rdtompki

Wife and I drove to a not-so-local bike store to test ride a few tandems. When we parked our car I was about to leave my cell phone therein when my DW said, "You aren't going to take your cell phone on the test ride?". 30+ years of marriage enabled me to discern the clues embedded in her question and I reinserted the phone into my pocket.

30 minutes later we double-flatted the tandem. Turns out that a construction truck dropped some very sharp dark-colored gravel in the bike lane which was very hard to see under the lighting conditions. Good news: I was able to call the bike store owner and he came by with a new front wheel. Bad news: he was on his way before I realized that "we" had also flatted the rear tire as well.

How many of you out there have ever double-flatted? how many by running over one stinkin' rock? Good think I had the phone or I would have been hearing about the walk back in the rain for a year or two!

We wound up buying that particular tandem the use of which should prove to be an interesting turn in our relationship.

Mazama

I always carry a cell phone. I had to use it once when I blew a couple of spokes 2 years ago.

youcoming

I always carry mine and has brought me home once.

Juha

I hope you got a decent discount, the tandem having two flat tires and all!

jesspal

I always carry it, just turn the ringer on off.

txvintage

Now that's some quality humor

Never leave home without the phone. There are too many variables to be prepared for everythng.

flip18436572

I always carry tools and multiple tubes and food and water and etc.......... But, I also carry my cell phone turned off. If I need it, I turn it on and why have the battery going down, since it is not going to be heard to be answered.

Bob A

The phone is with me on all rides in case of any emergency. Cool stuff on the tandem. Good luck and many happy miles

Wogster

I don;t have a cell phone, although there are times I could use one, like yesterday for example. I have had a bungie cord wrapped around my rack for a couple of years now, if I need to lash something to the rack I just unhook it and use it, otherwise it stays there. Yesterday my wife and I rode over to McPukes for lunch (okay no jokes about McPukes, at least we rode over instead of driving over ). Started off home, she was in the lead, and I hear PING!!!! and my rear wheel feels like the brake was on. I though I had popped a spoke. I look down, the bungie had broken, the hook on the end naturally grabbed a spoke and wrapped itself around the hub. I pull off the rear wheel, unwrap what was left and toss the bungie in the trash. put the wheel back on, put the pannier back on, reset the brake and off I go, I was half way home when I see her heading the other way. Yeah each having a cell would have been good, I would have called her, and told her I had broken down and to not worry. She is going to get a mirror for her bike, so at least we can check on each other. I have had a mirror for a couple of years now and find it really handy.

Zoxe

CELL PHONE AND WALLET always go with me.

Very early on, we were leaving the house and Mrs. Zoxe ran over a thumbtack (yes, a good old fashioned thumbtack, how cliche is that?) She had slime tires which resealed but she lost some air. Found out our new hand pump had adapters on it for the wrong valve type. Tire was ridable but low. Had a decision to make: Return home (1/4 mi drive) or continue to the filling station (2mi).

Of course, I lobbied to press on.

We get to the filling station but air is 75 cents. I say, "Ok, give me some cash and I'll go get change." She says, "I thought you had YOUR wallet?!?!?! You were the one who wanted to push on!"

It was a quiet ride home.

rdtompki

I "always" carry a cell phone as well (plus money, small wallet, tools, tubes, patch kit, CO2, pump, ...). This was a relatively short test ride around a 5 mile loop. What could go wrong in 5 miles?

Darth_Firebolt

nothing our inferior male intuition could pick up. : ]

Hill-Pumper

I never use to carry a phone with me, but just started recently to do so. It make my wife feel better about me riding alone, so that alone is good reason. Plus, where I ride there is very few houses, so carrying one in case of a mechanical failure is not a bad idea anyway.

surfrider

Don't own a cell phone; I'm not that paranoid. I always give my bike(s) a quick check if I'm going out riding on a weekend morning, and bring along a few extra tubes & tools to get rolling again. After spending the first few years of my worklife in statistical analysis, I like to try and determine what the odds of an incident will be. If I take into account the particular road I'll be riding on and its conditions (time of day, the season, its surface quality, the number of intersections/driveways along it, the width of the shoulder, etc), I can usually determine a reasonable probability of something going wrong; if the odds are small, I don't worry about it. Ex: Every time I go out for a ride on a road there is a chance I could be hit by a motor vehicle. However, taking into account the factors listed above, I choose a route where the odds of that happening are small enough where its not going to prevent me from going for a ride on a car-filled road.

Pupsocket

+1

The phone is for calling, not answering. On a long ride I'll power up and check in with the Domestic Associate on breaks so she doesn't worry too much.

racethenation

I carry mine for a few reasons. I am almost on call at least to some extent. I have individual ring tones setup for the office and for my wife, so I will know if it is a call that I need to pay attention to. If it is, I pull over and call them back. My phone also has a built in GPS with Google Maps, so it is my backup map in case I get totally lost.

I have only had to use the phone once to call for help. The lockring spun off on my freewheel once last year, and dumped the bearings all over the road. I was about 15 miles from home. That would have been a long walk.

thunderphill

Funny story about cell phones. My buddie, my girlfriend and me were going to do a quick 20-30 mile ride. The girlfriend gets cought at light and we slow down but not stop since the road was busy. Looking back we see a 3rd rider behind us and think it is her so we keep going but at a slower pace. Come to find out it was someone else when we turn back to try and find her she had made a wrong turn. We look up and down all the possible routs and finally go back to the starting location and grab a car to help. She ends up 10 miles from home with a flat. She didn't have her cell or a patch kit or tube or anything. Luckely her parents lived 2 miles away and she was able to roll the bike there. A couple hours later didn't get to hear the end of it for the rest of the day. So now she carries a cell phone every time on a bike. I'm always prepaired like a boy scout, 3 tubs, a patch kit, 4 air canasters, multi-tool, and water.

TrekDen

Yep, I'm a carrier. I'd bet 98% on todays group ride were also carrying. Heard some ringing coming from a bunch of rear pockets. No answering, just ringing.

pipes

+1 on carry the phone But never answer it :O)

RidingMatthew

the only thing I would say is perhaps it might be good to leave it on. If you get run off the road it will be connected to a tower and easier to make an emergency phone call.

just my $.02

Fastflyingasian

i never look at my phone for the few hours i am on the bike. its my time. but i ALWAYS bring a cell phone because i never know when its time to call for the sag wagon

dbikingman

It is this ability that will get you to 31+ years

moose67

I use my phone as my ride tracking device. Google G1 with 'RideTrac'. Love the program.

skijor

That's gold Jerry...gold!
ditto on the wallet and phone

misterE0

I do the wallet/phone thing on every ride. If I don't want to carry the wallet, I always bring my ID and some cash. $20 if I have it. And of course, I'm sure it's played to death, but my favorite quote about tandems:

"Wherever your relationship is headed, a tandem will get you there faster."

I'm not sure who said it first, but it's a great line.