On my WestchesterTrails site, I have links to two products I consider essential. One is for a headlamp (well, essential to those who run outside when it’s dark; they’re required on Road Relays).

The other is for RoadID. They were a sponsor of Versus’s coverage of the Tour, which led to the silly sight of guys in a studio wearing the things: “Wait, who collapsed? Oh, his RoadID says it’s Roll, not Liggett.”

This a no-brainer. Runners, Cyclists, Triathletes. There are alot of what-if scenarios. Fortunately I stayed conscious when I broke my elbow last year and I had my wallet with me. But it might have been otherwise. I got one for my mother-in-law, who likes to go for walks, as well. (A Great Gift!)

The new RoadIDs give the option of putting essential medical info on-line. So the one I have has two lines of my text followed by info for EMTs for calling or getting info on-line such as contact info, medical condition, doctor, drugs, organ donor, etc. I have the above on the first line — A-negative blood and no-known-allergies — and phone numbers — home and wife’s cell — on the second. These are the essentials. I wore it in Paris (carrying a hand-written address of our B&B too).

I have an older one that goes on my laces, but the new one is blue and on my wrist, the idea being that it will be easy to see. The same is the case for one on the ankle.

$19.99. The customer service is good; Brandon Wood reports that when he received his it had a loose thread and it was replaced almost before he hung up the phone.

As I said, a no-brainer.