Today I had a flat tire on my bike and was very late coming home for a dinner out with my wife.
I was wondering if there was some sort of tracking device I could plant on myself or my bicycle, where my wife could monitor where I am at any moment and my speed of travel. Like today, she could have seen I was traveling at walking speed pretty far from the house.
A hair stylist showed me how she could keep up with the geographic location of her kids with their cellphones. I was wondering if there was a way to do it without a cell phone.
You can get a tracking device to stick to a car. There’s no reason you can’t carry one around if you want to stubbornly refuse to carry a cell phone
Apple Airtag apparently sends out a bluetooth signal. Apple’s info says it is for locating “nearby” things- wallet, keys, etc. Wonder what the range is?
Doesn’t the Airtag rely on other people’s iPhones to locate it? I thought that the way it worked is it locates by connecting to the network via iPhones in the area. So, I could see if you’re not in an area where those with iPhones are going by you, then this wouldn’t accomplish your objective. But I’m not completely familiar with how it works exactly.
Yours is an interesting situation. I can imagine times when having a cell phone wouldn’t help a rider who is knocked out in a crash, or tumbles and loses his glasses or phone, etc. etc. So this is a good question.
I asked on my bike club’s forum if there was a tracking device, and all the suggestions required the rider to carry a cell phone. Annoying that everyone just assumes everyone has a cell phone, despite my explaining your wife has one and you don’t.
Meanwhile, have you heard of Mr. Tuffy? It’s a urethane liner between your tire and tube to prevent punctures. I used it on my fully-loaded touring bike and it worked great. They won’t prevent flats caused by leaks at the valve stem, for example, just punctures from glass, thorns and the like. They come in different widths for different tires. Check amazon or your local bike shop.
Look at the Garmin InReach. For $15 bucks a month you can have it transmit your position every 10 minutes. I use it for flying. No cell phone required. A friend of mine crashed a couple of years ago and ended up in the hospital. He remembered none of it even though he was awake and apparently alert after the crash and in the ambulance going to the hospital. he carries an InReach now so his wife can see where he’s at.
I used a similar product for a while. It was hard to keep centered in the tire. Still got a few flats every now and then. The few bikes I have with skinny, high pressure, flat-prone tires, I will convert to wider tires when the originals wear out. I don’t like anything skinnier than 32.
My husband had a Spot gps locator that he took hiking and climbing so that he could be located and signal for help if needed. Larger than a cell phone, but it is made for use in remote locations.