After many miles of riding solo, I came across what I consider to be one of the best personal safely devices for anyone who rides the road less traveled. This device is a SPOT personal satellite tracker.

Spot functions are as follows:
Alert emergency responders to your GPS location
Sends and saves locations allowing contacts to follow your progress using Google maps.
Allows you to send an OK message to contacts of your tracks
To request help from your contacts or family
Sends tracking signals even when you do NOT have cell service

These functions not only add peace of mind to friends and families of the traveling rider, but also allows me, the rider to feel safely monitored by those checking in on me via the web to view my latest Spot tracks.

Spot touts a coverage area over most of the globe, including virtually all of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia, portions of South America, Northern Africa, and North-Eastern Asia and hundreds or thousands of miles offshore of these areas. I have found a couple of quirks, however I believe this had more to do with Google Maps than with the Spot.

The Spot can be purchased online at their website, or in a variety of outdoor stores like REI, for $149. You can get a discount with a membership in the AMA for not only the device but the first year of basic service with the additional tracking service, which together are about $150. I believe the AMA membership discounts this to $99 for both for the first year, which is a great savings.

For an additional amount, you can also get device replacement insurance, which for many is helpful.

For the Spot to be most effective it needs to have the Spot logo on the device pointing to the sky. If you are using it in a tank bag, I suggest that you put it in the clear map holder, otherwise you can purchase a Ram Mount to attach to the bike in a variety of ways and Ram products.

I can’t stress the value of this device enough!! I never leave home without it.