A quarter?

[HenryA]

Does anyone carry a quarter in your seat bag just in case you need to make a call from a pay phone?

[R3awak3n]

what payphone? I haven't seen one of those in years.

[AngryScientist]

what payphone? I haven't seen one of those in years.

stop!

they are still ALL over NYC. there is one right outside my office building actually.

i do miss the days of payphones actually. i wish they were more widespread still, but to R3's point above, they are very few and far between these days, and carrying a quarter hoping you will run across one if you need it is a dangerous assumption.

[seanile]

i'd very quickly pilfer my seatbag for laundry money if i kept a quarter in there

[Cicli]

Last payphone I spotted was in Moab Ut. Dont get to ride there much.

[cgolvin]

They're still prevalent in NYC because of the value they deliver as outdoor ad inventory. Few other places have the foot traffic density to warrant maintaining the investment.

Seems pretty unlikely that in the places one is least likely to have mobile service there will be a pay phone. That said, I really enjoyed this 99% Invisible episode (https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/mojave-phone-booth/) (believe me, it's relevant to the thread)

[Jaybee]

I carry a $20 in my seatbag in case I run across an awesome cash-only food truck. Cell phone for emergencies, sometimes.

[jruhlen1980]

So I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Gimme five bees for a quarter," you'd say.

[scoobydrew]

I carry a $20 in my seatbag in case I run across an awesome cash-only food truck. Cell phone for emergencies, sometimes.

I keep cash in the bag for this reason as well as for use as a tire boot.

So I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Gimme five bees for a quarter," you'd say.

Great reference!

[FlashUNC]

Is this in case I ride my bike through a rift in the space/time continuum, travel into the past and need to make a call to some quantum mechanics expert so I can get home?

[merckx]

I still carry a dime.

[ntkt10]

You'd probably have a better chance running across a passerby with a cell phone than finding a pay phone.

[charliedid]

I build a fire and send smoke signal or send a telegraph.

[redir]

So I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Gimme five bees for a quarter," you'd say.

Hahahahha! I'm pretty sure I know who said that LOL! It was the same curmudgeon yelling at a clout iirc.

[2LeftCleats]

I don't want the weight penalty.

[dustyrider]

I use them for parking meters or tolls...got to pay the man!

[jruhlen1980]

Hahahahha! I'm pretty sure I know who said that LOL! It was the same curmudgeon yelling at a clout iirc.

I mostly communicate in simpsons quotes.

[R3awak3n]

stop!

they are still ALL over NYC. there is one right outside my office building actually.

i do miss the days of payphones actually. i wish they were more widespread still, but to R3's point above, they are very few and far between these days, and carrying a quarter hoping you will run across one if you need it is a dangerous assumption.

crazy man, I must be going crazy or just don't pay attention to the outside world but I haven't seen one in ages. I know they removed them from subway stations. now I am going to be on the lookout when I walk home tonight.

[cgolvin]

I build a fire and send smoke signal or send a telegraph.

My mini-pump has built in semaphore flags.
Also I can use my front light as an Aldis lamp.
(H/T to Monty Python (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqiUGjghlzU))

[ColonelJLloyd]

A quarter seems like a lot to carry unless this is an extended bikepacking trip or something.

[Blown Reek]

Every time I travel with a quarter, it goes in the fuel filler lid, so therefore it's outside of the car and "I don't know how it got there."

[Nooch]

I still carry a dime.

bag?

[JimmyTango]

Are we sure they only cost $.25?? I swear they are $.35 now...

[beeatnik]

I now have an excuse to take a flicka of the last pay phone on the Mean Streets of South Pasadena.

[Seramount]

only a 100K payphones left in the US, down from 2M in 1999...

one-fifth of those in NY.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/19/news/companies/pay-phones/index.html

[redir]

I mostly communicate in simpsons quotes.

Sometimes it drives my wife crazy :D

[FlashUNC]

I get the need in some sense. How would you be able to respond when your beeper goes off and its urgent?

[jruhlen1980]

only a 100K payphones left in the US, down from 2M in 1999...

one-fifth of those in NY.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/19/news/companies/pay-phones/index.html

Wow if it costs $100k to use a payphone no wonder they all went away!

[Gummee]

I build a fire and send smoke signal or send a telegraph.

That's what burned down half of Sandy Eggo Co in the first fire

Here in the DC area, I doubt you could start a fire 'cause things are so green.

M

[ntb1001]

Think they’re 50cents here

Used to tuck a quarter under the rubber hoods on my brake levers years ago for emergency pay phone calls.

Love having a cell phone nowadays.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[alancw3]

i carry a $20 bill. i guess i would carry a quarter if i thought i was stopping at aldi to shop. :-) i keep a quarter in my van just for that purpose to use a shoping cart.

[charliedid]

The biggest problem I would have with a pay phone is that I no longer know what people's phone numbers are. I know my wife's and my work number but I think that's it.

[jumphigher]

The biggest problem I would have with a pay phone is that I no longer know what people's phone numbers are.

^Yeah that's exactly it for me, too. Plus I literally have not seen a payphone in prolly 20 years, and I say this having lived in multiple cities over those decades..

[Tony T]

Used to, not anymore, but I still have the same 4 quarters in my saddle bag, but haven't seen a payphone in a long time.

[OtayBW]

Phone booths I don't miss. Now mail boxes, that's another thing....

[Plum Hill]

I carry a quarter so I can get a shopping cart at Aldi.

[beeatnik]

I now have an excuse to take a flicka of the last pay phone on the Mean Streets of South Pasadena.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/922/43600179311_4478b88615_b.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/860/43600180161_ff521ee90b_b.jpg

[OtayBW]

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/922/43600179311_4478b88615_b.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/860/43600180161_ff521ee90b_b.jpg
How do you call someone in an emergency? I guess you have to put down your flicka, hop on your bika, don't hit the diska, ride like a mutha....and don't stop to pick up your quarta! :eek:

[beeatnik]

Chapeau, sir, chapeau.

[likebikes]

i carry a $5 folded up inside my patch kit- it can boot a slashed tire, can buy some quick food in a time of need, pay for a transit fare, pay for a beer at a bar or a packy if in dire need

[soulspinner]

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/922/43600179311_4478b88615_b.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/860/43600180161_ff521ee90b_b.jpg

Cant risk the salmonella...….

[vav]

https://media.giphy.com/media/2ZUUz184I0HeM/giphy.gif

[charliedid]

Cant risk the salmonella...….



Or TB


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[gdw]

In Colorado there are areas where there is no cell coverage so some campgrounds and boat landings still have payphones. If you're a bikepacker, rafter, or fly fisherman,
carrying a couple quarters for emergency use makes sense.

[MikeD]

If you can't afford a cell phone, they're giving away free ones in California.

[Drmojo]

my buddy in SF would always carry $100 bill back in 80's--sure came in handy when I crashed and we took taxi to ER!
before Uber, before debit cards....