I don't have a cell phone. We gave them up a year ago when our contract expired. Not only do I not miss it, I LOVE not having it. But I'm beginning to think that cycling might be a reason to get one again.

I live in the city surrounded by desert. Right now most of my long rides off into the desert are with a partner or small group, and they all have phones. But lately I've been wanting to go longer and farther on my solo rides. I don't worry on rides of less than 20 miles because it is all city riding. But I have some slightly longer routes I want to take that put me out in the desert on low-traffic roads.

Right now I just leave my route, departure time, and (generous) estimated return home with my husband. This seems like it should be enough, but for some reason I have had the feeling lately that it is just dumb for me to not have a phone with me. But I don't want a digital leash again. I'm thinking of a pay as you go phone and only giving the number to my riding partners and my husband. To complicate the decision, there are plenty of routes that have no cell coverage anyway.

For those of you who ride without phones, what safety precautions do you take? For those with phones, would you ride without them? Why do you think they are important to have along?