If you're an athlete reading this blog and you DON'T know what a RoadID is, FAIL. GIANT FAIL ON YOU.
A RoadID is, simply put, what it says. An ID you wear while you're on the road. Or at work. Or sitting on the couch. Mine has my name, year of birth, place of residence (city/state/zip), two contacts (my mom and the hubby) and a motivational phrase ("the only way out is through." duh.). Brandon's has his bee allergy. The one I bought for my dad says he's allergic to sulfa and has sarcoidosis (although I should get him a new one that says he's got heart issues, too).
I wear one because I run and ride and put myself at risk (crashing occasionally). While I don't often ride alone, I do run alone quite a bit and if something happens to me, I want people to know who I am. I don't want to be some random Jane Doe; I don't want my family to worry about me.
I bought one for my dad because he walks a lot. Yes, he usually brings his wallet, but what if that got stolen? Dad has a drug allergy - if something happens to him while out walking, I want medical personnel to know that about him.
We put on Brandon's that he's allergic to bees because he is - quite allergic. If he's on the ground puffing up, we want people to know that a bee sting might be the reason why and to get some epinephrine in that kid, stat.
RoadID has a somewhat cheesy tagline (well, their new one, the one they've had for a few years now) - It's Who I Am. Thing is, it's not cheesy; it's true when it comes to us.
We wore ours on our wedding day:
Cutting the cake, the safe way.
They were, predictably, present at Ironman Arizona:
Matching wristbands AND RoadIDs. Gotta always wear the RoadID to athlete check-in to make sure the bracelet fits around it.
In the background on the box on the right, you can kind of see the old slogan - Be Seen Wearing It.
As you can see, my red one is scratched up (but still legible) from my bike crash. I wear it to work every day - I get some crap from it, but there's always the off chance, what-if - what if I'm driving home and I crash and my purse goes flying and the RoadID is the only way of IDing me? Okay, chance in a million, but who knows, right? I also joke that since I've fainted at work before, it's necessary. I also get asked about it enough at work that I find it worthwhile to wear it so I can tell people about how handy it is.
I wear it always when I travel (you can wear it through security!). It really, truly is who I am.
And if you're an athlete of ANY sort reading this - or someone who loves an athlete - please, please consider buying a RoadID for yourself/said athlete. If you have a detailed medical history or a lengthy list of allergies, RoadID sells interactive ones that have a log-in code where paramedics just have to go to a Web site and all the pertinent information is online, right there at their fingertips. You will get treated properly and, most importantly, your loved ones will know you're safe. If you don't like bracelets, they have dog tags, ankle bracelets, shoe pouches/shoe IDs ... check out the site, and you will find something you will like.
RoadID. It's who I am, and it should be who you are, too.
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