For a couple of years now, I’ve ridden my bike wearing a Road ID. The concept behind this thing is really simple and the cost is very low. Basically, it’s an ID tag that can be used to identify you and provide emergency responders with contact information as well as allergy and other important info.

The Road ID is a lightweight neoprene band with an engraved tag that you wear either on your ankle or wrist. It’s lightweight, flexible, and I don’t even realize it’s there.

It’s not limited to bike riders either. Runners, walkers, and anyone who spends any time outdoors should have one.

Twenty bucks can save your life. Get your Road ID right here!

Here’s a summary of the most popular features that you’ll find and what they mean. The more features, the higher the price.

• ECG accurate – The monitor is considered to be as accurate as an electrocardiogram. A monitor from a good quality company will have this as a basic feature. The monitor does this by taking constant readings through the use of a chest strap.

• Large easy to read display – A bright and easy to read display is a joy when you’re trying to see your monitor while on the bike, running, pool, or whatever your favorite exercise. No stopping or squiting needed.
• Target zone alarm – Tells you when your heart is below or above a particular zone.
• Multiple customizable zones – Allows you to determine several zones
• Recording time in zones – Allows you to review the time you’ve spent in certain training zones so you can make sure you’re working hard enough, or that you’re not working too hard.
• Fitness test – Will take you through a fitness test and determine max heart rate, VO2 max, or other tests.
• Calorie measurement – Tracks your caloric expenditure based on your workload, your weight, height, and age.
• Water resistant – This one’s really important. You might not plan to use your monitor when swimming, but you might get caught in the rain or the condensation from your body will exposure the unit to moisture. Make sure your chest transmitter is also water resistant. Once again, if you’re buying from a quality company you won’t have a problem here.
• Lap counting – Allows you to compare your times over laps during your workout.
• Interval programs – Allows you to program the monitor to vary your intensity and alerts you when you increase or decrease the intensity.
• User serviceable – It’s great to be able to change the batteris by yourself rather than having to send the watch or transmitter to a service center. If your monitor is water resistant, this may be a pie-in-the-sky dream as the company will not support a warranty if you change the battery yourself. Water resistant monitors usually have a seal inside that they want to make sure is properly replaced and they’ll only guarantee it if they do it themselves.
• Bike functions – Tracks your bike speed, distance, cadence, and more. Since bike wheels are different sizes and provide different readings, you’ll want your monitor to allow you to switch between multiple bikes (road and mountain bike, for example)
• Computer interface – Connect to your computer to download data. Allows you to compare your workouts and see what progress you’re making. Some will even allow you to create workout profiles on your computer and upload them to the monitor. This is much better than trying to push tiny buttons on the monitor and create a workout.
• Large buttons – Speaking of buttons, I want mine to be a good size so I can activate them easily.
• GPS – The high end monitors from Garmin will give you a color screen that plots your location on a map. If you use the same route regularly, you can store the route and compare your progress today against previous exercise sessions and see how you’re doing.

The Iceman is coming!

“What’s the Iceman”, you ask?

Iceman is a 27-mile point to point mountain bike race that I’ve done nearly every year for the past 20 years.  It’s held in the first week of November, regardless of the weather, and I’ve done it in wind, rain, snow, and less frequently, warm sunny temps.  It draws over 2000 participants to Michigan’s North Woods as one of the largest races in the US.

It’s one of those things that for both me and my family has created good memories that will last a lifetime.  It’s one of those examples of how fitness has made a difference in my life and why I have a passion for helping others improve their fitness so they can create their own memories.

I’ve written about the Iceman before on this blog and in two separate magazines in the Chicago area and Michigan.  Since it’s coming up this week I thought I’d share that story with you again.

Think back to when you were a kid and you got your first bike. Remember that feeling of freedom? The joy of being able to power yourself along to go places you couldn’t go before was amazing, wasn’t it? Think about that time you taught your child to ride their bike as they wobbled on two wheels.

Now, think of how you would have felt if you never got that bike. There are a lot of kids who can’t afford a bike and here someone’s deciding that they’re going to throw one away. What a waste.

Their argument is that by putting it out by the curb, the trash pickers will scoop it up and it will go to use. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that bike that was once your prized posession is on it’s way to become scrap metal. What a waste. That bike could bring a whole new life to a kid. It could give them hope, inspiration, keep them off the streets and give them a goal to work towards. It could help someone get to work. It could make the difference between putting food on the table, or not.

If you’re about throw away a bike just because you no longer need it, don’t do it. Donate it. Take it to Goodwill. Take it to Working Bikes Cooperative in Chicago. Drop it off at the The Recyclery. Or, take it to any one of these places. If that’s too much trouble, contact me and I’ll take care of it for you.

Please, don’t throw it away.

(Photo provided courtesy of Deborah Courson Smith)

Learn more about the Ride of Silence and how you can participate FREE and hundreds of locations worldwide.

Bikes are vehicles too. I personally have been subjected to abuse and dangerous situations from people and their cars who feel that they alone have the right to the road. And, if you think someone putting on makeup or reading the paper is dangerous when you see them from your own driver’s seat, imagine the panic a cyclist feels when seeing that same bozo.

One that brings back the most incredible memories for me was the Four Winds USA Adventure. The race was held in August 2002 in the Wasatch Range, just outside Salt Lake City.

If you’re interested, read on.

(Be ready, it’s a long race and a long story, but it’s fun!)