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maps.me_.pngCycling app of the week: MAPS.ME
What is it?
MAPS.ME is one of the world's most popular navigation apps, and claims up to 70 million users worldwide. All maps and features are free, and its detailed algorithm pulls in maps from all over the world using the OpenStreetMap open-source mapping system. No internet is required to connect so you can save on data, and as well as getting you from A to B there are countless points of interest cited within it so you can get some suggestions for exploring next time you visit somewhere new by bike.
How can it help me?
If you tell the app you're cycling or walking/running on your journey, it will even let you know if your route has hills on it so you can choose a flatter route, which could be useful if you're after a more leisurely jaunt. You can save locations and share them, and there are also a whole host of third parties MAPS.ME are partnered with so you can book hotels, search for restaurants and ATM's and share your location via text or social media all within the app. For the hotel booking function, MAPS.ME have booking.com integrated into the app.
What makes it unique?
A new function is the intermediate point in route option, which lets you navigate to stop points on the way to a further destination which is a pretty cool and unique feature.
Where can I get it?
MAPS.ME is totally free with no in-app purchases, and is available to download via Android or iOS. Check out the website here.
Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.
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