I normally carry my phone, i put it in a glove in the middle of my bag or if i'm going on an "easy" ride i'll put it in the phone holder in on my back pack strap. i find it usefull because i'm at boarding school and i have to conform to strick times and so on so if i get a breakdown then i can call up and say i'm going to be late. it's only happened once flat tire at the top of a mountain.