Yesterday I loaded up my mountain bike and went to Hemet to ride around Diamond Valley Lake, one of the largest reservoirs in Southern California.

About 15 minutes after I left my house I needed to get gas. At the pump, as I was trying to pay, I realized I didn’t have my phone with me. I had forgotten it at home.

After a moment of panic I realized that I also had my wallet and I could just pay the old fashioned way with a credit card. Then, while the pump was filling up my truck, I wondered if I should go back home and get the phone. It would add another 30 minutes to my travels, so I decided I was fine without it. I had some cash with me, and what would I need the phone for?

I felt oddly naked stepping back into the car knowing I was “off the grid.” As the day progressed I realized how dependent I was on my phone.

1. I didn’t have my playlists, so there was no music to play in the car. That is not such a big deal, as I mostly drive with silence anyway. But suddenly, when I couldn’t have any music, I craved some.
2. I realized that I usually used Google Maps to find the marina at the lake, and I was not sure which exit to take off of I-215. I did recognize the exit when I got there, but I was a little nervous.
3. Then I got on my bike at the trailhead. The road around the lake is over 22 miles long, much of it a rutted dirt road. It was a cold and drizzly day, so there was nobody out there. I realized as I was riding that in the event that my bike broke down (like a flat tire) I could be 10 miles away from the nearest soul and I would likely have to walk that far, pushing a bike, to get back, worst case, since I had no phone to call for help. I felt exposed.
4. On the drive back there was a terrible traffic jam on the freeway. I was stuck. Since I didn’t have Google Maps, I could not tell how far the traffic jam would go. I was annoyed being in traffic with no information.
5. I thought about pulling off and getting some lunch along the way, and thus give the traffic some time to clear up, but without a phone with my Kindle books to read, being alone in a restaurant with nothing to do but eat, seemed like a boring proposition, so I passed.
6. I kept wanting to call my wife and let her know that I’d be back much later, due to the bad traffic, but I had no phone to call her.

All the points above are fairly benign, nothing bad happened, but it was really strange to be spending the day off the grid.

I think I need to do that more often. On purpose next time. I’ll bring a book.