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Thought before you go

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Smokintoad

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In light of the recent missing biker post>>> Rider missing since Sept. 4th - Harley Davidson Community , it got me thinking.

When folks go on day trips, weekenders, or longer tours, what information is available to family and friends in case of trouble?
How would someone know where you were in that case? Do you tell anyone your basic travel plan before you leave? Do you leave a map of your planned route? Do you call-in to family and friends along the way? Do you communicate trough the internet (forums, twitter, facebook, my space, etc.) as you go? Would anyone know where to look or how? Are there "tools" or safety equipment available to help you be found?

There are some things I do before a ride, but I was curious about what others do. I'm sure there are many great ideas to share.
 
I'll admit, I'm bad about this. My wife knows I'm going to go ride for a couple hours but she has no idea where I'm going. I bring a cell phone but it wouldn't be much help if I went off the road and was knocked unconscious. Of course, the same applies if I went off the road in my car and the same thing happened.
 
Smokintoad, I think you are asking a very important question that perhaps, I for one may not have taken seriously enough. My standard operating procedure is to call the missus at 2000 every day that I am gone. The only problem is not all cell phones work all the time all across the country. I found that out in July ’06 when I took a 5316 mile adventure. The missus knew where I was going, but she didn’t know by which route. I didn’t either! There were a couple of days where I was unable to call her due to no service. As I was going through Colorado, the thought crossed my mind that if I ran off the road, I wouldn’t be found for a significant period of time. I will look forward to see what others do also.
 
I guess I'm still behind times, I tell my wife I'm goin' for a ride, back about XX.
If she goes with me, nobody knows where we are or when to expect us back.
Nobody would know if we didn't come home for days.
I finally got a cell phone, but seldom turn it on. I should be more proactive about it,,,, but,,,,, maybe next ride.
 
Good question. I always carry a cell phone with me but like some others have said you don't always have a signal and if you're unconcious it wouldn't do you any good. The cell phone co. can locate your cell as long as it's turned on and they can ping it. You can set up an emergency contact folder on your cell that authorities can get to and contact someone if you're unconcious and found. With things the way they are in the world today we should do more to let people know where we are going to be.
 
My family can track my BlackBerry via Google Map Latitude. It pinpoints my location on a Google map. It is a free service.

There are also many bike tracking systems that work via GPS being sold now. They can track your bike if it is stolen or show if you crash on some lonely road. Much like OnStar does for a car.

Thanks for that tip. Does this work with any provider?
 
I have ICE (In Case of Emergency) numbers in my phone listed 1-3 as in order of who to call if I'm in an accident. I know most Police, Fire, and Rescue workers know what it means.
 
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