Motorcycle without phone? Most say No

The tool kit, baling wire and the kindness of strangers have been replaced by the cell phone.

Two-thirds of people who took a moment to respond to our poll "Would You Motorcycle Without a Cell Phone?" answered "No."

I recall reading a comment years ago by a motorcyclist who wrote that he prided himself on always being able to fix anything that broke with the scraps he found alongside the road in Britain.

Bungee cords were such effective fixes in my youth that they sometimes ended up becoming permanent parts of the bike. Duct tape, of course, remains "the universal tool."

But the cell phone is now the universal lifeline. Something gained, I suppose, but also something lost somewhere.