42-year old Kenton resident Ron Forrester has created a new iPhone application (“app”) that lets you record and keep an ongoing statistical journal of your routes, mileage, and more.
The app is called Cychosis and Forrester says he’s already had sales from all over the world (interest has been especially high from the UK, Australia, and Germany).
Forrester — who only started biking everyday about three years ago and now logs about 8,000 km a year — is a software developer at a startup in downtown Portland by day and has spent several months “working late into the night” on this project.
I asked how he was inspired to create the app:
“When I started training for the various rides (like Seattle-to-Portland, Reach the Beach, etc…), I began using online tools to track my training progress, like www.bikejournal.com, which is a great site. However, after getting an iPhone, I decided I wanted an app that I could quickly use to log my rides and keep track of mileage on my bikes, and track my goals.”
Forrester said he began developing Cychosis mainly out of a personal need, but now he hopes others find it useful as well.
He’s excited for a recent upgrade to the app that allows users to automatically send a “Tweet” (update/post) to Twitter each time they enter a ride. Forrester said he thinks that feature, “adds a nice social aspect to riding and training.” (You can see an example of this at Twitter.com/cychosis).
You can purchase Cychosis for $4.99 from the iTunes App Store. (So far it’s got a 3 out of 5 stars rating with 8 reviews).
— You might remember Ron Forrester from this story in the Oregonian back in February. Check Cychosis.com for full list of features and more information.
Okay, NOW I want an iPhone.
Since I’m a beer-drinking bike rider, I’d want the app to track my beers consumed as well as miles. But the tweets have to be anonymous in case the cops are twittering!
Better app. imapmyride and it’s free and supports GPS.
iMapMyRide is a decent app — but the GPS function isn’t all it’s cracked up to be — you have to leave the phone on (not asleep) the entire ride, and even a 2-3 hour ride like that can completely drain your battery. Also, I don’t think you can listen to music or take/make calls while the app is in GPS mode, without interrupting the data gathering.
At some point I will add GPS functionality, but many users, because of the battery issue, have said they’re fine without it and even prefer it that way.
Still, nice to have choices, and competition 🙂
Cheers,
Ron