Words to the wise: Ride with a buddy

All of this writing notes and directions is all very sensible but takes away a lot of the spontaniety (?) when riding in new areas. There's no right answer for that but given my tendancy to follow interesting trails to see where they lead SAR would have a difficult time finding me even if the knew my planned route…so instead I ride within my limits when I cant find a riding buddy

you can send texts with the sat phone and from what I understand inmarsat has way better consistency than globalstar which is what spot runs on. you can also send your gps coords like a spot.

two reasons that I want to buy some form of sat device

1. emergency
2. to let my family know where im at when I eventually spend the night in the woods or on a glacier. to me the OK button dosnt cut it so the spot connect is the only option. I want to be able to communicate my situation.

…

if you send the OK on the spot and it doesn't go through (which happens a fair bit apparently) you have no way of knowing. same with the sos

I have the Connect, upgraded from the 1st gen unit a couple of months back. The new unit has the improved flexibility of texting, you can pre-prog up to 14 messages, or pay extra to be able to send arbitrary texts, something like $0.30/msg. They have added an acknowledge LED so you can in fact tell if your message went out and how many times (it tries up to 3 times, communicates success back to the smartphone). The SOS button is covered, would be fairly hard to set off by accident.

Biggest advantage over a sat phone I'd imagine is size. I haven't looked at sat phones in a long time, but they ain't cellphones. Connect is light, tiny, and pretty indestructible. Also you can purchase the "track" option for an extra $50/yr or so, which has the advantage of telling folks where you are, whether you are conscious enough to push a button or not. I usually set [HTML_REMOVED] forget it, and if I'm way overdue, there will be a track whether I'm conscious or not.

I'm happy with it, decent compromise between peace of mind and over the top paranoia.

KF

I've been on a bike my whole life, but most activities are pretty group orientated. I've often got nervous about going to the skate park on my own, but now that I venture into the mountains as well I definitely think about the worst possible scenario. The one time I went to Fromme solo I found myself taking it easy. The Morgman suggested sending a text to a loved one as you head up the mountain and letting them know what trails you intend to ride…advice I've followed ever since.

All of this writing notes and directions is all very sensible but takes away a lot of the spontaniety (?) when riding in new areas. There's no right answer for that but given my tendancy to follow interesting trails to see where they lead SAR would have a difficult time finding me even if the knew my planned route…so instead I ride within my limits when I cant find a riding buddy

Riding within your limits is good advice. Unfortunatly, I suck so my limits are very low.

When on solo xc rides near town - the I am done work I have an hour or two and I need to blow of some steam rides- I just do a few simple things.

1. leave info with my wife as to whereabouts I will be riding and when I expect to be back.

2. my wife has the code to my find iphone app (I know I will never be able to have an affair). If I am late she will know fairly accurately where I am.

Of course, this only works when I am in cell coverage and assumes I haven't smashed the phone in the crash. I have tested it on most of the xc trails close to town and it seems to work.

For sure on many on my rides I end up riding a different route than what I might have indicated to my girlfriend, or the note on my windshield. It's all about reasonable precautions.

If you're thinking ahead, being safe, and letting people know what you're up to then you have a better chance of being found it you get hurt out there by yourself. Even if I was off my planned route, on most of the local mountains I'd still be within a search range.

The iphone idea is good.

Thanks to the avy course I took a few years back I ride with a Fox40 distress whistle on my shoulder strap which should be reachable under just about any circumstance short of total paralysis.

On the giving side of help I've recently increased the size and scope of my first aid kit and included more food, a lighter, knife, led light and space blanket.

In the winter pack an extra poly shirt and longjohns in a ziplock bag stuff it in the bottom of your pack. I also have a rain jacket

I ride with a Fox40 distress whistle on my shoulder strap which should be reachable under just about any circumstance short of total paralysis.

A whistle is a great idea since it doesn't take as much effort to blow and yelling does, and it's a piercing sound that travels well. They're small, and easy enough to pack along that it's a no brainer to bring one along.

This thread has got me thinking about riding alone. I love the solitude, but there is a danger in what we do. And I'd sure hate to end up wandering around the bush half naked at this time of the year…..

And I'd sure hate to end up wandering around the bush half naked at this time of the year…..

C'mon … it would depend on whose bush it is.

Some great advice here. Thanks to all the well-wishers, I seem to be mostly okay with the occasional short-term memory lapse. Some scary stuff, indeed.

I've now purchased a Spot. I was on the fence before, but this incident and some of the responses here pushed me over on that decision.

Some great advice here. Thanks to all the well-wishers, I seem to be mostly okay with the occasional short-term memory lapse. Some scary stuff, indeed.

I've now purchased a Spot. I was on the fence before, but this incident and some of the responses here pushed me over on that decision.

on sale on-lline at REI. with a $50 rebate

SPOT trackers are a lot of piece of mind for $99/year. My wife bought me one years ago as I am often out alone, especially in the winter. It can take a while to get a message out sometimes but it always works.

It's always knocking around in my pack. Tough little units. I've replaced the lithium batteries once in five years, not because they needed it but just out of prudence.

Mine has limited communication (OK, help, 911) but the new ones can do a lot more.

The real-time tracking is an overlooked feature that sat phones can't do. I use that a lot when we're really out in the bush.

b/c of my schedule i ride a fair bit solo as well and when i do i almost never tell anybody the details of my ride. the're nothing wrong with riding solo, one just has to be smart about it; easier trails, less sketchy lines and stay within your comfort level. anything can happen on any trail, but if you're pushing close to your limit riding solo then eventually you're going to ask for trouble. if you're solo and still want something difficult then work on picking cleaner lines, being smoother and heaven forbid even try technical climbing which well help make you a better descender.

I second this, because of my own odd work hours/weeks/months if I didn't ride solo I wouldn't ride much at all. Most of my riding is in the morning/early afternoon when most people with regular jobs are working and now a simple text at a trail-head to anybody who has a clue about what or where I may be riding and follow up when I'm opening a post ride beer at home provides a bit of comfort to everyone.

A couple of years ago one of my best friends had a silly little accident while riding solo on Pipeline that led to a week in a drug induced coma. Fortunately his crash was in the evening and there was an abundance of Good Samaritans that came to his aid. It was a real eye-opener for many of us and led to the the simple text notifications. Thankfully my worst accident has occurred when riding with a group on a trail that I wouldn't consider riding solo(or again for that matter) but that certainly doesn't mean that it couldn't happen on a lower key trail on my own.

Riding solo on the trails is certainly a risk I take but am comfortable with, while conscious of it all times I try to avoid the stupid stuff especially when tired and just try not to think of the consequences… Just that there is adequate cell coverage for that text.

Riding solo on the trails is certainly a risk I take but am comfortable with, while conscious of it all times I try to avoid the stupid stuff especially when tired and just try not to think of the consequences… Just that there is adequate cell coverage for that text.

just a little fyi on the "stupid stuff" - it doesn't have to be stupid, just one little slip on a wet root on a fairly basic trail you've ridden a hundred times, and you end up smashing/breaking your nose on an old stump. not that this happened to me or anything …

problem with me is, i'd still have to find my own way home - my guy doesn't have a car. which is why i carry my bus pass for emergencies.

The iphone idea is good.

Thanks to the avy course I took a few years back I ride with a Fox40 distress whistle on my shoulder strap which should be reachable under just about any circumstance short of total paralysis.

On the giving side of help I've recently increased the size and scope of my first aid kit and included more food, a lighter, knife, led light and space blanket.

If you weren't selling your delirium we would be even more similar. I second the whistle on the shoulder strap, as well as a FA kit, Petzl e-light, lighter, space blanket and knife.

I like the idea of the Spot though, as the wife gets annoyed with my solo night rides.

Didn't think of using the iPhone app but I think that's worth having as a backup as well.