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Phone numbers

Aron B

Maximum Pace
Mar 24, 2012
351
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Yesterday, on the way to and during the great Temple loop ride, we had once again two separate occasions where we really would have been helped out by calling the right person, but nobody had that person's phone number.

I think it would be beneficial if there were a place on this forum where people can leave their mobile phone number, but I appreciate that most would not have this information open to the public. There is already an option to show 'Contact Info' to 'Registered Members' only, under Privacy options. However, I don't see a field to leave a phone number.

Perhaps this can be integrated in the new website upgrade? Preferably there would be a mobile-accessible page where to quickly find a number, too.
 
Aron - Thanks for starting this thread. After yesterday's events, I was thinking of exactly this same concept throughout today. It was frustrating not being able to call ahead to the group to advise them of our delay in getting out to Ome and, worse still, being separated from Mark and not being able to have contact to confirm he was well. All in all, thankfully nothing worse happened.

Perhaps the right solution would be to have the ride leader and one or two marshals PM their numbers before each ride? I'm sure there are any number of ways we could do this to improve our safety.

Tom
 
This works if the area actually has phone reception. Otherwise, it's a good idea to carry a piece of chalk. I didn't have mine today and couldn't communicate to Pete where / time I was. Grrr!
 
One easy way to handle that via vBulletin (the forum software used by Thomas) is to create a forum section that only registered users have access to. Then we could start a thread there. This would keep search engines and other bots out.

It would be a good idea to at least get the number of the ride leader before you leave home (on the private Half Fast mailing list that's always part of ride announcements).

Mind you, on a lot of mountain roads there is no network coverage, especially if (like me) you're a Softbank customer, whose network is still more sparse than DoCoMo and au. When Mark and I were up on Takayama, I had no reception either, though I still had the GPS map on my Android smart phone (as did he on his Garmin), so we could figure out where the nearest station was and how to get there.
 
This works if the area actually has phone reception.

This was the case for me on Saturday, as when I took the wrong turn at the summit I tried called Deej but there was no signal...This might have been the case for Mark, too, as the puncture happened just after this (right?)

If heading out to the west side, I always try to make sure I have the # of the organizer at least, more in case I'm held up by traffic than for any other reason. In this way I've collected the numbers of a few regulars over the years.

(EDIT: Typed too slow; Joe already made the same points I did, so never mind! :))
 
First of all I agree 100% with Aron that we should exchange numbers for those who want to. I'm not sure technology wise how this could be achieved - there are certainly people more qualified to comment on that than me but next time I'll definitely make an effort to a few grab a few numbers ( and whilst we're on the subject of the site, Thomas, thank you for the continued work on the site )

There are spots where there is no/sparse phone reception so the Garmin does the job (badly - but thats another Garmin related discussion) to navigate back to the nearest station. Chalk, another TCC tip ! Chalk wrapped in a 1000 yen note (see Ome temple loop for context on the 1000 yen note :) )

Sometimes the basics are the best.
 
All my Japanese riding buddies use Mixi for this. We have a thread on mixi with our address, phone number, blood type etc.
Should one of us have an accident the information is easily found.

I even copied the thread into an email for myself and can do a search on gmail for the information.

With my Tokyo Golf team I have all this info on a google document.
Only accessible to those who contribute info to it and are allowed to see it.

google docs may be a good place to start.
 
Thanks for bringing this up, Aron.

Yes, knowing the contact details would have made the meet up easier yesterday. We'd usually group and start our rides in a place with phone reception, so sharing phone numbers (somehow) would be a solution.

We'll probably need other tools or ways of communication to deal with losing each other in the mountains with less/no network coverage, but still, phones come in handy once finding the place with reception.

There may be an application for smartphones to locate designated members...there's some for boat/yacht on sea. Still, the use would be limited to iPhone/Android/other major smartphone users so nothing almighty...
 
I've created a shared document on Google Docs and PMed you all a link. If that sounds like a good idea, maybe we can add our details and share the URL by PM as needed.

EDIT: Thanks for the improved format, Owen!

Ask me or Owen by PM if you need the URL.

And if it works out, maybe we can sticky this thread or a fresh related post in the "Unofficial Tours and Short Runs" section where it would be needed most?
 
The Google Docs file is a good way to go.

I have made it look nicer and it is ready for anyone to use now.

Only thing I would say, is when you use the Google Docs file, be mindful not to delete anything from it by mistake, as it is open for anybody to edit.

I suppose we could just give editing rights to a single person, and have them put all the info on the Docs file. Anybody with the link will be able to view, of course.

What do you reckon?
 
Owen, I've given you explicit edit access, so we could change anonymous access by link to "view only" (if preferred) while either of us could add details (e.g. sent by PM).
 
Right that is good. Should prevent any mishaps.

OK, so if anybody wants to put their details on this document, please PM Joe or me your info;

We need;

Real Name
Username
Email (one that will go to your phone)
Phone Number

I will then put you on the list and give you a link to the document, so you can see and collect all the other members contact details.

Your info will not be publicly available, and only the other people on the list will be able to see your info.

Cheers
 
While I haven't used the WhatsApp messenger, I have both Skype and Line (by Naver) installed on my Android. While any of these should be usable while there is network availability, I would consider this:

1) You can't get more cross-platform than regular phone calls. Any phone will work as long as you got the number, no need to pre-install specific software that may or may not be compatible with your phone. Should be able to use SMS too.

2) My experience with Skype was that it is a heavy weight app. It sucks battery power like there's no tomorrow, which is why I don't leave it running but only launch it if I want to use it immediately. Other chat apps may be more efficient, but all need to do a certain amount of polling to appear responsive, unlike regular call usage.
 
1) You can't get more cross-platform than regular phone calls. Any phone will work as long as you got the number, no need to pre-install specific software that may or may not be compatible with your phone. Should be able to use SMS too.

I have to agree with Joe on this one especially SMS. Unlike a few years ago, SMS was limited to same company within Japan but that restriction is now removed. We should be able to do SMS between Softbank and Docomo, not free but cheaper than voice. More reliable when going in and out of cell wireless coverage. Notification sound can be distinct also for SMS but nothing can beat the endless RING of voice calls for folks in distress.
 
Why not use RAPHA Rendezvous? - a smart phone application that does exactly what you need but tells other riders in the group exactly where you are and how long its going to take - not only that but if the worse case happens riders can findd you.
 
I have to agree with Joe on this one especially SMS. Unlike a few years ago, SMS was limited to same company within Japan but that restriction is now removed. We should be able to do SMS between Softbank and Docomo, not free but cheaper than voice. More reliable when going in and out of cell wireless coverage. Notification sound can be distinct also for SMS but nothing can beat the endless RING of voice calls for folks in distress.

Who uses SMS anymore?! Gmail all the way; far superior, and free.
 
Sorry for chiming in late and briefly (long weekend travelling), but Owen brought up this topic a while ago.

We can create a dedicated page here on the TCC website where registered members can enter their details and which - for reasons of privacy - can only be accessed by members that belong to a certain user group. The Google Doc option could be used as an additional backup.

I'm not in favour of smartphone apps, as many members still rely on conventional mobile phones.
 
Who uses SMS anymore?! Gmail all the way; far superior, and free.

Well, gmail is popular but does cover 100% of population. Especially in big rides like this, I notice that not everyone uses smartphone and we don't have to force people and they have their own choices. The lowest common denominator is phone numbers (which has SMS be default), then phone mails.
 
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