By Per Amble

European Bike tourism is a growing pastime with thousands of new enthusiasts engaging in some fitness boosting, road rambling activity every passing month. Part of people’s new thirst for picturesque tours through Europe has been down to the massive innovation that is the smartphone app. Hundreds of new apps are being released that are catered towards bikers and tourists in particular, but with so many on the market, which are truly the best ones to fork out your hard earned cash for? Here are some of our favourites.

MotionX

This is the most useful app on our list! MotionX allows users to download maps that you can then view and use even if you lack an internet connection at that particular moment. With a built-in GPS function (again, able to work offline), your position is pin pointed on the map, a hugely useful feature that means a lot when you’re up in the Alps far, far away from an internet connection!

Coral

If you’re a sports fan, chances are you’ll like to keep up to date on the current fixtures and results, even when you’re away, and your cycling tour may be featuring a little spectating of some of Europe’s top cycling tour competitions too. Corals app helps out in both of these situations, allowing users to see news, live sports and odds whilst also offering access to a host of special offers for cycling fans.

TrackMyTour

Taking lots of pictures and videos, tracking your journeys and adventures is something the majority of tourists will know and love doing, but TrackMyTour makes the entire process incredibly easy. Whist touring your chosen route you can place waypoints that show your location, feature diary entries and post pictures, creating a lovely, battery-saving means of tracking your tour!

Wikitude

If you’re stuck in the wilds and simply don’t know where you are going or what you are looking for, Wikitude will definitely come to the rescue. Load it up, point it at the horizon around you, and you’ll get live-updated information about the land around you, including geotagged tweets, Wikipedia articles, Flickr photos and names of places.

Google Sky Map

Part of the beauty and fun of heading out into sparsely populated areas is being able to truly experience the night’s sky, devoid of any light pollution. With Google Sky Map, you can learn about the celestial majesty above you, and for the intrepid, could act as a learning resource for those that want to navigate in that most ancient of ways!