Top three performance apps of the 2014 summer season

So the world of cycling for fitness and touring has been changing  a lot over the past several years. I remember doing a tour in May of 2007 in Northern France with a couple chaps--the same tour that got me so interested in cycling-- at a time when we had to rely on paper maps to figure out where we were. Thirty-percent of the time we were totally confused as to which way to head and for how long. I may have freaked out in a particularly wooded area, looking for lichen on tree-trunks to determine which way was North. Jump ahead to 2014 and we have a bevy of online maps with real-time GPS tracking to assist on longer tours and rides. Not only do our smart phones tells us where we are, they also keep track of the route we've taken, and suggest better routes to get us to where we want to go. There are also many apps that will coach you to ride farther and faster. All I can say is thank God we live in this time.



With that said, here are my top three most frequently used cycling apps this year that will improve your performance, engage you in a more immersive cycling experience, or help you meet up with friends for a great group ride!


This might be a no-brainer for anyone familiar with this app. Map My Ride is an excellent fitness app that keeps track of your location, distance travelled, speed, length of time cycling, topography of your ride and a whole lot more. 

Despite a lot of major perks being included with the MVP version of Map My Ride ($29.99/year or $5.99/month for MVP status), the free version is still exceptionally helpful in giving you a minute by minute breakdown of your speed and topography. The built in music player with this app also plays your favourite biking playlist, but can be disabled so you can enjoy that new album you purchased online, or get rid of distractions completely and listen to the hum of your tires gliding along pavement (or trail). 

Although you can access everything from your mobile, going online opens up the Map My Ride cycling community. Maybe taking a page from the gaming industry, Map My Ride keeps track of achievements and gives you points for your entire ride, or portions of your ride that are more technically intensive --such as a winding downhill stretch-- or brutally taxing --like a continuous two kilometre climb. Check-in online after your ride to see how you stack up compared to other riders in your area!

Keeping with the theme of gaming: are you looking for something a little less performance oriented? Maybe something with an engaging, multi-season storyline? How do you feel about the possibility of being eaten alive by zombies? Although this app is designed for jogging, when I'm suiting-up for a casual ride, I always turn to Zombies, Run! 

With many of the same features of Map My Ride, Zombies, Run! goes a bit further by immersing you in a post-zombie-apocalytic society in which the town you live --Abel Township-- relies on supply-scavenging runners (er... bikers) to rustle up food, medicine, weapons, and most importantly, sports-bras for your growing enclave. While out collecting these vital supplies, you are immersed in a storyline of how Abel came to be, how the zombie apocalypse began and what you can do to possibly find the cure to the zombie plague and save the world. 

Although by no means as comprehensive as the coaching you'll find on Map my Ride, during runs (er... rides) you can toggle zombie chases where your music will tone down and you'll hear the zombie hoard nipping closely at your heels! So apart from live GPS tracking and topography, Zombies, Run! essentially puts you through interval training while you're on your ride (er... run?)

On top of everything, after completing episodes of each season, your Abel Township will be awarded building material for you to build better houses for your citizens, reinforce your walls to keep out the zombie horde, or add playgrounds or farms to keep your citizens happy and well fed. The website is also a great way to track your pace on each of your rides and the topography of your route. There is also an achievement component to Zombies, Run! that rewards you with badges for distance, frequency of runs, supplies collected, and various aspects of building your base (i.e., population, happiness, etc.)

As a gamer, Zombies, Run! is a really great app that got me back into running/biking after a couple years in a fitness slump. Great for solo-riders looking for more engagement on longer rides. But with great app comes great responsibility. Zombies, Run! will cost you $3.99, and each season or fitness-pack ranges from $1.99 to nearly $8. You can also get an all-season pass for $17.99 which will give you access to hours of storyline to enjoy whether you're running or riding.



Let's just say tracking your rides isn't your number one priority. Let's also assume you love riding with a group, but always get a little edgy when Greg's abysmal sense of direction has him showing up late every Sunday. Or let's assume you just popped a flat on a trail in the middle of no-where. You need to give directions to the family on where to pick you up, but in all honesty, you don't have much of a clue of where you are.

If you --or Greg-- fit the mould above, then Glympse is the app you're looking for. This app isn't about tracking and pushing your performance. With only a simple speedometer and GPS tracking, Glympse is a great way to let your family and friends know where you are, or help Greg figure out how to catch up with your group ride because you guys got tired of waiting for him and left 15 minutes ago. 

One of the greatest things about this app is that the person receiving a Glympse doesn't need the app to track your location. All they need is a browser on their smartphone and a link in the text message that is automatically generated by the app. You can dial the amount of tracking-time that a Glympse shares from a single snapshot of where you are to an hour or longer if you're interested in your family and friends tracking your rides in their entirety. Finish your ride early and still have 30 minutes of tracking to go on your Glympse? Use the app to cut short your tracking whenever you want. 

Aside from the cycling applications, I've found this app to be helpful in meeting up with friends or showing people just how late I'm running if I'm due for a meeting. With it's sexy look and intuitive programming, it's been a pretty cool addition to my app-list this year. 

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I hope you've found this helpful! Although these are my top picks and definitely my most used apps related to cycling, there are many more apps out there that will help you perform better or give you something interesting to listen to while you're out riding. Do you use an app that you think needs honourable mention? Leave a note in the comments below! I'm also looking into maintenance apps, so keep your eyes peeled on another top three list from me in the near future.

Happy trails!