I haven’t posted anything new on WillCycle for what feels like an eternity. I haven’t been slacking though. No, I’ve been extremely busy on the back-end of the site.
New features
WillCycle now has what I can honestly describe as a superb mapping system. It started off as an idea, quite some time ago, to make my life less dependent on US tech. All the maps on WillCycle were done using the brilliant RideWithGPS. I remain as full of praise for RideWithGPS as ever – it’s a fantastic tool, from a fantastic team. However, they are US-based, and that’s increasingly becoming a problem.
Initially, all I planned on doing was to have native WillCycle digital maps for my traffic-free route guides. That started with the route browser (or what I refer to as the multi-map, as it shows multiple routes at once, on the same map). Next, each route had it’s own route map, with elevation profile. Job done, right?
Navigation
See, once you can plot a route on a map, and you can use GPS to show a phone’s position on the map, it becomes easier to implement a navigation system, and the maps on traffic-free route guides all include that functionality, when visited from a mobile device.
It works, but there’s a catch: the navigation stops as soon as your phone’s screen is turned off. Especially on longer routes, that’s a big problem, as the screen is the biggest battery drain. I needed a way around that, and the only way around it is to stop relying on the web browser, and instead write a native app.
The WillCycle app
Currently, the app exists, but isn’t generally available yet. It took months of what at times felt like wasted hours to get it to the stage where it is now, and I have to say I’m rather happy with it. So, why is it not on the Google Play Store yet? And yes, I’m painfully aware Google is a US company!
The app itself is basically ready, but I have a few more back-end bits to complete on the site. Remember, the app and the site are extremely tightly integrated. Here’s what the app currently support:
- Route recording
- Navigation, with turn-by-turn voice guidance, and weather-aware features
- Intelligent screen control: let Android switch the screen off as per normal, but the app will switch it back on when you’re nearing a junction
- Live-sharing your position, with privacy controls
- Browsing all traffic-free routes on the site
- Integrated Touring Routes support – any multi-day routes you purchased on here, or built yourself, are supported
- Cycling games
I’m hoping to have the app generally available by the end of August 2026.
Rain Radar and wind data
WillCycle now has support for rain radar. There’s the actual rain radar map, and a rain overlay for all traffic-free routes. The app takes that to a whole new level though: it will warn you of when you’re expected to encounter rain on a ride, based on the wind speed, your route and your speed. There’s simply no other app that does that (but of course, plenty will copy me).
GPS Art
My GPS Art tool makes it really easy to create cycling routes that allow you to draw pictures, or do writing, while out on your bike, in the real world. You should deffo go try it out!
Cycling Games
I’m not sure people quite understand the cycling games, and if so, that’s my failure to describe it well.
One of the games are reminiscent of the strategy needed in the Tron lightcycle races: a group of riders are each assigned a different colour by the game, and the game organiser sets four, or more waypoints. The game is a race, and the winner is the rider who visits all the waypoints in the fastest time.
The catch? Each rider sees all the other riders’ position on the map, in near real-time. Each player leaves a coloured trail on the map, and each time any rider crosses the trail of another rider, they incur a time penalty. Strategy becomes more important than raw speed, and riders are free to visit the waypoints in any order.
Another game, Territories, overlays the map with hex cells. Whenever you cycle through a cell, it changes colour to whatever colour the game assigned to you. The rider who “owns” most cells at the end of the game wins.
To steal a cell from another player, simply cycle through it, but remember, they can steal it back!
The future…
I’m not done with the development work I’m doing on WillCycle, but I’ve come a phenomenal way in a very short space of time. To be clear, I have zero interest in WillCycle becoming remotely what Strava is. I’ll also quite openly state that RideWithGPS’ route builder interface is considerably better than my own. Again, I’m not trying to be RideWithGPS.
WillCycle is unique. NOBODY else does traffic-free route guides like I do. NOBODY else has maps with the same functionality that I have. And NOBODY else (at this moment) does weather-aware navigation, or support for Touring Routes.
I have many further enhancements planned there. When you join WillCycle, either with a free Community account, or a premium WillCycler account, you will get real value. And the level of value will continue to rise.
The future for WillCycle is looking very bright. I think you deserve to be part of that, so join us today.