Thanks to the Amgen Tour of California contest-and-sale from Road ID, The Other Half sprung early for part of my birthday present -- the nice, sporty Wrist ID Elite. The "interactive" version features a member-controlled (that means I'm the one who puts the information in it and controls what information is in it) personal health record, which the Road ID folk call an "Emergency Response Profile" or ERP. The ERP can be read by (or read to) a first responder or a hospital admissions clerk from either the Road ID members' site or by calling a specific phone number. The name on the front and the unique serial number on the back of the ID tag provide the necessary access identification. (A separate login is used for each "interactive" member to update his settings.) For many Road ID members, this serves the purpose of something useful and practical to wear while training or playing sports, with personal control over our medical information, and for less than the name-branded MedicAlert. As a "thank you" forour order, the kind folk at Road ID gave me a coupon code to spread, good for the first 20 people who use it between now and June 23. The code "ThanksBrenda757869" will get you $1 off any Road ID order. 

I'm not sure if wearing a Road ID bracelet will resolve the requirement of needing to have legal photoidentification on one's person at all times, but if it means I can keep my state ID and medical insurance card safe while I'm out training, so much the better.

On the side of not-losing my legal ID, I've invested in a small neoprene case intended for small point-and-shoot digital cameras. It just-holds my legal ID, my health insurance card, the new/spare glucometer and lancet device, and a small number of strips (in what would otherwise be an empty vial). I do end up having to go the "one lancet only" route, but it's a short-duration compromise. The new case is about half the size of Abbott's case and fits neatly in my jersey pocket or my jeans pocket. I'm thinking of adding on a strip of suede or Ultrasuede® to one side to make it even less likely to unexpectedly pop out of my jersey pocket.

For the other main safety issues, I checked my brake pads and found that, much to my surprise, they should have been replaced many miles ago. Last weekend I consulted with my local bike shop, and I'm now running SwissStop "GHP II FlashPro" pads on my original brakes. We've once again fine-tuned the rear brake cabling to give me better control -- important in traffic situations where one has to brake with one hand while signalling with the other. (I need to return to have them put a crimp on the cable end.) While there was no visible damage, because of the crash I replaced my helmet with a pretty white Giro "Phase" -- a bit of an upgrade from the silver Louis Garneau "Fast" that I had been wearing. I also replaced my lost CatEye Strada Cadence computer.

Of my intended five sessions this week, I've completed three -- Tuesday morning was used to replace my bank card, and since I was having some issues with my right knee Thursday night, I took Friday as a "rest" day. As of midnight, I was still trying to decide in which order I wanted to take in the Saturday classic of the Tour of Somerville cycling series: the race approaches within a couple of miles of home and I want to cheer on Team Type 1...