downhillmaster

Yeah?
Nobody ever stopped to take a cool pic with their phone?

livedarklions

I propose we don't define this stupid term.

The people I've seen use it in a non-sarcastic manner are generally using it to label people who either don't ride exactly like they do or not equipped as they are as "not serious."

Quick math here says your commute is 160 km (100 milrs) per week if you're full time. I guarantee that a lot of people talking about how serious they are are doing a lot less riding than that.

My feeling is that the OP doesn't rate serious answers because of his rampant habit of starting multiple threads asking inane questions. He started 4 threads yesterday, there's not many posters on bf who will start 4 threads in a year.

Juan Foote

I got a Garmin to cover that. It's small, light, and have a range of really good solid mounts to hold them to your handlebars/stem.

Story time:
I had picked up a RAM mount which are known as really good mounts, in particular in the motorcycle world. There is a key to note about that, but I will come back around to it.
We had recently relocated to Northeast Atlanta from Southeast Atlanta suburbs. I had gotten in pretty good shape with quite a few years of club rides with the groups on Southside (where it's MUCH flatter). I found a good group to ride with, or so I thought, out of Vinings Cycling. I had ridden with them a couple of previous times and liked the group, liked the route, although it was quite challenging to me given the elevation changes. I came in on those rides with the group, albeit at the back. I opted to come out for a Saturday ride that was posted as the same speed, but a bit longer. Seemed a fine way to spend a Saturday.
Come to find fairly early on that the ride was well more spirited than the weekly ride and I was very soon off the back, and worse than that the sweep was unaware I had fallen so far back. At this point probably in the rough area of 15 miles from our starting point, perhaps half that as the crow flies....anywho, part of the ride went through a neighborhood with those big, wide speed bumps. I was coming down a hill pushing pretty hard in an attempt to both have momentum up the next hill, but also in an unsuccessful attempt to make contact with the back of the group and catch the sweep's attention. Right at the bottom of said hill were one of those speed bumps. I hit it and watched in slow motion as my phone released from the mount, hit the ground, and went right under the back tire, completely destroyed.
This posed multiple issues for me. I didn't know where I was. My mapping device as well as my emergency figure out where I was and ability to call someone to come pick me up were gone. I actually got pretty lucky in that the area was rife with other cyclists. I had asked a couple of homeowners which were out and about as to where the bike shop was and quite unfortunately for me there were two just about equal distance opposite ways from me. Thank goodness a good hearted fellow riding by heard me talking to someone and offered to guide me back to the proper shop.
It turns out that the RAM mount works well on motorcycles due to the shocks keeping them from major vibration as well as not allowing the mass of the phone to gain momentum on the spring which holds it. That was the moment that I realized the folly of putting my phone in such a position. Besides, Garmin (and other) devices are FAR less expensive.

.02

shelbyfv

Fanny packs!! Clearly the best solution for CheezGiant. Start a thread....

flangehead

Most of my cycling is to commute to work or to go to destinations, and I use panniers and baskets to carry needed large items.

I had originally put my wallet and phone in my pannier during the commute. However some of my destinations introduce the risk of encountering human predators and I've decided I need to be able to a) abandon the bicycle if I need to and b) have key items on my person if I get separated from the bike.

My practice now is wallet/cards, keys (mostly card access) and cell phone in jersey pockets. I use 1 quart ziplock bags for clumping and water resistance. This practice also puts the cell phone camera more accessible to me than when it was in the pannier.

Pepper spray is a bit of a problem. I can't take it into the office (building rules) so I'm not carrying now. I should look for a spray I can leave on the bike.

Milton Keynes

Or wave.

bruce19

If I'm riding from home it's just my cell in the middle rear pocket of my jersey. If I drive to the Start it's my cell as noted, my wallet locked in the car and my ignition device in a rear zippered pocket of my jersey.

Milton Keynes

"They now have a breakfast Hot Pocket. They should rename it to 'You're going to call in sick to work."

mstateglfr 

I keep my phone, a bit of cash, a card, and my ID in this. It then goes in my middle jersey pocket. If I drove, I also disconnect that vehicle key and add it to the pouch.

- waterproof
- sweatproof
- keeps everything together
- if I crash and shatter the phone screen, its in the pouch so glass wont slice thru my spinal cord. <---half joking?

mstateglfr 

my spandex costume shirt has 3 pockets. my regular shirts have 0 pockets.

Riveting

Everything is in the jersey pockets, whether road, mtb, gravel, or commuting, and I've crashed at least once while doing each, and nothing has ever fallen out...yet. Cell in right rear jersey pocket (screen out to avoid sweat triggering the touchscreen display and dialing an ex-girlfriend).Typically no wallet on the bike, but ID and credit card in left rear jersey pocket, and a $20 bill stashed in between the phone case and the phone. No keys if departing from home (keyless entry door locks), but if I have to drive to the start of a ride, the solo car key (taken off the main keyring) is in the left rear jersey pocket (next to the ID and credit card).

Nachoman

I use a Rapha product called something like the rapha phone caddy. Just big enough to fit a phone, a key and a few bucks.

Riveting

Here's my take on "serious", I could actually care less about "serious" labels, but if we're going to discuss them, let's discuss:

Self-proclaimed serious cyclist here (road, gravel, mtb, and commuting), and there are ways to be "serious" (sometimes called "avid") without performing looong rides, though I do those too. I have family in the hills east of St Albans, VT, and often ride there when visiting, and it's my opinion that anyone (like you) riding/commuting 20 mi/day in northern VT is likely a serious cyclist, the weather and hills dictate that. BTW: if you can make it up Rt 36 into the hills of Fairfield from St Albans (11% grade for 1 mile), that feat alone will mark you as a serious cyclist, in my book. But, if you are only commuting 20 miles R/T, once a month, only on flat ground, only in fair weather, at a leisurely pace, and don't do much else on the bike, then you are definitely a cyclist, but you'll need to do more to achieve "serious" status.

Serious/avid to me is a moniker based on any number of factors: number of rides/miles per week/year, length of rides, avg speed, power FTP, W/kg, ability to maintain your own bikes, amount of climbing per segment/ride/week/year, learning and following proper riding etiquette, and the extreme weather you intentionally "choose" to withstand (sorry, being caught in a hail storm by "accident" doesn't count). Being extreme in ANY single category can be enough to label you as serious, even if you are completely lax in all other categories. For example, simply commuting 4k-5k miles in a year labels someone as serious in my book even if no ride/commute is longer than 10 miles, and it's all on flat ground, at a leisurely pace. Whereas riding 10mi once a year in a hail storm does not qualify. You can also be serious if you are moderate in most categories, but extreme in none.

Bike worth more than my cell phone?...Heck, my bike Friday (new) is worth more than the 10 yr old German engineered car currently beneath it, and when I have 2 bikes on the roof, my cars value is tripled! IMHO, the amount you spend on cycling gear is not a factor of being labeled a serious cyclist, but it is a factor of being labeled a serious spender. I'm guilty on both charges.

BlazingPedals

Jersey pocket. If the stuff may get wet, especially my phone, I'll put it in a plastic bag, or maybe try to stuff it in my tool bag.

SJX426 

Phone in back pocket of the jersey. the rest in the can
IMG_20180930_085551 on Flickr

tomato coupe

That seems like the simplest way to go.

ClydeClydeson

Generally in my jersey pockets. If on a ride I expect to be slower or more casual, I often bring a handlebar or rear rack-top bag where I can stow stuff.

livedarklions

That's all very reasonable (especially the distinction between serious cyclist and serious spender), but to me the question is why we would want to label someone who cares about cycling or relies on it as "not serious"? I want to be clear that this isn't referring to you because I don't think you do this at all, but most people I see using the term "serious" to describe themselves are doing so in order to discount the opinions and preferences of other cyclists.

I think anyone who commutes by bike is taking cycling very seriously--they're relying on it to get them back and forth to their livelihood.

Some of the crazy definitions I've seen around here include claims that you can't be a serious cyclist if you use platform pedals, don't strive to maintain a constant cadence, don't wear cycling kit, don't wear a heart monitor, or don't follow some sort of strict training regimen. It's usually a matter of question begging when someone is asking whether they need to do or use something to ride a lot. "Well, you can't be serious without...." doesn't really answer the question of whether that thing really is necessary for the person asking the question, it just assumes that it is.

cyccommute 

I’ve seen the opposite as well. There are all kinds of purists who have told me that I’m not a “serious” commuter because I use ride in bike clothes, use computers, use clipless pedals (and toe clips before that), etc. even though I have ridden to work over 4000 times covering a bit over 75,000 miles. But because I don’t wear “street clothes”, I’m not a serious commuter. Hell, I’ve been told that I’m not a serious cyclist by the other side because I have racks on my bikes.

freeranger

Ya got me! My under seat bag holds my tools, CO2 inflator/cartridges, patch kit, items which can be used on either my road or mtn.bike. A fanny pack is used for a "bike wallet"-just a driver's license, medicare card, emergency med card, and a few dollars. Also holds a spare tube for whichever bike I'm riding, and energy bar(s), ibuprofen, and keys. For me, it's easier to switch the seat bag from bike to bike ("universal" contents), and pack the fanny pack contents to suit the ride and bike.

GhostRider62

Every year I come across at least 3 or more serious looking cyclists on $10K bikes stranded due to a ruptured tire or once in a while they can't fix a flat. I always carried a partially worn 25 mm GP4000 just in case. Guess how many times, a stranded, serious cyclist let this dorky recumbent rider give them the tire or fix it for them? Zero. One guy said, no problem it is only 6 miles back to the car (it was more like 9 miles) as he tippity tapped away in cleats. I almost pleaded with him, it is an old tire and tube take it or I'll fix it for you. Just last week, similar situation except he said he was going to call his wife once he got a cell phone signal. So, the crowd that just has a phone in their back pocket with no tools or rain gear in shoulder season are not serious cyclists in my mind. I even had one guy ask why I am not on a real bike or if I ever rode a real bike. The nerve. I stop to help and he insults me. Seriously

tomato coupe

Sounds like you're easily offended. Seriously.

livedarklions

Yes, this telling people they're not serious is usually seriously stupid. Telling you "you need not-x to be serious" is just as silly as telling me "you really need y to be serious".

We're serious enough that we've both figured out what does and doesn't work for them and I'm pretty sure that would be for equally valid reasons even though we've come to completely different conclusions.

GhostRider62

Ok. I do think stopping an interval or workout is a big deal. Stopping to help another cyclist is a big deal. Insulting someone is not nice. Seriously.

Not having the means to repair or replace your tires? Not a serious cyclist in my book

livedarklions

Nah, getting a sarcastic comment as a reward for offering help is pretty damn offensive. Seriously so, even.