Best App to Provide Cycling Location to Spouse

[RyanH]

So, as I was riding on the freeway the other night in San Luis Obispo (yes, riding on a freeway is as awesome as it sounds), I was really wishing that I had an app on my phone like the Spot device I used to have to provide my significant other my location in case something happens.

Anyone have suggestions for ones they like? RoadID has one that may be sufficient.

[Spdntrxi]

iPhone has find iPhone app
Some garmin computers have live tracking.

[93legendti]

Road ID sends texts to my while riding.

Also, iPhone has find my iPhone app, which you should use anyway for lost/stolen phone...shows exactly where you are...

I just checked- my wife is getting gas at a Shell station close to her work.


Edit. Now she is moving north heading to our kids' school

[djg21]

iPhone has find iPhone app
Some garmin computers have live tracking.

I use the iPhone Find Friends app. It works great. My wife and I can follow each other on rides (or see where we are). I have a Garmin, but haven't used it for this purpose because I always have my phone. It also is a little unwieldy in that it requires one to track you from a web browser.

The Find My iPhone App is a different app. They are both worth having on your iPhone and iPad.

[Len J]

Road ID..... Wife not only gets text when I leave and when I expect to be home, but she can track where I am.

My wife is ill and has a very low stress tolerance...this app has reduced her stress. YMMV

Very easy

Len

[thegunner]

google plus does this if you turn on location sharing (you can restrict by circle to just your wife or something), that's what i do.

[woolly]

I like Glympse, but it may not have a long enough duration for big rides (4 hrs max, IIRC)

[metalheart]

I am a Glympse user, works fine

[DRZRM]

Yup. +1 for Glympse. I use it all the time for various needs, mostly driving, but it can do this too. Maybe the Companion App could be used for this too (it notifies contacts if you stop progressing towards your destination) but I think it also sees running as a problem, so biking would likely be too fast.

[RyanH]

I just downloaded the RoadID app since I have Android. It does have a cool feature where it has a 5 minute stationary alert (with a 60s count down to cancel). I'll see how it works tonight.

[AngryScientist]

Road ID sends texts to my while riding.

Also, iPhone has find my iPhone app, which you should use anyway for lost/stolen phone...shows exactly where you are...

I just checked- my wife is getting gas at a Shell station close to her work.


Edit. Now she is moving north heading to our kids' school

This is kind of stalker creepy!

[djg21]

This is kind of stalker creepy!

On the iPhone app, you have to give permission before any given person follows you.

[Keith A]

Never thought about doing this, but it's a great idea. BTW, is the Road ID app a free one?

[572cv]

We use the iPhone Find Friends app. Very good for this purpose.

[Mzilliox]

this is weird... what happened?

[Keith A]

this is weird... what happened?What are you referring to?

[93legendti]

Never thought about doing this, but it's a great idea. BTW, is the Road ID app a free one?

Yes. I use it every ride.

[Keith A]

Yes. I use it every ride.Thanks...I'll be checking this out.

[93legendti]

Thanks...I'll be checking this out.

You're welcome. It is a great app that a riding buddy turned me on to.

[commonguy001]

Another iPhone find my phone user.
When the wife needs to know she can just look and see how close to home I am.
Granted it only works if you have an iPhone...

[RyanH]

Did my first ride with the road id app tonight. Other than forgetting to turn it on before my ride, it's really well thought out. It sends a text to my wife letting her know I'm going on a ride along with the map and then when I finish it can send another text.

This sounds silly to a degree at home but while traveling it provides me a little piece of mind that if I end up in a ditch, there's a chance she'll be notified by the app's 5 minute stationary alert.

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[djg21]

I use it all the time. In 2006 I was badly hit by a car while commuting via bike. The police couldn't find my ID, And it took a while before I could be identified. State troopers shoes up at my home to escort my wife to the hospital

[unterhausen]

if my wife thinks I'm on a ride, she checks my "find me spot" web page. The Gen III spot goes through batteries a lot slower than earlier versions. It's expensive, but it is a lot better than trying to keep your phone working in the woods.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

BallandChain

[BumbleBeeDave]

I go riding to get away from stuff like this.:crap:

BBD

[93legendti]

I go riding to get away from stuff like this.:crap:

BBD

You go riding so if something happens to you no one will know where you are and how to get help to you?

So, as I was riding on the freeway the other night in San Luis Obispo (yes, riding on a freeway is as awesome as it sounds), I was really wishing that I had an app on my phone like the Spot device I used to have to provide my significant other my location in case something happens.

Anyone have suggestions for ones they like? RoadID has one that may be sufficient.

[AngryScientist]

i guess i don't really get it. not flaming the idea, just help me understand why people use these services?

my thinking is that if i go down on a road somewhere, i wouldnt want my wife and kids to try and come to the scene of the accident. if it's serious enough that i need medical attention, i want to get to the hospital as quickly as possible, and my dogtags have ICE contact info. my family can meet me at the hospital, not lying in the road?

if under circumstances where i am concious and un-injured, if my wife really needs me she can text or call my phone. i'll hear her individual ring and call her back and actually TELL her where i am.

what is the need for someone at home to be able to track your evey meter, i dont understand?

again, not insinuating that others dont have a good reason, just asking?

[gone]

i guess i don't really get it. not flaming the idea, just help me understand why people use these services?


I expect the answers are widely varied but here are mine.

For long rides (600K-1200K) I use a Spot tracker. When I'm riding at e.g., 4 AM on a remote road in middle-of-nowhere Washington state (Cascade 1200), Tennessee (Natchez Trace 1500K), etc., my wife can check the Spot and if I'm moving know that I'm OK which is a comfort to her. Reason enough IMHO.

For shorter (local) rides, I use any one of Garmin connect, cyclemeter, etc., which allow her to see where I am. This is more a convenience thing. Some examples of conveniences it enables:

I might tell her I'm going for a 20 mile ride when I leave but once I get out and going I might decide to go a bit farther. She knows the roads well enough that she can see I've taken the longer way and know I won't be home for a while. Since she holds lunch until I get back (I ride in the mid-morning usually) she'll go ahead and eat.
I quite often meet her mid-ride for lunch somewhere. When we do this, she is usually somewhere else besides home (doing errands, off at an appointment somewhere, etc). I'm pretty good at estimating when I'll get there but if I get held up for some reason (didn't leave when I intended, flat, etc) I'd normally have to call her and tell her I'll be late with a new ETA. A tracking app. lets her look at her cell phone, see where I'm at and know I'm not going to make it when I originally said and adjust her time accordingly.

So bottom line is it allows me to just keep riding without having to stop and call. Granted, with a cell phone a quick call is easy to make but this is easier still.

[malbecman]

What's the saying? "Happy Wife, Happy Life?" :D

If it gives my wife some peace of mind and lets me ride longer/farther, I see nothing but upside.

[rugbysecondrow]

I go riding to get away from stuff like this.:crap:

BBD

Amen. I don't want to be found
At a macro level, I just don't want people knowing where I am all the time. It isn't like I am doing anything wrong, but it just isn't any of their damn business. I know people who use this not just for riding, but daily, checking to see where there spouse is etc. Screw that. If my wife or I want to get out and have some privacy, then we are grown folks and should be afforded that. I don't need a GPS locator on me or a virtual leash.


Related to riding, the growing technological arsenal of cameras, video, GPS locator, pings to the wife/spouse...just not something I want to be part of.

I figure a watch is all I need.

"Going for a ride, be home by 9AM".

For running and riding, I ditched the electronics in favor of the experience. No more stroke rates, MPH or any other data, just ride. Just run. Ditching the electronics was the single best improvement to both experiences.

[joosttx]

garmin has a feature for live tracking. I use this.

[wallymann]

love this app. and it's free! https://www.greenalp.com/RealTimeTracker/

real time tracking with bread-crumbs. security features (geo-fencing for privacy zones), can control user access, other stuff too. uses google mapping behind the scenes.

i give my wife a URL (which she bookmarks) and can access from her smartfone or any computer with a web-browser.

[Jaq]

Amen. I don't want to be found
At a macro level, I just don't want people knowing where I am all the time. It isn't like I am doing anything wrong, but it just isn't any of their damn business. I know people who use this not just for riding, but daily, checking to see where there spouse is etc. Screw that. If my wife or I want to get out and have some privacy, then we are grown folks and should be afforded that. I don't need a GPS locator on me or a virtual leash.


Related to riding, the growing technological arsenal of cameras, video, GPS locator, pings to the wife/spouse...just not something I want to be part of.

I figure a watch is all I need.

"Going for a ride, be home by 9AM".

For running and riding, I ditched the electronics in favor of the experience. No more stroke rates, MPH or any other data, just ride. Just run. Ditching the electronics was the single best improvement to both experiences.

The main advantage for a tracking system I think would be for group rides in far-off places, or mtb rides. If and as the group splits, you could see where the others are, if they're changing flats, drinking beers, etc.

I took all the wireless computers off a couple years ago. Feels great. Still use strava, but just to log total miles.

[bking]

Amen. I don't want to be found
At a macro level, I just don't want people knowing where I am all the time. It isn't like I am doing anything wrong, but it just isn't any of their damn business. I know people who use this not just for riding, but daily, checking to see where there spouse is etc. Screw that. If my wife or I want to get out and have some privacy, then we are grown folks and should be afforded that. I don't need a GPS locator on me or a virtual leash.


Related to riding, the growing technological arsenal of cameras, video, GPS locator, pings to the wife/spouse...just not something I want to be part of.

I figure a watch is all I need.

"Going for a ride, be home by 9AM".

For running and riding, I ditched the electronics in favor of the experience. No more stroke rates, MPH or any other data, just ride. Just run. Ditching the electronics was the single best improvement to both experiences.

I use the find my friend app on apple. my whole family does except my son (32yrs old). As many have said, it's just a comfort that my wife if she's worried or i decide to go longer can turn to. We use it regularly. My mom in Phx has an iphone and she checks each morning to see where i'm riding. she likes that. And we use the app all the time. kids no longer call and ask, 'where's mom at?".
that said, i do understand your sentiments rugbysecondrow. While some of us don't care that select people can know where we are, others do care. and it has nothing to do with having "something to hide". I have three sons in law, only one is good with it. the other two are great guys, trust them completely (they both work for me), but neither want to be a "find my friend". it's just a wiring thing, i guess.

an edit: i just remembered, i used to get a bit bugged when my wife would call on cell phone and first thing she'd say is "where are you?". Have no idea why that bothered me, and this i don't give a thought to. Again, just wiring, perhaps.

[merlinmurph]

FWIW, I've always though something like this would be useful if you simply break down somewhere and want someone to pick you up. My rides are pretty much in the boonies and trying to explain to my wife where I am could be tough. Though, I don't think it would work very well if I'm out of cell range.....

[chiasticon]

my thinking is that if i go down on a road somewhere, i wouldnt want my wife and kids to try and come to the scene of the accident. if it's serious enough that i need medical attention, i want to get to the hospital as quickly as possible, and my dogtags have ICE contact info. my family can meet me at the hospital, not lying in the road?

if under circumstances where i am concious and un-injured, if my wife really needs me she can text or call my phone. i'll hear her individual ring and call her back and actually TELL her where i am.
these are excellent points. never thought about 'em before, but they are great.

i used to use ride tracking via cyclemeter, for wifey's peace of mind. eventually, i just kinda stopped. main thing was that if the ride was long enough, my phone battery could die and it's more important to have it if i needed it for what could be an emergency call, than to constantly GPS my location (which wears the battery faster, obviously). however, i will occasionally use a location reporting app if we're travelling and she's worried i'll get on sketchy roads or something. or i'll just agree to text her "all good" messages every so often or at key points in the ride. as others have said, if it gives those closest to you a secure feeling and it's only a minor hassle, then it's no big deal.

also, i've used the individual ring thing for years and have turned other riding buddies onto it. basically it's a "if it's not my significant other, i ain't answering" sort of thing. and my wife respects that and won't call unless there's absolute reason to.

[pff]

google plus does this if you turn on location sharing (you can restrict by circle to just your wife or something), that's what i do.

seconded. I also use this to facilitate meet ups with riding buddies.

[oldfatslow]

Is there an app where if I'm at the strip club it will show my wife I'm at the bible study she thought I was attending?http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/12/fa34c5ff2c097b10bf3a160cdc01b9ca.jpg


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[SoCalSteve]

Is there an app where if I'm at the strip club it will show my wife I'm at the bible study she thought I was attending?http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/12/fa34c5ff2c097b10bf3a160cdc01b9ca.jpg


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Have the bible study at the strip club, that way you are covered!!!...:beer:

[Tandem Rider]

Name of a local bar is The Jobsite....

:cool:

[Russian bear]

Amen. I don't want to be found
At a macro level, I just don't want people knowing where I am all the time. It isn't like I am doing anything wrong, but it just isn't any of their damn business. I know people who use this not just for riding, but daily, checking to see where there spouse is etc. Screw that. If my wife or I want to get out and have some privacy, then we are grown folks and should be afforded that. I don't need a GPS locator on me or a virtual leash.


Related to riding, the growing technological arsenal of cameras, video, GPS locator, pings to the wife/spouse...just not something I want to be part of.

I figure a watch is all I need.

"Going for a ride, be home by 9AM".

For running and riding, I ditched the electronics in favor of the experience. No more stroke rates, MPH or any other data, just ride. Just run. Ditching the electronics was the single best improvement to both experiences.

Do you not bring a cell phone on your rides just in case? If you do, it's already tracking you via GPS bread crumbs ;)

[RyanH]

If you ever end up unconscious in a ditch your tune might change. Many things can happen while riding that don't necessarily involve another party that can and will call 911.

I was bombing a descent the other day in a very technical canyon and over cooked a negative camber turn,came very close to going straight over the rail. Probably would have been hours if I was lucky before someone found me.

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[rugbysecondrow]

Do you not bring a cell phone on your rides just in case? If you do, it's already tracking you via GPS bread crumbs ;)


I get that "the man" can find me, I just don't want to help him. :)




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[inlimbo87]

I've tried Garmin's solution and RoadID's app - both to no avail. Neither one worked, which just unneedingly worried my wife. I just make a habit to check in when I can (SAGs, et)

[R3awak3n]

Have the bible study at the strip club, that way you are covered!!!...:beer:

no no no, you have to have the strip club at bible study.