iPhone and Android Apps for Cyclists

1. Strava: Named for the Swedish word for "strive", Strava has posed itself to be a social network for athletes. Geared towards cyclists, runners and triathletes, Strava records your athletic activity using any one of 20+ compatible devices and analyzes and compares your data with your friends, professional athletes and your own performance history. The mobile app is free and so is basic usage. Strava has a premium option that provides more features, customizable training plans, personalized coaching, live feedback, and advanced analysis.

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2. Map My Ride: A product of the Under Armour Connected Fitness Business Unit, Map My Ride is a free mobile app that helps you track your activity, track nutrition, and share your activity with your social network. Map My Ride works with any Bluetooth Smart Sensor and ANT + sensors with a plug in and also offers a premium option. The premium option offers detailed training plans, advanced routing options, live tracking and is ad-free.

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3. Wahoo Fitness: A bluetooth powered cycling and running workout tracker that uploads to other sites like Strava, Map My Ride, MyFitnessPal, Cyclemeter GPS (and many more!). This app is great for the athletes who love their data. There are eight customizable pages of data that tracks speed, heart rate, power, etc. The app is free, and the company also offers smart bike trainers, bike computers, cycling sensors, phone cases and other accessories.

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4. Google Maps: By far out performing Apple maps, Google Maps is the most comprehensive, up-to-date map app on the market. Although not a cycling or fitness specific app, You will get real time traffic and hazard information and the search function ties into Google search- you can search destinations by name, category or key word.

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5. My Virtual Mission: For those of us who would like to add another dimension to our workouts, My Virtual Mission is a free app that lets you set a goal and work towards it over time, rather than treating each trip as a single workout. Their tagline is super appealing: "If you added up the distances of all your exercise sessions, such as running or cycling or whatever you do, how far would that take you around the world? My Virtual Mission lets you track your progress towards completing an outrageous virtual journey. You can even raise funds for your favorite charity or own cause along your way (optional)." It's a really great way (and a personal favorite) to track all of the progress your athletic has built up to and the charity option is a fantastic added bonus.

These are the best free iPhone and Android apps for cyclists that we've found, you should definitely download more than just one at a time and see which works best with your lifestyle.