Originally Posted by
Danhedonia
This post is for those who have made comments to the effect of "I don't need a phone."
First, just want to state a couple of things.
1. I'm a HS teacher now, and one of my very few classroom rules is that students must put away their phones before coming in, and are not to access them.
2. Once upon a time, I did some very sporting climbing and mountaineering. Part the ethos was the need to be able to self-rescue.
One day, after the invention of cell phones but prior to the ubiquity of smart phones, a friend of mine went climbing somewhere in less-accessible America. He and his partner for the day had a lengthy walk in just to the start of the route they were climbing.
Unfortunately, he had a bad fall. Multiple fractures, internal bleeding. His partner rappelled off, and ran downhill towards the car. En route he picked up a cell signal, and was able to reach a 911 dispatcher. This saved my friend's life, as they were able to send a helicopter to evacuate him and get him to a hospital. His partner returned to tend to him. (In a very sad twist, that partner would die the following year in a climbing accident).
I'm very glad he's still alive (so's he, although he verbalized slightly differently during his 8 bedridden months post-accident)
I really don't think of him as lacking in courage, and he was not a 'thrill jockey' climber (a breed I did not care for).
His risks were all self-taken, but road biking involves the ultimate joker in the deck: driver behavior.
I couldn't imagine the hubris involved in rejecting any/all things that could possibly save my life.
So, I bring my phone with me on rides.
Several years ago I spent a month in a southern fjord of Greenland climbing big walls. I wasn't entirely alone but I think it was frequently several days without seeing anyone. Especially if it rained.
I didn't think too much about it then but later in retrospect, even barring accidents, we should have brought a sat phone. Had my appendix gone bad on me, I may have died there.
So I understand what you are saying.
Haven't you also seen a trend of relying on the phone and rescuers available? I have. An entire days climb and descent, mapped out on a Gizmo that needs service and batteries to do it. The ability to call in a rescue with a sprained ankle or chilly night out? If you haven't tried to use a rope as a blanket, are you even a climber?
I think Pike's Peak had some real issues a while back from people getting tired and calling for a rescue instead of walking out.
I don't know how that relates to cycling, except for big empty adventures. Most bike emergencies are probably car related, in or near a city.