Just in time for the summer bicycle-riding season, outdoor retailer REI has launched a new iPhone app that helps consumers monitor and share their biking experiences.
The new application is part of the REI “Bike your drive” campaign that encourages consumers to get out of their cars and onto their bikes. The app, called the Bike Your Drive mobile application, is a free, REI-branded interactive tool that enables consumers to track, view and share their biking stories.
“REI believes in providing friendly expertise, as well as the tools and gear for our customers and members to be active in the outdoors,” said Natalie Crain, marketing manager at REI, in an e-mail.
The app lets users measure their location, average speed, distance, elevation, compass heading, time elapsed and calories burned. In addition to showing the specific location map of a ride, there is a “map view” function
where users can create an interactive trip report of their ride. Photos taken along the trip are automatically geotagged, and plotted along the ride based on their location. Maps, rides, photos and ride history are saved on EveryTrail.com, a platform created for geotagged, user-generated travel content.
In addition, users can measure their gas savings, as well as their individual carbon offset created by riding a bike instead of driving a car. Second-generation iPhone users with GPS capabilities can also capture their bike experience in real time.
“By building an application for the iPhone, we are connecting with cyclist,” added Crain. “We are giving them a way to log their journeys, share with friends and know they are making a difference for their health and to the environment by choosing a bicycle as a mode of transportation.”
The mobile application is an extension of REI’s current multichannel cycling campaign, which has been delivered in multiple media since April.
The campaign includes an interactive Web page at REI.com/bikeyourdrive, dedicated to everything biking, including a biking quiz, “Bike Parts 101” or “Everything you need to know about your bike,” as well as how-to videos on topics such as fixing a flat tire or buying a helmet. The page also includes a list of biking facts, such as “Just three hours of biking per week can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%.”
The REI iPhone app is available in Apple’s App Store as well as at a branded landing page. Other biking related iPhone apps include Every Trail’s own app, two speed and distance calculators BikePower and iMapMyRide, as well as Bicycle Gear Calculator from JP Martineau, that lets bike enthusiasts calculate gearing ratios based on the terrain. In addition, the iRPM+ iPhone app from Smheart Link lets bikers measure their heart rate and cadence, and the Cychosis app lets users chart rides and then automatically Twitter the ride after it has been entered.
