‘APPY DAYS
There are a lot of gizmos and gadgets designed to help you analyse your cycling these days – from the sublime to the ridiculous. Like with anything, though, we’d recommend starting with the basics – and so we’ve put together a guide to a handful that will help all riders along the way…
Strava
Probably the king of all tracking apps – whether you’re on bike or on foot – because you won’t beat it for GPS calculations. It’s been around for a decade so it’s well established, and also has a function that enables you to follow your friend’s activities or jointly log your outings on the bike together. It also allows you to schedule in your own training programme, lending a hand when it comes to achieving your personal goals!
Map My Ride
Another route tracking app, this one was born from the creators of Map My Run. This app allows you to sync data from hi-tech watches like Apple watches, Polar watches or Garmin, which means you can crunch the numbers when it comes to energy expenditure and physical activity in further detail.
Google Maps
Exactly what is says on the tin, the global giant’s map service offers you the best directions on a particular route. In saying that, some of the more rural parts of Ireland might not pick up GPS signal so don’t count on it always pointing you the right way!
Transport for Ireland Cycle Planner
Launched by Transport for Ireland as part of the effort to promote Ireland as a brilliant destination for cyclists from near and far, the app provides a list of up to of the best cycling routes in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick & Waterford, based on individual cycling capabilities. For new cyclists it avoids roads with heavy traffic and difficult turns at busy junctions; for more advanced cyclists it supplies the most direct route.
One impressive touch is a unique routing feature called Turn Difficulty Factor, which helps the user not only to find the best route, but also to pick the appropriate junctions and turns suiting their cycling capability.
My Fitness Pal
Just because we’re always banging on here about the importance of good nutrition and training, My Fitness Pal is the bible in terms of tracking and monitoring your calories, macronutrients, carbs, proteins and fats. Scanning in what you’re eating will allow you to calculate the need-to-knows, while it provides helpful tips on where you might improve your eating habits to optimize performance.
