First, I don’t watch a whole lot of news. I believe that they promote fear. We have enough of that in our society. That being said, bad things can and do happen – every single day.
A couple of weeks ago my friend Raland told me about one of his friends. This friend of a friend if you will lives down on the coast and was out running. And a bad thing did happen. He was hit by a city bus. To make matters worse he was unconscious for several hours and even when he came to he was very confused. He was out running, very much in the same manner that I do, without any identification. No one knew who he was. It was more than 5 hours before the medical personal could contact anyone that knew this man. This scared Raland.
I can image that Raland thought about all of the activities that he participates in and what would happen. Who would contact his wife? Can you imagine the concern of your loved ones if you were out on a run or ride and did not return?
Now, if something happened on one of our group rides - I mean, I know Raland – he is a friend of mine. I know his bike, his car, what kind of job he has, his email address and his cell phone number. But I would not be able to contact any of his family. Raland bought a Road ID bracelet that night. He has been wearing it ever since. I thought that was a pretty good idea.
When I ride I carry my driver’s license and my insurance card. However, when I run I do not carry anything. I normally don’t have any pockets. I have always run this way – here in my own backyard and when I travel. Thinking back, this is not very smart – running around a strange big city where no one at all knows who you are.
Like I said, I am not trying to promote fear in any way shape or form – but I am trying to promote safely! I contacted a marketing company and told them that I would like to review the Road ID and give one away. They agreed wholeheartedly. Just to be clear – I ordered a Road ID bracelet free of charge. I only agreed that if I reviewed the item that I would be completely honest. They did not encourage me to write anything positive or negative about the product. Here is my experience.
The Road ID come in a nice tin.
There are actually quite a few products on the Road ID website –
click here. They have the original Road ID which is a made from a nylon strap type material. It also has two reflective stripes. This was the Road ID that I had seen before and the type that Raland purchased. However, I sweat like a son of a gun – I mean when I am done with a bike ride my gloves are soaked through – and the next day they don’t smell so sweet.
So I found another Road ID product – and this one is said that it might be the sexiest Road ID in the lineup – The Road ID Elite. Well, I am always down for more sexy.
I quickly received the bracelet in the mail. It arrived in a neat metal tin – like a fossil watch tin. There were also easy to understand instructions on cutting the band to fit. The bracelet constructed with a hard rubber band material and a metal watch clasp. The rubber material is wider than a livestrong bracelet but not stretchy at all. There are grooves on the back of the bracelet that you use to cut to size. The directions say to cut one section at a time and try the fit. This was not difficult. The website says that it is stylish enough from the bike to the board room. Since I am not in the boardroom very often I opted for the Road ID in RED.
Well written instructions
The give you 6 lines of editable text on your Road ID bracelet. They have several templates that give you ideas of the types on information that you should include. I include my name, year of birth, city, two personal contacts, an allergy and I still had run to promote a website. They also had some humorous examples for the last line like – “NEVER GIVE UP” and “IF FOUND TREAT WITH BEER”. I considered one of my running mantras but went with a website. You can also opt for an Interactive Road ID. The interactive version lists only your name and location. Below that there is a toll-free telephone number for Road ID as well as a website. This is an updatable secure Emergency Response Profile (ERP). The ERP can contain a lot more information than the 6 lines of text on the Road ID. The first year of the ERP profile is included with the purchase of the bracelet; however, after the first year it is $9.95 a year. Pretty cheap but I hate reoccurring costs so I opted for the regular Road ID. I believe that the information is sufficient in an emergency.
The laser engraving on the Road ID is crisp and clear. They also claim that it is extremely durable. In fact they offer a “ROCK-SOLID, USPER DUPER GUARANTEE”. If you are tough enough to wear out the stainless steel, laser engraved ID, just return it and they will send you a new one (same text).
Now, I am not much of a jewelry type guy- no rings, necklaces, bracelets, piercings, etc – but I have been wearing this Road ID everywhere. The buckle operates easily - I have only been taking it off for showers and sleep. The engraving seems durable and the bracelet is comfortable.
The Road ID Elite - numbers blurred to protect the innocent.
I do have one major concern. Last week, since I am playing and not training right now, during a racquet ball game the bracelet flew off on my wrist! Now, I am the type of baller that swings wildly and with very little grace. I did not even notice that it was gone. The person that I was playing with handed me the Road ID. There is a watch pin that holds the clasp together. It was gone. We looked for a few minutes around the court but could not find it. I am a resourceful guy. When I got back to my office I used a paper clip to replace the watch pin. I cut it to size and beveled the ends of the paper clip with a file. Now, this Road ID is going nowhere. However, this did make me think about an accident. Would it stay in place? Was the flying off of my wrist just a fluke? I know that the nylon bracelet with the hook and loop fastener would stay put. I mean, I have stuff attached to my bike and it says put. I do not think it is a flaw in the product but a watch clasp is more vulnerable than a strap. I am not trying to blow this out of proportion – I think the chance of the bracelet coming apart is very low. But if this is a concern then you might want to consider the original Road ID.
Road ID on the wrist
Here is how to enter the contest (you can receive up to 4 entries)
1. Leave a comment on this post prior to midnight (CST) on Saturday, July 24th
2. Be a follower or become a follower of this blog. There is a button to the right on the side bar.
3. Mention this contest on your blog.
4. Tweet the following on your twitter account - click here:
I just entered the @RoadID giveaway at http://hubcitytri.blogspot.com
Let me know the number of entries that you qualify for in your comment. You can still leave a comment even if you do not have a blog. So that I can identify you, comment something like – “I don’t have a blog yet but I did leave a comment and I tweeted about it – I am good for two entries – Dan the Man from Hattiesburg”.
- Contest open to US and Canadian residents.
- You may comment now (on THIS post) through midnight Central time on Saturday, July 24th. I will post the winner on Monday, July 26th.
- The winner will be chosen at random by a random number generator, drawing numbers out of a hat, or other random selection process.
- Check back this Monday (July 26) to see if you won! (Especially if you don’t have a blogger account because I have no way of contacting you.)
- If I don’t hear back from the winner within 2 days after posting that they’ve won, I’ll draw another name and give the prize to someone else.
Road ID is also also having a contest. Check it out to win a 2011 Team RadioShack replica Trek Madone 6.9SSL plus a whole lot more -
LINK.
