Riding without a cell phone?

[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