Was it a bad summer? Well, maybe autumn is the time to get on your road bike, or cross-country bike or mountain bike. Instead of adding a route planner to your bicycle, why not take advantage of the presence of your smartphone to buy the Austrian application Bikemap?

In no time at all, it calculates a route according to your parameters and sometimes even shows signs of impatience. The voiceover describes the route before you’ve even moved a millimetre…

What we liked:

—Of course, the “infinite” number possibilities: cycling in 100 countries over millions of kilometres… that’s something to dream about.

—The possibility of specifying the nature of your bike and desires; some people don’t like the road while others hate the forest, the fields or the rocky paths.

—The possibility of navigating the app with one hand, which allows you to hold your bike with the other, and to be guided by the voiceover.

—The choice to avoid noisy and often dangerous motorised vehicles.

—The frequent updating of the maps, unlike a car GPS for which you have to get a precious CD. With the development of mapping technologies, the maps are more and more precise and detailed.

What we liked less:

—The very insistent nature of the application. As soon as you register, you receive a confirmation email. As soon as you log on to the desktop version, the app proposes routes in Luxembourg by default, a sign of its appetite for data.

—That paid versions are coming soon. If you want to set up a road or mountain bike, you will have to upgrade to the paid version, from €10 per month to €45 per year.

The application is available and .

Originally published in French by and translated for Delano.