My, how times have changed

[the Ferret]

The other day I took off for my daily ride. About a mile up the road I felt my left front pocket and noticed I didn't have my phone (always keep my phone on the left front pocket). Thought about going back and getting it but decided no biggie, I was just taking one of my normal 45-60 mile loops. As I was riding, I thought if something happened (1) my wife wouldn't know where I was as I have a tracker app in the phone so she knows where to find me if I run off the road, (2) if I broke down, I couldn't call any friends for help and if necessary (3) I couldn't call AAA for a tow back home or to the shop. Not having my phone was suddenly very disconcerting.

Now, I've been riding for 61 years, ridden thru all of the lower 48 states, 2 provinces in Canada and 5 countries in Europe. I've only had a phone maybe the last 10 years, and the tracker app maybe the last 5 or so. I never worried about being able to be found (I did have one of those orange tracker gizmos for a couple years but got tired of paying the yearly fee), or having to make an emergency call.  Now my world revolved around a cell phone.

Anyhow when I got home my wife was in a panic, was sure an Ohio Highway Patrolman was going to be coming down the driveway to tell her that I had been in an accident somewhere...and was given the stern warning not to ever leave without my phone again

My how times have changed.

[Gone in 60]

I hear ya. Not too long ago, Mrs. and I stopped for lunch on the way to Mom's in north San Diego. We left and about 30 minutes later, she said "Gimmee your phone" as it was easier to grab mine than reach into her purse in the back of the car for hers. Glanced down at the phone holder and realized I had left my phone at the restaurant. We called from her phone, and the waitress had grabbed it and had it waiting for me. Must have been 30 minutes till I got back for it. She said "How did you survive for 30 minutes without your phone?"

Amazing how we can't do without them these days. I have never had a phone mount on a bike, preferring to keep it in my pocket. I stream music and any needed directions into my helmet earbuds. I figured I'd draw the line at having a phone I could look at while I was riding. But, having a Car Play screen on the dash of the BMW work bikes has spoiled me. I'm going to put one on Super Bird. I doubt I'll ride any of the other bikes somewhere I'm not familiar with. But, I'm building up Super Bird to be my fantasy travel bike, and it will be nice to have navigation looking at me, and be able to tap on my Pandora app to change music if I want to. Due to the temperature sensitivity of an iPhone, which likes to shut off if it gets a slight amount of sun on it, I'd rather keep the phone in the frunk on a charger and look at the Car Play screen.

[MagnaRider]

As one of the younger fellows here the phone stuff is pretty nuts. I was lucky my parents absolutely refused to get me a phone until I was 16 with my drivers license. At the time I hated them for it but now I see kids that I went to school with who had an iPod in elementary school and they are glued to technology 24/7 and cannot exist happily without cell service.
We do our annual Canada fishing trip in early June and me and my best friend love it since there is no service up there, so the phone only useful as a camera. We both like it for a good reset from technology. However, it takes me a few days before I get used to it, I'd find myself leaving the campsite to go down to the dock or something and realize I don't have my phone.... then I remember its worthless anyways right now lol

[Lunchbag]

My how times have changed.

I hear you.  The smartphone has changed things pretty quickly.  I was probably the last American to get one.  I was philosophically against the hyper-connectedness created by the cell phone and the weakness that I imagined it fostered in those who depend on it.  I eventually gave in, of course, and there really isn't much choice now.  The world is no longer designed for folks without a smartphone.  You're not going to find a pay phone or a phone book.  If you walk up to a house asking to use the phone, you will probably be viewed with suspicion.

It has affected me also.  I used to pick up hitchhikers and occasionally stop to help a person change a tire, but now I pay little attention to those stopped along the road.  I assume they have a phone and roadside assistance.  It's weird that hyper-connectedness has actually isolated people in certain ways, by reducing the human interactions that used to be part of life.

Of course there are a lot of good things that come from owning a mobile phone.  That's another story.  But yeah, it happened fast.

[Gone in 60]

Here's a first-world problem for you... for the past few days, there's been a worldwide connectivity issue between Siri and Pandora. Meaning up until a few days ago, I was able to say "Hey Siri, play (name a station or artist)" and Siri would find it and play it. This is particularly helpful when you have your head in a helmet for several hours and can just call up any music you want in said helmet without touching or looking at your phone. You can still tap on the Pandora app, scroll around and pull up something from your collection and play it, but that's not super handy when you're riding.

My clue was when both my work and personal iPhones started having the same issue. I have Chat scanning the web for updates, and as of yesterday, it was "sent to the Pandora tech team with an elevated status". So hopefully it will start working again. Meanwhile I have to figure out one Pandora station I like and stick with it for hours. Whahhh.

Smart phones definitely have taken over much of how business works these days. I track my work hours at both the museum and my delivery job on apps. When there's information about a new car or new collection in the museum, I get a link to a drive folder I can study on my phone. And, the blood delivery process is completely app-based. So, prospective riders need not only to be safe and proficient motorcycle riders, but proficient with a smart phone and familiar with how most apps operate. If you can use Uber or Lyft as well as Waze or Google Maps, you can pretty much figure out our operating app. Initially, we assumed that if guys in their 50s were good motorcycle riders, they were probably good with apps and mobile-based navigation, and would be smart enough to quickly pick up how our app works. We were wrong, and so far have had to dismiss one rider who simply couldn't figure it out after a good deal of training and a lot of tries. Another rider still has problems remembering the steps in the process after a month. We're dealing with medical chain-of-custody, so while it's straight-forward, it's also essential to be able to follow the steps involved.

I've developed a detailed training manual, and we put together a video walking through the steps. It doesn't take long to figure out if someone is going to be able to pick it up or not, but we're providing the resources for someone to succeed if he has the capacity to learn it.

To your point, Lunchbag, I used to stop to help stranded drivers, but these days, I assume people have phones and easy access to help. But, I did stop and help someone a few years ago in the desert half-way between Barstow and Las Vegas. I was following him and saw smoke pouring out of what was obviously a rental car. He was cruising at about 80 and was ignoring my attempts to get him to pull over. When the oil filter came tumbling out of the bottom of the car, the smoke stopped a few minutes later and then, of course, the engine seized and the car rolled to a stop. I stopped to help and the the conversation went thus:
"You know why your engine died, don't you?"
"No, do you know why? It was making a loud banging noise. I've had this rental car for a week, and the oil light has been on the whole time."
"The engine ran out of oil and seized. Guess you'll have to call the rental company."
"Oh, I don't have a phone. I lost it a few days ago while I was packing for my drive to Salt Lake City."

When I realized that someone was dense enough to try to drive from L.A. to Salt Lake in a car with an oil light on and no phone, I figured if I just left him there, the buzzards would get him, or someone would just say "hey look over there" and rob him. I gave him a ride to Vegas where they gave him a replacement rental car and he continued on his way.

But yeah, other than that, I don't really pull over for stopped drivers.

[Nachodaddy]

Wow! That is the definition of clueless.

---

The mention of stopping to help change a tire reminds me of something that happened to me long, long ago. I was in the Air Force, assigned to the Hospital at Vandenberg, AFB, near Lompoc, California. Leaving the base one afternoon, I saw a car with three people I knew from the hospital, two ladies and a young man, paralyzed from the waist down, in a wheel chair. They were obviously dealing with a very flat tire. When I walked up asking if I could help, the young man said no, he had already changed the tire for the two very capable ladies, who did not know how to change it. From a wheelchair, using only the upper half of his body, he had loosened the lug nuts, jacked up the car, brought the spare from the trunk, removed the flat tire, set the spare in place and was finishing tightening the lug nuts when I arrived. All while the ladies stood by and watched. He told me he had it under control and thanked me for stopping. As a fair young lady told me once upon a time, long, long ago, "It's not what you have, it's how you use it." The first thing I always do when I get a new car is have my wife help me put the spare tire on. You never know. I am always puzzled by the lack of curiosity shown by folks who look at a light on the dashboard and don't want to know what it is and why it might be important to find out.

[suhawk305]

Got out of bed this morning and realized that I am old.

[Gone in 60]

The last time I pulled over to help a female stopped on the side of the road with a flat tire... As I approached her car, she got out, screaming at me in a language I didn't recognize, and held up what I assume was pepper spray. Haven't stopped since. I will stop if I see a guy physically pushing a dead car out of traffic, but that's it.

I know people mostly meet on apps these days, but in 2005, Mrs. G and I met the old fashioned way, on match.com. Her parents had never seen a computer let alone own one, so we had to come up with a story they'd understand about how we met. I suggested that "You were on the side of the road with a flat at night. I stopped to help, and we fell in love." She replied "No way! My parents will yell at me for letting a stranger approach me at night!"

Never fails, though. When I'm on the Triumph or the Enfield and get a text or call from the boss, I'll pull over to read the text or call him back. The sight of a man on a phone standing next to what looks like an old British bike that must have broken down will always prompt someone to stop and ask if I need help.

[the Ferret]

Got out of bed this morning and realized that I am old.

older than me