Phone, cash, GPS
Phone, cash, GPS
The phrase du jour among cyclists addicted to a certain GPS ride tracking services is “if it isn’t on Strava, it didn’t happen”.
How then to record your ride when your trusty GPS device is discharged, or still plugged into your laptop? Most Strava addicts, or those who analyse ride data with other tools like Garmin Connect, are in the habit of connecting their devices as soon as they get in from the ride – the earlier to check KOMs. Remembering to remove it, however, can be a greater challenge than topping the leaderboard, so add your bike computer to your ‘ready to ride’ checklist.
Smart phone apps to record ride data are becoming more readily available, but carrying a mobile phone is a sensible measure, whether or not you access its more advanced facilities to assess your performance. The ability to contact a significant other should mechanical failure – or worse – strike, is hard to overstate. Even the most picturesque village is now frequently sans telephone kiosk, and those that remain have often had their working innards stripped by BT cost cutters. The long and winding road that lies between you and rescue is significantly reduced by a phone call. Put a phone on your checklist and in your pocket.
To the cyclist, reports that we live in an increasingly cashless society are likely to seem exaggerated. Try diving into a rural outlet for an emergency chocolate bar to stave off ensuing bonk and producing a bank card to discover just how valued hard currency remains to the small shopkeeper, baker, or café owner. Emergency taxi rides home when your faithful steed stubbornly resists roadside repair are also likely to be conducted with better spirit when cash is in the offing.
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