Roadside Assistance

[wannaduacentury]

I emailed my local police department today about the registry, I wanted to see if they bother checking it when they recover a stolen bike. The first response I got was that they'd never heard of the registry, then the officer said he was forwarding my email to several people within the dept. to see if they could start using the registry.

That's a good sign- Last month in the town I work in, a young girls bike was stolen from Wal-Mart. She used it everywhere she went and was heartbroken b/c the bike had sentimental value and practical value of course. The article stated that there weren't enough bike racks in commonplaces in which to secure your bike-downtown stores, WM, the library(bike stolen from there too-a hybrid) Maybe I need to make sure they know about the registry next time I see them. Her article received a warm response and I was glad to see it.

[uk elephant]

I've had similar worries out on the country lanes around here (as has BF). I always carry a phone (and try to remember to keep it charged). And I always carry $20 at least, pluss my credit card. Not sure who I would call though. I don't have AA and a taxi wouldn't be able to take my bike and BF doesn't have a car.....I do always carry spare tube, tools, patches and pump too and have needed them once when I had a puncture.

On long rides, I try to at least occasionally let my route intersect the train route. Which is what I did on Tuesday when the weather was much colder than I had anticipated and the headwinds stronger and I couldn't face another two hours of painfully cold toes. I made my way to the nearest train station and took the train home. Luckily, around here there are lots of train lines, and lots of stations. I rarely have more than 10mi to get to a station from anywhere, usually not more than 2 or 3 miles. And every village has at least 3 or 4 pubs, so I can always find somewhere to duck into to warm up and dry out if the weather is really horrible.

[Thorn]

Hey Trek...can you provide more info on the AAA stuff? I missed that and, well, you're right, it would be a reason to switch. Disappointing, but good reason.

My apologies to the list if this is a contentious issue, but...inquiring minds want to know!

[Offthegrid]

This is one of my big fears, especially because I'm not mechanically inclined. If I broke a spoke or something happened with the chain (more than just dropping it), I'd be totally stuck. Although this area is popular with cyclists.

Luckily, I have a lot of friends and relatives in the area. But there is no real public transportation I could catch. That Better World Club seems like a fabulous idea.