Thanks, CAA!

My new CAA Plus membership came in the mail last week, and right on its heels, this announcement posted by Bikingtoronto.com ...

Thanks Rhain for sharing. Hopefully I never need it, but in case I do, I'll be sure to include my card in my kit along with my cell phone. I'm sure my dad will continue to just call Kim.

Here's the article:

The Canadian Automobile Association of South Central Ontario is starting a service called "Bike Assist", which provides assistance to CAA members when they are out on their bikes:

As Ontarians make a shift towards a greener lifestyle and with more and more commuters using their bikes as their main vehicle for transportation during the summer months, we’re introducing CAA Bike Assist, roadside assistance for your bike. If you run into a problem that cannot be fixed on the spot, CAA will tow you and your bike to wherever* you need to go. It’s available as part of your membership 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Members will not have to pay extra to be eligible for Bike Assist as it will now be a new permanent benefit for existing Members!

This is obviously excellent for CAA members who also bike (remember, not all cyclists are crazy cycling extremists – I’d say most cyclists in Toronto are also drivers, pedestrians and transit users), but also people who don’t own cars.

The basic CAA membership will run you $72 per year, or $6 per month. With that, you get 24/7 roadside assistance and up to 4 “tows” of up to 10 km.

If you do a lot of touring and what extra kilometres, $113 per year with CAA Plus gets you 4 “tows” of up to 200 km.