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Riding alone... (Page 2)
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 2009-07-16 8:54 PM in reply to: #2288635 |
Member  136  |  Subject: RE: Riding alone...I alway bring my cell phone, and I'll also tell my wife the route I'm taking, and about how long I expect to be out. If I'm not back when I'm supposed to be, she'll know somethings not right. One way to look at solo rides is that they will make you tougher come race day, you will have had to motivate yourself on all of those rides leading up to the race. rb P.S. I wear my dog tags from my days in the military. It has my name, blood type and religious affiliation. Oh yeah, it also has my SSAN. I guess that makes me more vulnerable to identity theft!  Edited by RalBorseth 2009-07-16 8:55 PM |
| 2009-07-16 8:56 PM in reply to: #2288825 |
Veteran 314 SoCal | Subject: RE: Riding alone... hildekq - 2009-07-16 5:37 AM I ride alone 100% of the time and most of the time I'm fine with it. I've scoped out good routes with little traffic, good roads or nice wide shoulders. Last week I went out for my longest ride ever ( don't laugh Ironmen, 33 miles!), way out in the middle of nowhere, just me, the cows and an occasional pickup truck. I was very nervous for some reason. I think I'll stick to doing double or triple loops closer to home.... ooh, some days i'd LOVE to get back to nowhere BFE land with just me and the cows ... i moved from michigan to southern california a little over 2 years ago and, while on pretty much all other counts i absolutely love where i live now, i do miss being able to get out into the middle of nowhere without much effort (or having to drive there.) |
| 2009-07-16 9:02 PM in reply to: #2288900 |
Extreme Veteran 357 Huntington Beach, CA | Subject: RE: Riding alone... b2673ad - 2009-07-16 6:06 AM Hello I have been looking for sometype of GPS tracking device that my family could use to monitor me while I ride. The only one I found (The Spot GPS) seems a little weak with alot of bad write-ups. The company that sells them says a second generation Spot should be out next year & that it will be improved. Try joining a local group for rides. Be safe Kevin I heard this GPS is pretty good but it's pricey like $600. http://www.rei.com/product/791971 I've been looking too because I wanted to do a 3 day solo backpacking trip in August and my wife is making her endorsement conditional. |
| 2009-07-16 9:12 PM in reply to: #2288639 |
| Regular 281 | Subject: RE: Riding alone... tiggere - 2009-07-16 6:39 AM"I'm not in a hurry" time slots...around 9:30 to 11:30, 1:00 to 4:00, 6:30 to 8:30... Haha. I have to flag traffic often (stop/slow paddles) and we can predict traffic and people's attitudes depending on the time of day. We won't flag before 9am in most cases because people are running late to work and will run over their grandma. But the 9:30-11:30 people are the happiest people on the planet. They are just driving along and don't have a job/work or any kind of worries. I can hold them up for 5minutes and they'll come by with a big ol smile and a wave just for me. 12:55pm is my favorite crowd. That's the "Oh crap I spent too much time hitting on the waitress and now I'm late" people and they get mad if you hold them up for one second. They'll honk horns but I have a policy with every honk I add about 5seconds before I switch my sign. Oddly enough the teenagers just getting out of school crowd is a dangerous crowd but often obedient and very observant. I love riding alone. When i'm riding alone I can concentrate on nothing but the cars coming up from behind and not on entertaining my buddy. |
| 2009-07-16 9:13 PM in reply to: #2288635 |
Buttercup 14334  | Subject: RE: Riding alone...
I'm single, I do everything alone. I let my neighbor know when I'll be back from my bike rides and roughly what route I take. If I don't call her or see her upon my return, she comes knocking on my door. But sometimes she's not around and I go out anyway. I feel safe in my city. I could slip in the tub, hit my head and nobody would know for a couple of days. With that perspective in mind, riding in the city doesn't make me fearful. I figure if it's my time to go, it's my time to go.
Edited by Renee 2009-07-16 9:18 PM |
| 2009-07-16 9:21 PM in reply to: #2289641 |
| Lafayette, CO | Subject: RE: Riding alone... JC5066 - 2009-07-16 11:38 AM You don't need a Road ID. Before the flaming begins... If you take your cell phone with you make sure you put in an ICE number. In case you do not know, ICE or In Case of Emergency, is a contact you put into your cell phone list with an emergency number. I happen to use an Iphone so I use the Ipod feature for music when I run. When I ride I throw my phone in one of my bike bags. Emergency personal are trained to look for an ICE number on victims cell phones. $20 is a bit steep IMO for a nylon bracelet. While I do carry my cell phone it's not a guarantee. If you happen to be in an area without service (many of the canyons around here) or are in a wreck that destroys your phone it's no good. $20 is a small price to pay to know that someone will be able to notify my family in case of an emergency. |
| 2009-07-16 9:34 PM in reply to: #2290648 |
Champion 8540  the colony texas | Subject: RE: Riding alone... I could slip in the tub, hit my head and nobody would know for a couple of days. With that perspective in mind, riding in the city doesn't make me fearful. I figure if it's my time to go, it's my time to go.
very true it's a different world being single, living alone. I fell off a ladder once and was lucky that someone found me after a few hours, which leads to my sister joking about this since I'm single and live alone,, if she hasn't heard from me for a couple of days she will call my boss to make sure I'm ok.. and actually my boss and my sister's info is on my road ID, since I tell them that if I dont' show up I most likely got hit by a car somewhere and I'm in a ditch. Even my neighbors if they haven't seen me walking my dogs for a couple of days will call to check.. |
| 2009-07-16 9:55 PM in reply to: #2290697 |
| Regular 281 | Subject: RE: Riding alone... Gaarryy - 2009-07-16 10:34 PM I fell off a ladder once and was lucky that someone found me after a few hours.. Ladder falls suck. I fell down a 20ft ladder except it was into a manhole. Nothing like falling into dirty water and a steel platform. On top of that my partner went to a gas station near by for some Nutter Butter (understandable). If I really hurt myself I would have died because 10minutes later the manhole started filling up with dangerous levels of methane. Another thing to remember is to keep your cell phone in a place that no matter how many times you flip or go flying you will still have it on you. My buddy got into a car wreck last year when his buddy was driving his car back home (because he was drunk) and crashed his car into trees at 120mph. My buddy got flung from the car and couldn't find his phone. He crawled to the interstate but no one stopped so he sat in th car. A few hours later the paramedics finally showed up and woke him up when they happend to see the car in the woods. When I ride my motorcycle my phone goes into my jacket and not my bicycle bags. When I cycle or run I put it in an armband thing so if I get hit or crash my bike, the cell phone will be on me. In my truck I keep it in my pocket because a cell phone sitting on your dash does no good when it goes flying through a windshield. |
| 2009-07-16 11:12 PM in reply to: #2288635 |
Master 2665 The Whites, New Hampshire | Subject: RE: Riding alone... Sounds like the original question has been answered, but on to the Road ID question. As others have said, it isn't an either/or - I generally carry my phone and always have my RoadID on. Thing is, my phone doesn't know I'm allergic to sulfa, so it can't tell the responders. My phone doesn't know I have Reynaud's and need to get off the ground faster than your average bear, so it can't tell the responders. My phone doesn't know I'm an organ donor, so it can't tell the responders. My BFF's phone doesn't know she's highly sensitive to LATEX - something the responders kinda need to know - but it can't tell the responders! ICE is good, and very useful, but it is only contact numbers. RoadID is so much more. Trust me, that $20 was well worth every penny (especially since I got $2 off!). |
| 2009-07-17 6:06 AM in reply to: #2288635 |
Veteran 145 Warrenton, VA | Subject: RE: Riding alone... Thanks everyone! I went out this morning all by my lonesome and am here to tell about it! |
| 2009-07-17 6:20 AM in reply to: #2288635 |
| Iron Donkey 38643 , Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Riding alone... Plan accordingly, map your route the best you can that is safe, inform someone (family, SO, etc.) before riding out where you'll be, have a cellphone on you, and follow all bicycle rules of the road, and stay attentive/alert. As for me, I ride alone 98% of the time. I did avoid an accident last year due to being alert when a drunken-azz pulled out in front of me in his pickup. I have been slightly cautious because of it, but, what are you going to do? Things can happen at any time. |
| 2009-07-17 9:27 AM in reply to: #2290812 |
Buttercup 14334 | Subject: RE: Riding alone... Slugger - 2009-07-17 12:12 AM Sounds like the original question has been answered, but on to the Road ID question. As others have said, it isn't an either/or - I generally carry my phone and always have my RoadID on. ... RoadID is so much more. Trust me, that $20 was well worth every penny (especially since I got $2 off!). And if you don't have any special medical conditions but just want the ICE info, you can make your own dog tag at PetCo or PetSmart for about $6 or $8. Attach it to your shoe or anywhere on you. |
| 2009-07-17 9:33 AM in reply to: #2291419 |
Champion 8540 the colony texas | Subject: RE: Riding alone... Renee - 2009-07-17 9:27 AM Slugger - 2009-07-17 12:12 AM Sounds like the original question has been answered, but on to the Road ID question. As others have said, it isn't an either/or - I generally carry my phone and always have my RoadID on. ... RoadID is so much more. Trust me, that $20 was well worth every penny (especially since I got $2 off!). And if you don't have any special medical conditions but just want the ICE info, you can make your own dog tag at PetCo or PetSmart for about $6 or $8. Attach it to your shoe or anywhere on you. OM !!! that is such a great idea... I do that for my dogs and never thought about using it for anything else... we should have a great idea forum where idea's like that one get moved to .... very nice |
| 2009-07-17 9:43 AM in reply to: #2288635 |
Master 1402 Cumming, Georgia | Subject: RE: Riding alone... I ride alone most of the time and I put my drivers license in my bike bag. I also carry my phone and as long as I have service I can pull up my gps location and send it to my wife so she knows where I am. I suppose I should maybe have some type of id physically on me but if it is on my shoe and I get nailed by a car there is a good chance my shoes may get knocked off and fly off into the bushes. Off topic but I need to check if there is an app for the iPhone that will automatically post your gps location so someone can track you. If it doesn't already exists I need to get busy and write one. |
| 2009-07-17 10:47 AM in reply to: #2288635 |
| Veteran 207 Cincinnati, OH | Subject: RE: Riding alone... I've been sticking to well-travelled bike trails but I'm starting to want more road handling practice and more hills...and to ride at times not so well travelled. My fears on riding solo are not just the cars (people on cell phones, especially) but fear of being targeted as a woman alone and also fear of dogs. How realistic are these fears (ohio suburbs/rural)? I've seen people recommend pepper spray and air horns. Where do you buy such things? I've definitely found some no coverage spots for my cellphone. On the Road ID: They've got one that can go on your ankle just like a timing chip. I got that so I can wear it even during a race without worrying about moving it as I switch shoes. I love knowing my med info is on there in case I'm unconcious. |
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