STRAVA

Strava is the king of all cycling Apps, and that’s why it’s right at the top of the list.

What makes Strava the king? Well, it’s the App that will let you meet new cyclists, discover new roads, chart your progress, and take part in challenges!

Strava allows you – along with millions of other subscribers – to upload your rides to its platform so you’ve got it there for future reference and check out your stats. You can pour over other users’ rides, figure out who else is cycling on your roads, map out routes, and so much more.

The App is a great ‘do it all’ starter point App for cyclists of all levels, disciplines and experience. It exposes the world around you with its ability to discover popular routes in your area, and it opens you to new friends with its community function.

A must have … download it now!

ZWIFT

Zwift is almost as essential as Strava, but it serves a very different purpose.

Zwift is an online ‘world’ that you use when indoor training. It contains endless miles of virtual roads in both real locations – including London, New York, and the Alps – and Zwift’s fantasy worlds.

Thousands of people could be riding alongside you at any one time on Zwift, and they could be in the house next door or on the other side of the world! You can chat with your fellow ‘Zwifters’ as you ride, and even join pre-organized group rides with clubs or communities.

Zwift also hosts dozens of its own training sessions and has pre-prepared plans to follow to give you structured training.

And if you fancy yourself in a race then join up to one of the many daily competitions hosted on the App. You could be sweating it out alongside up to 100 other cyclists in what typically ends up being the hardest hour of your life!

If you’re looking to enliven your indoor training, be sure to get Zwift. 

TRAININGPEAKS

TrainingPeaks is for those looking to get a little more serious with their training.

TrainingPeaks is an App that offers a deep-dive into all your ride data, including speed, heart rate, power, cadence, efficiency, and so much more. If you’re looking to train with intent, perhaps for your first century ride, a race, or just to beat your mates, TrainingPeaks has all you need to make you fast.

The most useful part of the TrainingPeaks App is the way that it monitors your fitness over time and charts how well you are progressing. As well as indicating if you’re generally getting fitter or not, it gives you a guide as to when you’re pushing too hard and need to back off a little before starting again.

TrainingPeaks also hooks up to Zwift, Strava and a host of other Apps including MyFitnessPal, Whoop and Wahoo, meaning it becomes a treasure trove of data that will help you become a better cyclist.

MY WINDSOCK

My Windsock is a niche one, but a really good one!

My Windsock gives you a comprehensive weather analysis of the routes you’ve ridden, or rides you have planned for the approaching days.

The App combines mapping facilities with detailed and accurate weather forecasts so you can figure out exactly where you’ll be getting a headwind, when you might get wet, and where you may get a suntan! It’s an excellent way to help plan for a big day on the bike.

If you’re taking things more seriously and are hunting after Strava segments or racing time trials, you can work out when the best days will be for a certain effort based on wind directions, speeds, aerodynamic efficiency, and many other metrics.

It’s nerdy, but brilliant. Give it a try. Once you’ve got My Windsock, you’ll love it.

MYFITNESSPAL

If you want to dial in your diet to get a little faster over the climbs, MyFitnessPal is the App for you.

MyFitnessPal lets you track your nutrition to help you lose a few pounds, understand how to fuel your body, and keep yourself healthy. You simply program in what you ate that day and the App will tell you approximately how many calories it contains, along with more specific details about protein, carbohydrate, fat, sodium and various minerals and micronutrients.

Contrary to what people think, MyFitnessPal isn’t only for those trying to lose weight. The App hooks up with Strava and TrainingPeaks and helps you understand how to fuel your ride and keep healthy based on how many calories you’re burning on the bike.

If you think you’re underfuelling, overfuelling, want to lose a kilo for a big race, or need to pack on some weight to keep strong, MyFitnessPal will help you on the way.