Bike Hub: not just leading cyclists down the garden path, Tim Dawson (2012)

Original article, first published in The Sunday Times 8 April 2010

As I rolled up to a T-junction, the navigation app on my handlebar-mounted iPhone appeared to be saying “Ride into the hedge opposite” rather than pointing me left or right. I ignored its advice and started to make a right turn, only to notice an opening in the greenery directly ahead.

Between the leaves ran a clear if narrow path that cut at least half a mile off my journey, and took me along a decent cycle track that I had never registered before.

The software running on my phone was a free app called Bike Hub, available for Apple and Android devices. It operates just like a sat nav in your car, giving turn-by-turn navigation with voice instructions, and vibration alerts if you need them.

It was launched two years ago but has taken a while to get going. Why? Because the routes it displays have been contributed by cyclists themselves — an example of what techies call crowd-sourcing.

Every day, hundreds of cyclists running the app upload new routes and tracks. These are collated by computer, then curated by human editors to create an ever-improving network of routes. Understandably, the best-mapped areas are places where there is a concentration of technologically-minded pedal-pushers: Cambridge has the densest network of routes. Yet even in the Highlands of Scotland, where I tested the app last week, there was no shortage of data.

It can be unnerving to delegate all responsibility for your journey to a program that sometimes makes you feel as though you are on a magical mystery tour, but if you stick with it, the rewards can be considerable.

Of course, just like the biggest user-generated project of our age, Wikipedia, the app is open to abuse: someone could upload a wholly fictitious route, or one that leads followers literally up a garden path. Bike Hub’s developers hope to counter this by allowing other users to report and amend dangerous or fictitious routes.

Bike Hub is not the only cycling smartphone software. The big players in car sat nav all sell apps that work well for cyclists, although some are quite expensive (TomTom’s is £49.99). ViewRanger (£10) offers access to Ordnance Survey maps, which is useful for cyclists who want to stray off road. But neither app can match Bike Hub for finding cycle-friendly paths through unfamiliar cities and generating circular leisure routes on quiet roads and tracks.

Using your phone’s GPS will rapidly deplete the battery and can leave you stranded on an unfamiliar route when it conks out. So, fit the Biologic bike mount for the iPhone 4 and 4S (£33.75) and the Biologic ReeCharge power pack (£79.20 — both from wiggle.co.uk). The dynamo system will recharge your phone as you pedal.

Come on, cyclists: join the Bike Hub revolution and start uploading your favourite routes.

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