Getting lost on a bike

I�m currently cycling from St Malo in France to Budapest, Hungary. Over the last seven weeks, I�ve gotten lost at least once a day. I take a wrong turn or miss an important sign and end up scratching my head and trying to convince a local to tell me how to get out of their town.

And then, at the end of a long day in the saddle, I pedal slowly along the streets of a town looking for my hotel. I�ve got the address and a screenshot of the location on my iPad, but it often takes an eternity to find the cheap lodging located down a narrow back alley.

My last resort is usually to ask a local, except my Czech language skills aren�t the best. Or to open Google Maps to pinpoint where I am, so I can navigate the hell out of there. 

Except that takes data. Expensive data involving roaming charges and all manner of bullshit clauses that phone companies add to mobile plans. Frankly, I�d rather stay lost.

Last week, I met a fellow long distance cyclist in the Czech Republic who had navigated all the way from Georgia without getting lost. I was impressed. She showed me an app suitable for iPad and Android phones, called Maps.Me.

For the price of two half-litre glasses of Czech Pilsener (A$5.99), this app doesn�t require mobile phone reception or wifi. It uses the location device for satellite tracking built into most iPads and smartphones. That means, no data costs. 

While it won�t direct me to my hotel in the step-by-step way of most in-car GPS devices, it will locate both my destination and my location, allowing me to map my own route to the hotel, or cafe, or pub, or wherever I want to go.

For the once-only charge, it allows me the opportunity to download maps for as many countries as I require. It�s incredibly fast, usually locating me within a few seconds, no matter where I am - down a back alley, on a path beside a river, or on a highway. I can zoom in for precise detail, much better than Google Maps. And remember, all this while I�m technically offline. 

I�ve used the app for a week and it�s managed to assist me in the pouring rain in locating a guesthouse down a street in Vienna that was several kilometres from the Danube River where I first entered the city. 

I�ve needed it every day. Tonight, I used it to direct me through Bratislava to a microbrewery. You see how valuable it is!

Perhaps the best aspect of this app is that it�s taken the stress out of my long-distance cycling. I don�t worry about consulting maps as frequently. If I get lost, I can find my way back on track again with Maps.Me.

It also locates nearby restaurants, pubs, cafes, railway stations, toilets, banks - most things a traveller requires.

The app is developed and operated by a small team from the Republic of Belarus. Long may they thrive. They did not pay for my endorsement. In fact, if I ever meet any of the team, the beers are on me.




I've written three travel ebooks on my cycling adventures across Europe. They sell for between $2.99 and $3.99, depending on which currency you use. You can visit my Amazon page here for the USA; here for the UK and here for Australia