I like to track where I go so I can share the experience or let others ride the route I took. I knew that Apple Maps might struggle with what I want because it’s not designed for the recording aspect, just getting us from A to B - which it’s brilliant at here in New Zealand.
So I’ve tried a number of dedicated motorcycle riding apps like Yamaha (not great), Calimoto, REVER, EatSleepRide (no longer available), Detecht (default replacement for ESR), among others. I’m going to highlight 3 today and also show you how you can get quite smart if none of those offerings suite you.
Apple Maps and Fitness
As I mentioned above, Apple Maps isn’t designed for route tracking. It’s great for creating a route but it has no ability to record. But that’s not really a problem if you use Apple’s Fitness app, or any activity tracking app for that matter.
The beauty of this setup is it’s aready on your iPhone and it works really well. It’s just a little more of a 2 step process than clicking a button in one app.
Apple Maps only has 15 waypoints but it’s a lot smarter than most of the apps I’ve seen. I’ll show you how I created the route first, then show you Apple Maps versus Google Maps.
So first I used Apple’s Numbers app to create the waypoint plan
This might seem like an odd way of doing things but it gives you a nice record of where you’re going. Technically it’s also how the GPX format works only there’s a eleventy thousand million entries which is not what Apple Maps wants. Google Maps only accepts 9 waypoints by the way.
I then combined the longitude and lattitudes to give full coordinates which then gets put into a link which when clicked will open Apple Maps. Apple Maps then creates the route based on the coordinates parsed to it. And you end up with something like this:
You’ll notice that I also had a link for Google Maps. It does the same thing but in the format Google Maps uses. Google Maps however gives you this:
And that’s one of the many reasons I feel Google Maps is a steaming pile of dog egestion. Apple Maps creates a nice smooth ring route whereas Google Maps decides to send you back and forth the same route. Pure dribble.
Once I’ve got this sent to my bike via CarPlay, I then open the Fitness app on my iPhone and choose the Cycling workout and begin my ride. The genius of those method is I tick over my movement and exercise goals in one hit. This might sound like cheating but if you’ve ever ridden a motorcycle all day, you’ll know just how much work you’re doing don’t you.
For the most free way for route recording I find this the best option, if a little more limiting.
REVER
I love REVER but it does have one significant problem that I’ll get to in a moment.
REVER itself is bang for your buck. It cost me $40NZD for a year which is much cheaper than most apps of this kind. For that price you get turn by turn directions, GPX export and import, and a few other features that I can’t think of off hand.
The interface is simple enough to pick up and record routes or create routes so there’s nothing really to get excited about.
It does have the ability to create routes using a start and stop waypoint system and you can tell it to find all the twisties or dirt roads etc. Unfortunately it doesn’t really work here in New Zealand and so it’s not really a feature I do use.
REVER has a CarPlay app but it can’t start a route record from the CarPlay app, you have to trigger it from the iPhone first. A little bit of a hassle but nothing too major.
I really do like REVER but one incident kind of put me off it, something that never happens with Apple Maps.
I rode to church because I was on my own and I wanted to go for a ride after. I planned the route but I planned it from the 80km/h sign which is before where our church is. So when I went on the ride I was already after the start point of the route. I started heading on the route but the app did not remap. I just thought it was because I was in a low signal area but I got 8 minutes into the ride and it still would not reroute. So I ended up travelling 8 minutes back, past the start point to then join the start point to then ride the ride.
As far as I’m concerned, not having rerouting, especially when you’re paying for the app, is kind of unreasonable for this type of app in this day and age so I started looking around.
Guru Maps
Guru Maps is currently my favourite app for route tracking at the moment. You can download an entire country for offline use. Actually, you can download 3 countries for offline use on the free plan. Like Apple Maps you can only add 15 waypoints (still more than Google Maps). You can also only save 15 routes. This is on the free plan. All of this is unlimited in the Pro plan.
That being said, you don’t really need more than this for most users. Like Apple Maps, it’s routing is pretty good and can generate loops properly.
In terms of a comparison between REVER and Guru Maps, Guru Maps has the edge because it can be used for more than just riding. Like Apple Maps it can also be used for walking/hiking, cycling, buses, etc.
Guru Maps has an app for most platforms so cross platform use is pretty much a guarantee and it makes it easier to create a route on the Mac then synch it to your iPhone etc. It even has a CarPlay app and an Apple Watch app.
It uses Open Street Maps as well which makes it handy for people like me who are posties and we need to find an address because we can zoom in to see the house numbers.
I really like Guru Maps and it’s pretty much my go to tracking app at the moment.
Unpaved
I’m mentioning Unpaved as an up and comer. Being from New Zealand we find international support lacking. Hell, how many maps out there literally don’t even have New Zealand on them? A lot more than you’d suspect and they’re not all from the USA.
Unpaved is a motorcycling app made by Kiwis for Kiwi riders. For that reason I’m keeping my beady little eyes on the development of this app.
Sadly it’s 3 times the price of REVER per year, but supporting local who are creating a mapping system that is specifically designed for our country is great. Hopefully they don’t sell out to overseas investors when they get going proper. That will kill the app.
Currently there is only an iOS and Android app with a web interface. Creating a route is a little counter intuitive. In most apps, clicking the waypoint box allows you to add a waypoint or edit it but in this app to add a waypoint you need to search or click on the map before the waypoint is added. It’s a little odd but it works. I also find it’s easier to edit using the web page but then that’s the same for Guru Maps and REVER.
My take
I don’t think there is a perfect ride recording app out there. Guru Maps and REVER are purpose built for this sort of activity and for that reason I’d recommend Guru Maps as the hands down winner. You get far more for the free tier than you do with REVER.
Unpaved is great in its support for New Zealand and I’m very keen on seeing the development of this app for the New Zealand market.
But I also wouldn’t pass up Apple Maps and the Fitness app. This option comes with ALL iPhones and is very simple to use. It’s automatic rerouting is far better than most and it does a pretty good job of making those 15 waypoints matter.
If you track your motorcycle rides what do you use? Do you use the same apps as me or are you a Calimoto or Detecht or some other user?
As always, stay safe and ride your own ride and have fun.