Two of my club members, men in their 70s (or perhaps one of them is in his late 60s, no one seems to know except that he's been retired for over 20 years), are in their second week of the Great Divide ride.

They took cell phones - which will work for an estimated 15% of the route - and no satellite communications. No SPOT (very inexpensive) and no satphone (which can be rented for a small % of the total cost of their trip).

Honestly, I consider that extremely irresponsible. If I were one of their wives or children, I wouldn't have stood for it.

Why would someone intentionally refuse safety equipment? It's like saying, "up until the 1970s, people rode in leather helmets or no helmet at all, so there's no reason for me to wear a helmet now."