Are you using these FREE bike touring apps?

Whether it's planning routes, finding accommodations, checking the weather or keeping track of expenses - these FREE bike touring apps can be a big help.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Links to all apps: www.sheelaghdaly.com/free-bik...
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Introducing my 7 favourite FREE bike touring apps
0:29 Best app for picking where you'll go
3:50 Best app for building bike touring routes
6:03 Best weather app for bike touring
6:43 Best cheap accommodation app
7:18 Best language app
7:48 Best app for splitting travel costs
8:22 Best app to track your cycle tour
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[@SheelaghDaly]

Have you used any of these free bike touring apps? Or have any others you love? Please share!

[@user-nw3hn2eg7o]

For those who also train indoors Rouvy might come handy with its huge library of real-world routes. You can train during the winter on the trainer and plan for the visit of the place during the summer. Last year I did that with Mallorca.

[@markperry222]

Google Earth is another one to use for looking in more detail at routes in remote areas, especially if you will be going off pavement. Some places there is no pavement, and in other parts of the world you just don't know if a route will even be paved. By zooming in to the lowest level you can often get an idea of the road quality, maybe it is just a track. Caveat, the data is historic. In developing areas some roads my not be there anymore (built over or a new road runs though it) which is why online maps that are frequently updated are important to use as the main source.

[@SheelaghDaly]

Such an excellent addition! Thank you for mentioning it!

[@WheelsonaBike]

Thank you very much for this video and for sharing the apps you use. I especially liked the Track my Tour one, but cannot find it on the Google Play store. I've not stayed at hostels before, so also wasn't familiar with the Hostelworld one. The two apps I use are Ride with GPS and Warmshowers. Ride with GPS for route planning and Warmshowers for accomodation.

[@SheelaghDaly]

I didn’t discover until I finished the video that Track my Tour isn’t available on Android 😔 I’ve heard there are similar ones out there for android though! Oh I love Warmshowers so much! Because I was focusing on free apps for this video I couldn’t quite include it. But it’s such a small cost for such a great service! I am definitely going to play around with ride with gps more - thank you for mentioning!

[@chrlmlln9018]

Very useful and most helpful information about free bike touring maps I truly needed! A very big THANK, to you, for making this nice and important, and useful video summary of the seven free apps! Wishing you a happy and safe bike tour! Stay blessed! Greetings from Sweden! 💯👍👍👍❣

[@SheelaghDaly]

I'm so glad you found it helpful! Thank you for the kind message :)

[@downercowzzz.3236]

Thanks for all the great info.

[@theunriddenadventures8126]

Great tips Sheelagh! I have also used Ride with GPS to get ideas on routes that others have already ridden.

[@SheelaghDaly]

Oooh that sounds like a very helpful feature! Thank you for mentioning that!

[@welshbikepackingadventures]

Great advice!

[@steph.B.20]

Thanks a lot for your tips 🙏👍🏼

[@SheelaghDaly]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching :)

[@simbapnl]

We need things like that in Morocco ✌🏻❤️

[@jcraigshambaugh5417]

Love these videos . Really after seeing some of locations how does one not become inspired to do this . I`ll be riding Alp Andria and Venice to Munich routes .I have question what tire width do you recommend.The bike I`m using is a steel gravel bike with a flat bar . Do you ride flat or drop bar Thanks for the tips

[@SheelaghDaly]

I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them! When I did munich to venice I was on a drop bar bike with 35mm tires. But I’ve since switch to a trekking/butterfly bar and my tire width depends on the roads I expect. If mostly paved I go 35/40, if I expect more gravel I go 48 (though I’d like to go more than this when I’m able to get a bike with a larger clearance). It’s so individual of course but that is what has worked for me! Happy riding!

[@martymargatt6000]

Thanks for the heads up on all these free apps.

[@SheelaghDaly]

Thanks for being here Marty! 😊

[@SilveriusPurbaDocsilHistory]

Thats very usefull thank you so much for sharing

[@SheelaghDaly]

I'm so glad! My pleasure :)

[@alanbratt1929]

WOW 😮 Komoot, Track My Tour and the Wind 💨 App works here in Australia 🇦🇺 I didn’t think 🤔 they would because sometimes European Apps Don’t Work down here.

[@SheikhAbdulSBasha]

Thank you so much. It helps me. Ur wonderful.

[@SheelaghDaly]

My pleasure :) happy adventuring!

[@Forestcityflygirl]

I also use my Strava for route making along with google maps. thanks for suggesting a few new ones like Hostelworld. great info

[@SheelaghDaly]

Thank you for sharing! I still haven't really used strava -- I'll have to check it out more!

[@ronsadventures1726]

Add more to using Strava, Strava has a program called heat map that allows you to see where local riders use the most. The darker the colour, the more it is used.

[@SheelaghDaly]

@@ronsadventures1726 oooh very cool!!

[@vanomadcyclist3474]

Great review. I use the Garmin app because I have a Garmin, not sure if you can use it without. I always wonder how to pick the road less traveled without going to far out of the way. I have used the Garmin app to map a ride and it has taken me on roads that are bike legal but not preferred. Any suggestions you have for finding the lesser traveled roads would be great. Thanks

[@SheelaghDaly]

Oooh I totally agree, finding that balance can be challenging! So far I've found maps.me to be the best at finding quieter roads. Sometimes it will suggest a route that's a LOT longer than other apps but it's often a lot more enjoyable. And asking around. If I stay with a warmshowers host or pass other cyclists I love to pick their brains -- often they know of hidden gems the apps don't know!

[@pascowind]

As a sailor I use Windy. Nice to see the future forecast

[@SheelaghDaly]

Ooh that's quite the glowing review if a sailor uses it! How cool!!

[@philipcaldwell3187]

Windy app 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟, never leave home without it. Highly useful for a non existent specialist and scales to the expert need without confusion.

[@SheelaghDaly]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Agreed, such a great resource 🙌

[@DrHydro-mq7sw]

However, the OSM maps are much better for cycling than Google maps.

[@bigmac3006]

What do you mean by "a jumping off point"? Great vid!

[@SheelaghDaly]

Thanks so much! When I say "jumping off point" (which I feel like I say a lot 😂) I mean that it's where I start. So in the case of Google Maps for instance, it isn't where I'll plan my whole route or what I'll rely on. But I find it the fastest and simplest way to get started. It gives me a sense of the rough distance between points and then I can start planning the actual route in other apps like Komoot. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for asking!

[@plbergman]

Warmshowers for biking or hosting riders.

[@SheelaghDaly]

Yes I love warmshowers! Thank you for mentioning :) I didn’t include it on this list just because the app isn’t free but I love using the desktop/browser version of warmshowers!

[@dino2564]

Google maps ftw. Just don't use Komoot if u don't like wild advanture :D

[@SheelaghDaly]

Oh yeah!? Has it sent you down some crazy paths? 😆 I’ve hit a few not-ideal roads but mostly I’ve been really impressed!

[@dino2564]

@@SheelaghDaly Oh yeah. I had a great time with the Komoot. He took me to the forest roads, where the trail is barely recognizable. Dogs chased me, what an unforgettable adventure. :D

[@SheelaghDaly]

@@dino2564 Oh my goodness! I'm glad you got away from the dogs and had a good adventure ;)

[@1969Rake]

What are your thoughts on Ride with GPS?

[@SheelaghDaly]

I just didn't love that it's a monthly/yearly recurring cost so I started playing around with Komoot and really liked it so never felt the need to move to another app. But I've heard from lots of people who love Ride with GPS!

[@allenbishop9154]

Ummmm ... Google maps DOES indeed have a biking option, I have used it often.

[@SheelaghDaly]

Hey Allen! That's great you've used it often! I have as well and demonstrated at the start how to select the cycling option. Unfortunately it doesn't offer it for all parts of the world. In many countries if you try to build a route between two points using "bike" as the mode of transport it will say it can't find anything. I've run into this issue when plotting routes in a number of countries. Hopefully one day the cycling feature will cover everywhere!

[@sspoonless]

You lost me at Google Maps. Thumbs down.