The next big thing from London Cyclist

It was Friday the 6th of May and I was hesitating. Biting my nails I nervously pondered what to do. What if they don’t like it? What if it doesn’t work? I didn’t have the answers so I reached out, put together a quick survey and attached it to the Friday newsletter.

I thought to myself if everyone hates it, then I’ll scrap the idea. If everyone loves it, I’m going ahead full steam! The survey responses came in thick and fast. In total, 158 people participated in around 48 hours. An amazing response! So I took a closer look. Of those with iPhones, 60% thought this was something they’d like.

Looking at the results I thought to myself, it’s now or never. I signed the contract, sent the payment and gave the go ahead for the work to start on the new app! Fingers are firmly crossed everything will go smoothly!

So what exactly will the new London Cyclist app do?

It solves an old problem cyclists have. Knowing great places to go cycling. I’ve always thought it’s a big shame to not discover some of the great and often very cheap days out you can have on the bike. There’s a whole load of nature trails, canal routes and scenic road rides in the London area but it takes a long time to figure out where these are. Most of the time you end up with too little information to enjoy the ride.

It’s why I put together the comprehensive 30 London Cycle Routes eBook and it’s why I’m now putting together the London Routes iPhone App.

I feel the capabilities of the iPhone make it perfect for enjoying rides around London. For example, you can add video to show off the routes before you ride them. You can drop pins on a map that can be tapped to bring up more information. You can pick routes based on difficulty, child friendliness and different levels of traffic. Also, of course, with the iPhone being GPS enabled you can see a little dot on the map showing your location so you can easily follow the route.

It’s like having a knowledgeable tour guide with you but at the same time exploring things at your own pace.

The app will be jam packed with cycling experiences. Whether that be discovering interesting things you never knew about London’s architectural history, following quiet country lanes with nothing but the sound of the gentle hum of your wheels rolling around or getting muddy on off-road forest trails around London.

When will it be available?

I’ve had a chat with the talented chap developing it and we recon this should be done by mid-June. Around 30 days from now. In the mean time, I’ll keep you up to date with how things are progressing.

News about the other London Cyclist apps..

I’m also busy working on the other London Cyclist apps. I realise progress on the Bike Doctor App has been slow but that should all be about to change. I’ve had a chat with Ron Forrester and we’ve agreed I should become the main owner of the app and use any money generated to make things better for you guys. Therefore, big updates should be on the way in the summer. The Android version will also benefit from these updates.

The London Bike Shop app is about to get a whole lot more brilliant for London’s cyclists and bike shops. We’ll have exciting details on this by the end of June. Also, there will potentially be an Android version in the works.