Shikoku Tours CEO Rod Walters has been a keen cyclist for the thirty years he’s been in Japan. Back in the days before the Internet, Google Maps, and mobile phones, he estimated ride distances by arranging wet thread on a paper map and measuring it – not a very satisfactory procedure. Fortunately, technology has made strides since then, and today we have Ride with GPS, a very convenient app for planning and recording rides. You can use the app on mobile devices, PCs, and ride computers.
Ride with GPS is great for planning rides. You can map out where you want to go in advance, on a PC or directly in your mobile phone. The app tells you how long the route is and shows elevation gained and lost, so you know what you’re in for. Then you can use the planned route to navigate. As you cycle, you can record your route and speed, and any photos you take can be saved to the route. The finished route can be shared directly with friends and posted to social media.
There are several similar apps on the market, but for a DMC like Shikoku Tours, the advantage of Ride with GPS is their international coverage and their services for DMOs and DMCs. Ride with GPS is available in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch, and Japanese. The app is used by people all over the world. To introduce great rides in various countries to these users, the company has introduced the Ride with GPS Ambassador program. Trusted tour operators in each region are invited to post the best rides on the Ambassador page to showcase the cycling resources there.
Shikoku Tours is the Ambassador for Shikoku. As part of the agreement with Ride with GPS, Shikoku Tours will introduce three great rides in each of the four prefectures. Given the intense focus on cycling in Shikoku, this is a good way for the tourism authorities of Shikoku to present the cycling resources in their territories to cyclists directly through their favourite app.