Keeping Tempo: 11-5-08

Today's Keeping Tempo is brought to you by Road ID. You'll see their ads on the right side of the site.

Here's the deal with Road ID. Sometimes you ride alone or travel to races alone. And sometimes you find yourself alone on a group ride, because of a flat or an unexpected case of slowness. Most of the time, your ride continues and you make it home, no mishap. But once in a while something happens. A car happens. Or a dog happens. Or a bump in the road while you're no-handed pulling off your wind vest happens. You can count on someone to call 911 and take care of you. But who's going to notify your family, or tell EMTs what meds you are allergic to, or provide your insurance information if you're not as conscious as you'd like to be? Road ID is. And never mind what the site says - you don't need to wear it on your wrist or ankle. I have the smallest wrist size strapped right to my bike, always, where the seat tube joins the seat stays. Never even have to think about it, which is great because remembering to bring bottles and a multitool is taxing enough for me most days.

Here's what's going on:

• Mike Neary has a mess o'galleries from Rockburn CX up on Flickr, including Master's Men, Men 3/4, Women 1/2/3/4 and Lil Belgians.
• Team Cobblestone is talking sponsorship (and looking for it). Should amateur teams get free repairs from a sponsoring LBS? How much should they reasonably expect for the return they're giving?
• Nate Wilson wants to know - what's the ruling on training rides in a skinsuit?
• Good Time Cycling Blog points out that "cyclocross" is not actually a word, but also that "cyclotron" is a poor recommended substitute.
• Bummer about Toyota-United not finding a new title sponsor, unless of course you're in the market for a, well, just about anything from a complete TT bike to a dust-buster from the team van. Everything must go.