certainly try too.

If I am in a rural area I have both plugs in with the sound turned way up

In the commuter urban traffic I have no music at all.

The rest of the time I cycle with one plug in only or with both having music turned down.

I really do notice the difference in my riding styles with and without music.

With the right sort of music I am able to sustain a high tempo with perfect rhythm and little concentration.

To attain the same level without music requires much more concentration and my cadence is too variable, being affected by the wind or gradient.

My 'Shuffle' is clipped onto the shoulder strap of my 'bibs' so its covered from the elements.

Being less than 2 inches long and the same weight as £1 coin it is far removed from the original portable Music device - The Sony Walkman.

I owned several over the years and would wear them for running. If you got any faster than a mild trot you ran the risk of disengagement and the humiliation of having your priced asset broken and scattered all over your adjacent highway.

With long distance runs I would often come home with a sore hip from constant banging

If neither of the above affected you you always ran the risk of having to perform some improvised skipping as the Head phones tried to match make with your ankles.

My musical taste is wide ranging and for a long ride I have a complete assortment of Tunes from Wagner to Taylor Swift.

When I'm training though it has to be something with a fast tempo beat.

Having been brought up in the Disco age, i missed out on the Dance Rage and always believed that 'E' was actually a useful letter to have whilst playing scrabble.

Although I'm not about to strut my stuff on the dance floor I have certainly adopted some Dance tunes to keep my legs spinning.

Here are a few that are on my current play list.

Tiesto - 'Hes a Pirate'

Happy Mondays - 'Hallelujah'

Black eyed Peas - 'Ive got a feeling', 'The Time (Dirty Bit)', 'Imma Be'

Fat Boy Slim - 'Acid 2000'

New Order - 'Blue Monday'

Supermode - 'Tell me why'

David Pearce - 'Sandstorm'

Nelly Furtado - 'Promiscuous' (Axwell reMix)

Eric Prydz - 'Pjanno'

Last year when I was doing the Natchez Trace I would often hit the front at speed.My fellow Mules would just shake their heads and mutter 'Those Dammed Black eyed Peas!!!!'

Please let me know if you have any tunes to share.

The weekend weather looks promising so my Camera battery is on charge and I'm ready to do some dancing on my pedals.