AAA gears up to give roadside assistance to members on bikes
By Andrea Damewood
The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Saturday, Jul 11, 2009
The routine is nothing new to millions of drivers on America's roads: Got a blowout? Call Triple A.
But as of this month, AAA - yes, the American Automobile Association - is allowing its members using pedal power to do the same.
AAA of Oregon/Idaho has become the first AAA club in the country to offer roadside assistance for cyclists, spokeswoman Marie Dodds said.
Should any of the club's 436,000 AAA Plus, RV Plus and Premier members happen to be on two wheels and get a flat, break a spoke or bust a wheel, a truck can be sent to their aid, she said.
The trucks, either owned by AAA or by a tow truck company that has a contract with the club, will give the rider and his broken-down bike a lift anywhere within a 25-mile radius anytime, day or night, Dodds said.
"We've already had a few calls," she said. "And now that our members are getting word about it, I expect we'll have quite a few more."
The service drivers aren't equipped to make most, if any, repairs, because different bicycles require a multitude of varying parts, she said.
And no, they won't bring you a Power Bar if you run out of "gas."
"If you're calling for an energy bar, we probably won't be there for that," Dodds said. "If you pull over because you're too tired to drive, you're not going to call Triple A. You can't just call because you bit off more than you can chew."
The service's announcement, which was made official Thursday after a soft launch July 1, was met by a mostly incredulous local cycling community.
"That's kind of interesting: the American Automobile Association getting involved with bike services," said Shane Ayrsman, owner of Revolution Cycles in Eugene. "They're going to have to rebrand themselves."
He said that sending a big diesel truck out to pick up one cyclist and his bike seems counter-intuitive as far as the environment.
"They need to have some sort of bio-fueled smaller vehicle or hybrid, or they're going to offend some people," he said, laughing.
Dodds said AAA and the tow companies with which it contracts have small, light-duty trucks that will typically be called into service. A large diesel tow truck will be sent only if it's already on the road nearby.
Membership in AAA Plus is $105 for the first year; basic membership, which starts at $66, does not qualify for the service.
Ayrsman - an AAA member himself - pointed out that a repair kit, tire levers, tube and pump will run in the neighborhood of $60.
Gary Cook, ride director for the Greater Eugene Area Riders, said he and his crew can fix most anything themselves.
"In the rare situation where a person on a bike really can't get home, if they're stuck somewhere, they can call home just as easy as they call a tow truck," he said.
However, Cook did say he's come upon some pretty stranded folks out in the boonies.
"When we go out to ride, we go prepared," he said. "So the ones that would be most likely to need that service was somebody who was completely unprepared."
"If you're calling for an energy bar, we probably won't be there for that."
- Marie Dodds, spokeswoman, AAA of Oregon/Idaho
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/updates/16922415-55/story.csp
By Andrea Damewood
The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Saturday, Jul 11, 2009
The routine is nothing new to millions of drivers on America's roads: Got a blowout? Call Triple A.
But as of this month, AAA - yes, the American Automobile Association - is allowing its members using pedal power to do the same.
AAA of Oregon/Idaho has become the first AAA club in the country to offer roadside assistance for cyclists, spokeswoman Marie Dodds said.
Should any of the club's 436,000 AAA Plus, RV Plus and Premier members happen to be on two wheels and get a flat, break a spoke or bust a wheel, a truck can be sent to their aid, she said.
The trucks, either owned by AAA or by a tow truck company that has a contract with the club, will give the rider and his broken-down bike a lift anywhere within a 25-mile radius anytime, day or night, Dodds said.
"We've already had a few calls," she said. "And now that our members are getting word about it, I expect we'll have quite a few more."
The service drivers aren't equipped to make most, if any, repairs, because different bicycles require a multitude of varying parts, she said.
And no, they won't bring you a Power Bar if you run out of "gas."
"If you're calling for an energy bar, we probably won't be there for that," Dodds said. "If you pull over because you're too tired to drive, you're not going to call Triple A. You can't just call because you bit off more than you can chew."
The service's announcement, which was made official Thursday after a soft launch July 1, was met by a mostly incredulous local cycling community.
"That's kind of interesting: the American Automobile Association getting involved with bike services," said Shane Ayrsman, owner of Revolution Cycles in Eugene. "They're going to have to rebrand themselves."
He said that sending a big diesel truck out to pick up one cyclist and his bike seems counter-intuitive as far as the environment.
"They need to have some sort of bio-fueled smaller vehicle or hybrid, or they're going to offend some people," he said, laughing.
Dodds said AAA and the tow companies with which it contracts have small, light-duty trucks that will typically be called into service. A large diesel tow truck will be sent only if it's already on the road nearby.
Membership in AAA Plus is $105 for the first year; basic membership, which starts at $66, does not qualify for the service.
Ayrsman - an AAA member himself - pointed out that a repair kit, tire levers, tube and pump will run in the neighborhood of $60.
Gary Cook, ride director for the Greater Eugene Area Riders, said he and his crew can fix most anything themselves.
"In the rare situation where a person on a bike really can't get home, if they're stuck somewhere, they can call home just as easy as they call a tow truck," he said.
However, Cook did say he's come upon some pretty stranded folks out in the boonies.
"When we go out to ride, we go prepared," he said. "So the ones that would be most likely to need that service was somebody who was completely unprepared."
"If you're calling for an energy bar, we probably won't be there for that."
- Marie Dodds, spokeswoman, AAA of Oregon/Idaho
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/updates/16922415-55/story.csp
