Riding without a cell phone?

[SimpleCycle]

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?

[DeniseGoldberg]

I've been told I'm somewhat of a throwback to a previous era. While I do have a cell phone, I don't carry it with me all of the time. In fact, I usually only use it when I travel - but only if I happen to be touring in a country where my phone works (in the United States). And since I tour alone, it's really more for the convenience of being able to reach friends and family at the end of the day. While I was touring in Maine the last week in June, I had my phone with me. When I took my first solo tour back in 1998, I didn't have a cell phone. I thought about getting one, but when I contacted a cell phone company in Montana to check about coverage where I was planning to ride, they just laughed. No coverage.

When I ride near home, I usually don't carry it. Maybe that's not smart, and maybe that's relying too much on the kindness of strangers if something happens when I'm out on the road. (Actually I think my lack of attachment to phones may be left over from when I worked in a tech support position many many years ago - before cell phones even existed - and spend a good percentage of my time at work attached to a phone.

The fact is that the one time I needed help - when I crashed last year (flipping my bike over and landing on my helmeted head) I don't think I was even capable of using a phone, and I had to rely on people stopping and on emergency personnel.

I always carry identification though. I wear a RoadID that has a lot of information on it - including emergency contact information (a friends home & cell phone, and a family members home phone), my name, health insurance info, the name and phone number of my primary care physician, indication that I have no allergies, and the year of my birth - all information that emergency personnel want to have to treat you. And no, I didn't have the RoadID when I crashed - it was a must have addition when I started riding again. At the time that I crashed I had my driver's license & health insurance card - a good starting point, but definitely not all of the information that is desired.

A cell phone can make things a little easier, since it allows you to contact a friend or family if you need help, or if you need to tell them you're going to be late, or... But then again, if I'm out on the road without a phone I wouldn't hesitate to attempt to stop a car or to walk up to someone's house if I needed help. Perhaps I should change my own habit of riding without one...

--- Denise

[Irulan]

it all depends on whether you'd get coverage where you plan on riding. A cell phone doesn't do you a darn bit of good if there's no reception.

~I.

[SimpleCycle]

Denise, I tend to trust that strangers would stop and help. It seems like the times there wouldn't be someone around to help would also be the times there would be no cell coverage.

I should add that I carry (in my wallet, in my seat bag, and in my jersey pocket) a card with identification, health info, contact numbers, insurance information, preferred hosptial, allergies, and current medications. I made them up on the computer and got them laminated at Kinkos. After one of my friends did her ER rotation at med school, she implored all of us to carry this info with us. I figure it's especially important because I have asthma and take various meds.

There's probably cell coverage in 80-90% of the areas I ride, but I don't really know, since I don't have a cell.

[Crankin]

I wouldn't ride without my phone. Even though there are always houses to stop at, I ride on some "country roads" that are fairly deserted. I would hesitate about stopping someone driving by; I'm not someone who obssesses about "strangers," but I would rather call a friend, child, or spouse to help me if I needed it. This point was driven home to me a few years ago, when my son first started riding. He was crossing a major highway intersection when his cleat came out of the pedal. He crashed and hobbled to the sidewalk. Realizing he couldn't walk well, he was sitting on the curb, when a physician from a nearby hospital was on the way to pick up his daughter from school. He brought my son home. I was furious he had taken a ride with a stranger and that's when we got him a phone.
I hardly use my cell phone compared to most people, since I am a teacher and I can't sit and get calls all day. But when my family has to reach me, it does provide peace of mind.

[singletrackmind]

I don't have a cell, I don't want a (jail) cell. I make sure someone has a basic idea of where I'll be and when I expect to be finished, especially if I'm in the woods. Other than that, I'm on my own but for the kindness of strangers and I've found there are many many very kind people on this planet.

I did read somewhere that you can dial 911 for emergency help from a cell whether you have a plan or not. You could only use it in emergency situations, of course. That you'd have to do more research on yourself.

[snapdragen]

I carry mine, gives my mom piece of mind. (Mom, I'm 48 - I can take care of myself.....) It's always turned off when I'm riding.

There are pay as you go phones -I don't know much about them though.