The wife and I have become those irritating cyclists that constantly check our local Bicycle Coalition’s map for the quickest and flattest route to our destination. You know the ones: They’re always pouring over maps and elevations. God forbid you go out to dinner with these low-level Magellans. It’s a dark world filled with bicycle pumps, arguments about the quickest routes, and discussions about bike-seat comfort.
 
It was only a matter of time before we started incorporating our iPhones into our new two-wheeled lifestyle. Now before I get all “White & Nerdy” on you, staring at your iPhone while riding a bike, especially on a crowded road with inattentive drivers, is right up there with lighting a match to find a gas leak. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s gather around the virtual bike rack and talk about our vertical climb.

After outfitting my bike with lights, reflectors, and those fancy streamers that flow out of the side of the handlebars, I fired up iMapMyRide+ (MapMyFitness, imapmy.com, $4.99), which is tied to MapMyRide.com. I’m not a big fan of apps being tied to sites. It seems most of the information they have on the site could be easily crammed into the app.

The world needs to know how far and fast I rode.

Regardless, this app uses GPS to track your ride’s route, speed, and other vital stats. Once you’re done with your ride and you return to the route on the iPhone, you get a Google map with your route overlaid on it. What iMapMyRide does well is provide the option to share your ride over Facebook, Twitter, and email. You can even set the app to automatically tweet your stats when you’re finished. Too bad that once you save the route, all the really cool information is stored on MapMyRide.com.

The opposite end of the social-media-friendly spectrum is the data-intensive Outdoor Pro (yaffaworkscom, yaffaworks.com/outdoor, $0.99). We’re pretty sure that the developers of Outdoor Pro also develop the software that runs jet fighters. This app tracks and stores an immense amount of data, which means that the app can be a bit difficult to navigate when you first open it. But if you’re one of those riders that’s dressed like a low-level superhero in a fancy form-fitting jersey and bicycle shorts, this app might help you gauge your performance. If you’re looking to share that performance via Twitter or Facebook, you should look elsewhere.

This is what jet fighters see when they ride bikes.

Smack-dab in the middle of iMapMyRide and Outdoor Pro is Cyclemeter (Abvio LLC, abvio.com/cyclemeter, $4.99). In addition to displaying the regular speed, distance, and time data that’s found in almost all of the cycling apps I tested, the map within this app shows your mileage markers and has fancy graphs of your speed fluctuation and elevation. Routes can easily be shared via exported GPX or KML data (via a Google Map export with your mile markers and the average speed of each mile) or to Twitter. The app was easier to navigate than Outdoor Pro and didn’t make my brain swim. I was able to concentrate on not passing out while I rode uphill, instead of trying to decipher data. In the end, I decided to hang my bike helmet on Cyclemeter for my rides.

Mile-by-mile breakdowns help me track my ride.
 
So the next time someone questions your claimed distance and vertical climb, bust out your iPhone and show them your stats. Whether you’re a social butterfly, a data-hungry pro, or just a guy that likes to ride to the park and back, your iPhone is your new cycling odometer. Just don’t cheat by driving around in your car.