Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Captain Slow
07-30-08, 12:10 PM
Anybody else addicted to The Weather Channel?
Earlier this year I got Motorola Moto Q smart phone (Verizon) for work use. It has a tiny but viewable
screen on it... First ride home, I surfed to The Weather Channel's weather radar map... Joy! Now I have an on-bike first line of defence against the weird and unpredictable weather we have here.
So now, I can clip it to the waistband of my bike shorts, and if what's up ahead looks kinda dark & stormy, I whip out the Q and press MENU, then UPDATE. New map fills the screen at 270KBps.
Tell you this... It's made me faster. I get to the lake on my after-work rides, I see that big green-bodied red-eyed monster lurking on the small screen... I rocket on home faster than I ever did back when I had no idea what was out there.
One caveat: I also get e-mail on this thing. It's tempting to check new messages while I'm out on a deserted stretch of rural two lane blacktop. Every time I try, though, I end up drifting around on the road just like the distracted drivers that we all curse. I've made it a point to log out of OMA before I head home.
No mail is good mail.
On a semi-related note: The last time the phone rang, and it was for me, and I was happy to be receiving a call... I was probably 17 years old. These days, phone rings because someone has an emergency, wants to get me to do something I don't want to do, go where I don't want to go, annoy or harass me... So I don't answer the phone after I leave work. Ever.
Earlier this year I got Motorola Moto Q smart phone (Verizon) for work use. It has a tiny but viewable
screen on it... First ride home, I surfed to The Weather Channel's weather radar map... Joy! Now I have an on-bike first line of defence against the weird and unpredictable weather we have here.
So now, I can clip it to the waistband of my bike shorts, and if what's up ahead looks kinda dark & stormy, I whip out the Q and press MENU, then UPDATE. New map fills the screen at 270KBps.
Tell you this... It's made me faster. I get to the lake on my after-work rides, I see that big green-bodied red-eyed monster lurking on the small screen... I rocket on home faster than I ever did back when I had no idea what was out there.
One caveat: I also get e-mail on this thing. It's tempting to check new messages while I'm out on a deserted stretch of rural two lane blacktop. Every time I try, though, I end up drifting around on the road just like the distracted drivers that we all curse. I've made it a point to log out of OMA before I head home.
No mail is good mail.
On a semi-related note: The last time the phone rang, and it was for me, and I was happy to be receiving a call... I was probably 17 years old. These days, phone rings because someone has an emergency, wants to get me to do something I don't want to do, go where I don't want to go, annoy or harass me... So I don't answer the phone after I leave work. Ever.