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Working out on your bicycle shouldn’t feel like you’re miserably grinding out long miles all alone. It should be a fun and engaging experience. In fact, for many riders, the combination of fun and exercise is one of the best things about cycling. With this in mind, here are two simple ways to enhance your cycling experience.
1. Use a Cycling App
With a broad range of tools designed to help you track your cycling activity, cycling apps are an excellent way to engage more deeply with your workout experience. Here are some of the best cycling apps currently on the market:
STRAVA
Price: Free with paid upgrades.
Available for iOS and Android.
Strava has quickly become a standard in the world of cycling apps. It keeps track of pretty much every aspect of your ride—route, distance, speed, time, elevation, calories burned, personal bests, and more—then uploads it all to your profile. This makes it very easy to track your performance over time and to monitor how well you’re advancing toward your goals.
KOMOOT
Price: First map region is free, with paid upgrades and additional map regions.
Available for iOS and an
While conventional navigation apps like Google Maps generally do a good job when you’re driving a car, they often fall short when it comes to cycling. Fortunately, Komoot solves this problem with highly detailed and accurate navigational tools, maps, and ride-planning tools—all tailored specifically to the unique needs of cyclists. Along with helping you find the best, most bike-friendly routes, Komoot will also calculate how difficult a particular route is and will give you estimates for the fitness levels required to complete a particular route.
CYCLEMETER
Price: Free with paid upgrades.
Available for iOS and Android.
Cyclemeter is a great option for recording and tracking your fitness stats. This app is best known for generating comprehensive performance stats and easy-to-read maps of all your rides, and putting it all together into a visually-attractive format for at-a-glance reports of all your cycling adventures.
ENDOMONDO
Price: Free with paid upgrades.
Available for iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry.
Endomondo provides many of the same ride-logging and data-tracking tools as other apps on this list, but with a special twist. Designed to be a dynamic and highly-engaging training tool, Endomondo also gives you audio encouragement throughout your ride to help you power through your workout and motivate you to hit your goals.
RELIVE
Price: Free, but you may have to pay fees to sync with other apps and devices.
Available for iOS and Android.
Relive syncs with tons of other cycling apps and devices including Strava, Runtastic, Garmin, Endomondo, and more to record all of your rides in a unique and very cool video format. Essentially, the app logs geographical data from each of your rides and then superimposes it over real-life aerial views of your route, compiling the entire thing into a fun bird’s-eye view. You can also upload your own photos and footage to further personalize your videos.
2. Make Your Rides Social
Riding your bike with others is a great way to take advantage of the fun side of cycling, while also connecting with like-minded people who want to push each other to improve and become more fit.
As you search for group rides in your area, look for the specific kind of riding that appeals to you the most, whether it’s mountain biking, high-speed road riding, leisurely cruises, or something else. Here are 5 ways to make your cycling experience a bit more social:
- Check with your local bike shop - Many shops organize their own group rides. Ask them what type of rides they offer and figure out which ones sound most fun to you.
- Find a bicycle cooperative - Many cities and towns have bicycle cooperatives that offer a variety of community-oriented biking resources, including group rides. It may be a regularly-recurring ride or a more specialized cycling event. In any case, do some research to see if there are any cooperatives in your area, then drop in to see what they offer.
- Use social media - Search social media to find local group rides. Facebook, Instagram, and websites like Meetup.com can be especially helpful when it comes to finding a ride you’re interested in.
- Participate in cycling events - Figure out if there are any special cycling events in your area. Depending on where you’re at, these can include a broad range of activities, such as traditional road races, cyclocross events, 100-mile “century” rides, more leisurely touring-style rides, as well as more creative events like costume rides, themed party rides, and even much more adventurous events like naked bike rides. Whatever you’re style, participating in a local cycling event can be a great way to meet other cyclists and to plug into other social rides that might be taking place in your area.
- Cycling apps with social features - Many of the cycling apps described above include some sort of social feature. Often, these tools let cyclists share their rides and route ideas with each other or link up for group rides, so create a profile, log in, and see what’s out there.
