Cellphone coverage in California's national parks and more

We all know that, unless you have a hands-free device, you can't use your cellphone in your car anymore, at least in California.

Well, want to know where else you can't use your phone? Then check out this handy article from Sunday's Times, which compares mobile phone reception in California's big national parks, including Yosemite, Sequoia, King's Canyon, Death Valley and Joshua Tree.

Just want to know the bottom line (courtesy of staff writer Alana Semuels)?

Our conclusion: If you're buying a mobile phone just for the reception in the wilderness, go for Verizon Wireless and stay away from T-Mobile. Although your best bet is probably to get a homing pigeon.

Curious about how your cellphone service is performing within L.A.'s urban jungle and where the "dead zones" are? Once again, Semuels has you covered, and better than T-Mobile, apparently.

--Liam Gowing

Photo of Mojave phone booth by the Associated Press

A crash course on first aid's secret weapon

I'm lying on the couch while I type this. Bleeding.

About an hour ago, I flipped over the handle bars of my mountain bike just outside Will Rogers State Park in Pacific Palisades.

I was really lucky. I had almost stopped, my helmet was securely in place and five minutes before I'd thrown on a lightweight jacket to cover my arms.

Still, I'm bleeding.

My left arm looks like a raspberry and I know it's going to be stiff tomorrow. You know the drill. Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. Secret weapon.

Secret weapon? That would be a tube of Brave Soldier Antiseptic Healing Ointment. It's like Neosporin on steroids — but you won't get disqualified from your next triathlon. I started using it a couple of years ago and never travel without it. It soothed me after a horrible case of poison oak. My roommate used it to prevent scarring after a major surgery. It's also great on smaller things such as paper cuts and badly chapped lips.

This is the first time I'll use it on a mountain biking injury, but that's exactly what the product was developed for. It was formulated by a doctor and a mountain biker; road rash was their common enemy.

At $12 for a 1-ounce tube, Brave Soldier is pretty steep. But so are those hills. What's a scar-free outdoor lifestyle worth to you?

You can find Brave Soldier at a number of high-end retailers. If Kitson and Montage aren't gritty enough for you, there also are a couple of bike shops that carry the product or you can just order online.

—Adam Rose

For an update and post-crash photo, click "Read more" (not serious, but also not for weaker stomachs).