Two Wheeled Tools

For National Bike Month, we're doing a series on cycling. We've look at two wheeled tales, bike sales and 'how tos' (like how not to get your bike stolen) and we've got more cycling goodness on the way. Follow the series and Do The Bike Thing.

So you have your bike, you're inspired to ride it, and here are seven wonderful tools to help you along your journey.

1. Cycle FM. It's just like the Musical Walkcast only for cycling, rather than walking (but NOT in the city as you need your ears open and your pace at traffic speed). Choose your rotations per minute and it will produce the perfect playlist for your ride. The miles will fly by.

2. The Bike Doctor. For when you're out and about and then suddenly crunch, clatter, brake! Something has broken. If you're not confident about your bike fixing skills then the Bike Doctor is the perfect app for you. With simple step by step instructions, you're bike will be back on the cycle path in no time.

3. Want to record your favourite bike routes? Trial is the app for you. You can download routes from popular sites and share your best ones via email. The cherry on the cake? The  map is not being constantly loaded so your battery doesn't die mid-trek.

4. Sustrans National Cycle Network is a wonderful tool for planning bike rides. You can choose from peaceful, traffic-free scenic routes to long themed journeys to signed on-road routes. And with both an online mapping tool and a large route map poster, no matter how you like to plan your journeys, you will find all the bases covered.

5. Bit of a stats freak? Want to know exactly where you cycled, how long it took you and the speed you traveled at? Try Cycle Meter app and see if you can beat your personal records. Whilst cycling safely and adhering to the Highway Code at all times, of course.

6. You know where you are and you know where you want to go. But how to get there? And in the most bike-friendly way possible. Download the Bike Hub Cycle Planner and it will calculate the easiest and quietest route for you to get from A to B on your biCycle. It's available for Android phones too!

7. Maybe you don't own your own bike. That's ok, you don't need to these days with all these bike-sharing schemes popping up. Spotcycle is a clever little app that shows you where the nearest bike-share hub is so you can either drop off your current bike or pick up some wheels for the next leg of your journey. With several countries already included, this app is universal.

Honourable mention goes to imapmyRIDE, a tool that let's you calculate just how much ground you've covered in your cycling journey.

So what are you waiting for? Pick your cycle-cast, download your favourite app, tuck your trousers in and off you go!

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