I had a brilliant idea this morning. Given the relative sizes and usefulness of cellular phones and GPS units, it won't be long until the mass market is full of devices that integrate both. (I'm sure I'm not the first to think of that, but wait, it gets better...) Here's my idea - for states/regions that wish to ban cell phone use in moving vehicles, or for parents who don't want their kids talking on cell phones as they drive, how about designing the phone/GPS in such a way that if the GPS measures your velocity at, say, above 5 mph it won't allow use of the phone? Could I possibly be the first to think of this? If you think I am and you like the idea, contact me and I'll tell you where to send the check.
2021 Ride the Rockies
In January of 2020, I set my sights on riding Ride the Rockies. After finishing my 5th RAGBRAI in 2019 and riding both the Buffalo Bicycle Challenge and Pedal the Plains that fall, riding the premiere bicycle tour in Colorado was something I wanted to do. As spring approached, I trained, kept my weight down, and then saw my plans change as the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the cancellation of all the summer bicycle tours. Given the choice of a refund or moving my registration to 2021, I moved my registration. Riding the Rockies would have to wait another year. As it turned out, even if the organizers hadn’t postponed RTR in 2020, I wouldn’t have done it. In April, I had shock wave lithotripsy to break up a kidney stone, and in May, I got a deep vein thrombosis in my left calf. (These were unrelated. I’d had bouts with kidney stones for a few years, and, the best I can tell, the DVT was triggered by the abrupt transition from a super-hard Zwift ride in the late evening to sleeping wit