Features built for riders who don't guess
Planning the day, following the route, recording the ride, dressing for it, watching the road ahead, and keeping the bike alive β here's exactly what you get when you sign up, plus what unlocks at Pro.
How the Ride Score is built
Six weather factors, weighted by how much they actually matter once you're out there. Tuned by real riders, runners and walkers β not marketing.
These are the cycling weights. Running and walking lean harder on temperature, humidity and air quality β wind matters far less on foot.
Every feature, in one place
Free tier covers the essentials. Pro unlocks the wind-aware routing engine and the longer forecast horizon.
Train For It
A plan for the event you have never done before.
Most people who enter their first century have no idea how to get from where they are to a hundred miles, so they either wing it and blow up on the day, or never start. Pick your event and say honestly what the longest ride or run you have ever done is, and it builds the weeks between here and the start line β the long day growing on a steady ramp, a step-back week every fourth week so your body absorbs the work, and a two-week wind-down so you arrive rested. If you are new to the distance it stays distance and time only, because that is the right advice at that stage β structured intervals and watt targets switch on once there is an FTP to work from. And if the date is genuinely too soon for where you are starting, it refuses to build a plan and tells you roughly how many weeks you would actually want β because no plan is better than one that hurts you.
- βWeeks tick themselves off the rides you already record
- βA chart of the whole build, with a line at the furthest you had ever gone
- βRefuses dates that would need an injuring ramp, and says what would work
- βEleven browsable plans for when you have a goal but no event
Weather-Aware Training
The part no printed training plan can do.
Week six is where people quit, and it is almost never about fitness β it is the Saturday that turned out to be unrideable. Every training plan ever written prescribes a Saturday it has never seen the forecast for. When that Saturday turns out to be 94Β°F with storms coming, you either bail and lose the week or go out and have the day that makes people quit. This one checks the week ahead against the day you normally go long, and when a clearly better day is going spare it moves the long one onto it β same distance, same week. Your whole week is laid out as sessions on named days, each marked outside or trainer, so the hard work lands on the days worth riding and the ruined days become trainer days instead of lost ones.
- βMoves your long day only when another is clearly better β never nags
- βSunrise start times on the days that turn hot
- βWatt targets from your FTP, set or estimated from your own power data
- βTrainer days hand you a .zwo for Zwift, TrainerRoad or MyWhoosh
Coaching That Reads Your Rides
It knows whether it was hard, or just hot.
If three rides in a row felt brutal, you need to know whether to back off or push through β and getting that wrong either wastes the block or digs a hole you cannot train out of. Every ride you record carries a one-tap rating β easier, right, brutal β and the weather it actually happened in. Read together, those answer the question you cannot answer from inside your own training: is this getting hard because you are unfit, or because it was ninety-four degrees? Two brutal long rides in a row and the plan holds the distance instead of stepping up. Everything done and rated easier and it tells you there is room to push.
- ββIt is the heat, not your fitnessβ β with the numbers behind it
- βNotices the day you actually ride long, versus the one you planned
- βBacks the plan off when rides come back brutal, or you miss them
- βStays quiet until it has enough rides to mean something
Where Should I Ride?
Rank your favorite spots by today's best window.
Save up to 10 ride starting points β home, the trailhead, the cabin β and the scanner ranks them by upcoming 2-hour Ride Score. Tomorrow's best window: Lake Loop 8.4. The shortcut for riders with options.
- βUp to 10 saved spots (Free includes 1)
- βParallel forecast scan across every spot
- βTop-pick callout with temp, wind, and score
- βOne-tap rescan whenever the forecast moves
24-Hour Route Forecast
Find the best departure window for THIS route.
Pick any route on the map and see a 24-bar timeline of Ride Scores β each hour scored against your actual segments and the wind at that hour. The bar chart shows exactly when to leave for the tailwind home.
- βRoute-aware scoring (your bearings Γ the hour's wind)
- βBest departure highlighted with score + conditions
- βClick any bar for full conditions detail
- βWorks on saved routes and freshly drawn ones
Daily Best-Window Push
Tomorrow's perfect ride window, delivered overnight.
Each evening you get one push notification with tomorrow's best contiguous 2-hour riding window. Only fires when conditions are actually good β no spam on rainy weeks.
- βScore-threshold gated (sends only when β₯ GOOD)
- βPer-location: uses your saved push location
- βIncludes temp, wind, and condition summary
- βIndependent of storm alerts β toggle separately
Ride Score (0β10)
One number, all the signal.
Six weather factors weighted into a single, glanceable score. No more squinting at six different forecasts to decide if today's a ride day.
- βUpdated every hour from live weather data
- βColor-coded thresholds β green to red at a glance
- βPer-sport tuning for cycling, running, and walking
Wind-Aware Routing
Know the headwind before you start.
Every saved route is analyzed segment-by-segment against live wind direction and speed. See exactly which legs will hurt.
- βHeadwind / tailwind / crosswind percentage per segment
- βAuto reverse route suggestion when wind flips
- βOut-and-back recommendation engine
Gear Recommendations
Show up dressed right.
A weather-driven avatar shows the exact layers, gloves, eyewear, and shoe choices for current conditions β no more sweating up climbs in a winter jacket.
- βBase, mid, and outer layer suggestions
- βGlove, eyewear, and footwear thresholds
- βRain, snow, sun, wind, and night variants
Hourly Forecast Timeline
Find the window.
48 hours of Ride Score plotted as a color bar. Spot the 3-hour gap between storms or the quiet evening lull instantly.
- β48-hour color-coded score strip
- βTap any hour for full forecast detail
- βBest-window highlighting
Route Planning & Elevation
Build smarter, not harder.
Draw routes on the map, view elevation and gradient profiles, and overlay wind direction across the whole loop before you commit.
- βMapbox-powered route drawing
- βElevation and gradient charting
- βPer-segment wind overlay
Group Rides
Get the crew out together.
Create or join scheduled group rides with a shared Ride Score, RSVP list, and chat. Everyone sees the same forecast before showing up.
- βPublic or private ride creation
- βPer-ride RSVP and roster
- βShared forecast at start time
Turn-by-Turn, Offline
Directions that don't stop when the signal does.
Follow a route with spoken turns and a next-turn banner. Routes drawn on roads carry real street names; anything else β an imported GPX, a line you drew β gets its turns worked out from the shape of the road itself, which is the version that still works with no bars.
- βSpoken turns, or silent with the banner only
- βStreet names on road-snapped routes
- βOff-route warning, and it stops talking when you are
Leaderboards & Challenges
Standings among friends, your town, or everyone.
Follow other riders and compare your month against theirs. Monthly challenges are scored straight from your recorded rides β including weather ones no other app can run, like five rides under 45Β°F or three in the rain.
- βFriends, local and global boards
- βDistance, climbing, rides or time
- βOff by default β you appear only if you switch it on
Climbing Analytics
Not just how much you climbed β which climbs.
Every ride's elevation profile is broken into named climbs, categorised the way road racing does it, with length, average grade and total gain. Plus the numbers that only mean something over time: which conditions you actually ride best in, and whether this week's load is ahead of what your body is used to.
- βClimb detection with Cat 4βHC banding
- βBest-conditions tracking from your own pace
- βRecovery state and rest-day suggestions
Multi-Sport Support
One app, every cardio session.
Cycling, running, and walking each have their own dashboards tuned to the weather factors that actually matter for that sport.
- βCycling: wind-weighted scoring
- βRunning: heat & humidity priority
- βWalking: gentler thresholds, kid-friendly
Device Integrations
Your head unit. Your wrist. Your call.
The forecast is no use in your pocket. Pair a Garmin and the conditions read out on the head unit while you ride β temperature, wind and what is coming β so you find out about the turn in the weather from your handlebars rather than when it arrives. Wahoo is built and waiting on Wahoo: we submitted our application to their Cloud API and cannot ship it until they approve it, which is their timetable and not ours. We would rather tell you that than leave a date on it we cannot keep.
- βGarmin: live conditions on-device, available now
- βWahoo: written and submitted, waiting on Wahoo's approval
- βWhen Wahoo lands it sends routes to your ELEMNT and imports finished rides
E-Bike Law Reference
Know before you go.
State-by-state guide to US e-bike classifications, helmet rules, age minimums, and where each class is allowed on paths and trails.
- βAll 50 states + federal land summary
- βClass 1, 2, 3 path-access breakdown
- βHelmet and minimum-age lookups
Installable PWA
Home screen, offline-ready.
RideByWeather installs to your phone like a native app β no app store needed. Push notifications, full-screen UI, and a custom icon.
- βiOS and Android home-screen install
- βPush storm alerts opt-in
- βWorks on flaky cell coverage
Storm Push Alerts
Get warned before the radar lights up.
Opt in to push notifications and we'll ping you when a storm cell, lightning risk, or gust front is heading toward your saved routes.
- βLightning, gust, and heavy-rain triggers
- βPer-route geofencing
- βSilent overnight by default
Live Ride Mode
One screen, the whole ride.
Start a ride session and the screen stays awake with current conditions, the next-hour outlook, and a re-route prompt if wind shifts mid-loop.
- βWake-lock keeps the screen on
- βMid-ride wind-shift detection
- βBig-touch UI for jersey pockets
- βEvery mile called out in your earbuds, with the speed you held for it
Bike Shop & Partner Map
Mechanics, coffee, and water β on the route.
Find bike shops, cafΓ©s, and rest stops near your route or current location. Enterprise partners surface with branded pins and offers.
- βOSM, Foursquare, and Yelp sources
- βFilter by mechanic, cafΓ©, or water
- βEnterprise partner listings
Auto-Located Forecast
Open the app, see your weather.
We detect your city on first load via IP, then upgrade to precise GPS once you grant location. No setup, no zip-code typing.
- βInstant IP-based starting city
- βGPS upgrade on permission grant
- βManual override any time
Units & Preferences
Your bike, your numbers.
Toggle metric or imperial, Β°F or Β°C, mph or km/h. Set your wind tolerance, cold threshold, and rain aversion β the Ride Score tunes to you.
- βMetric / imperial toggle
- βPersonal weather thresholds
- βPer-sport defaults
Emergency & Medical Lookups
If the ride goes sideways.
Find the nearest urgent care, hospital, or pharmacy from your current location β useful for mechanicals far from home or a crash on a backroad.
- βHospital, urgent care, pharmacy filters
- βDistance and routing from current GPS
- βOffline-cached for last-known route
Air Quality Monitoring
Breathe before you boast.
AQI pulled into the Ride Score so smoke, smog, or pollen days don't blindside you. Categorical warnings for sensitive groups.
- βPM2.5, ozone, and NOβ tracking
- βWildfire-smoke alert thresholds
- βSensitive-group warning toggle
UV Index & Sun Safety
Sunscreen is gear too.
Hourly UV index folded into the avatar β get a sunscreen, sleeves, or eyewear reminder when the burn potential spikes.
- βHourly UV forecast
- βSleeve and sunscreen prompts
- βEyewear tint suggestions
Sunrise / Sunset Planner
Catch the golden hour.
Plan dawn patrol or evening loops with exact civil-twilight windows. Get a low-light gear reminder when lights become legally required.
- βCivil-twilight start and end
- βLights-required notification
- βGolden-hour photo window
Heat Index & Hydration Coach
Drink before you crack.
Heat index, wet-bulb temp, and humidity-adjusted hydration targets β based on duration and intensity of your planned ride.
- βWet-bulb risk thresholds
- βBottle-count recommendation
- βElectrolyte vs water guidance
Multi-Day Tour Planner
Pack for the whole trip.
Bike-touring or a weekend training block? See the full week of Ride Scores across multiple stops and pack gear for the worst day.
- β7-day score across a route
- βMulti-stop aggregation
- βPack-list export
Compare Two Locations
Should I drive 40 miles for sun?
Side-by-side Ride Scores for any two cities. Settle the "is it nicer at the coast today" debate in 5 seconds.
- βDual forecast panels
- βScore delta highlighted
- βSave favorite comparisons
Bike Type Profiles
Road, gravel, MTB, e-bike β different math.
Pick the bike you're riding today and the Ride Score retunes. Road bikes hate crosswinds; gravel bikes shrug them off; e-bikes care about charge weather.
- βRoad, gravel, MTB, commuter, e-bike
- βPer-bike threshold defaults
- βSave multiple bike profiles
Calendar Sync for Group Rides
Put it on the family calendar.
Group rides export to Apple, Google, and Outlook calendars with one tap. Reminders include the live Ride Score at start time.
- βiCal / .ics export
- βAuto-update on time changes
- βScore-at-start in the event note
Commute Mode
Morning ride out + evening ride home, side by side.
Two cards: AM departure and PM return, with the delta highlighted. The single best feature for daily bike commuters β no more guessing whether to bring rain gear.
- βSet your own AM and PM times
- βPM-vs-AM delta in one number
- βPlain-language verdict each morning
Bike vs Drive
Real cost of skipping the bike today.
Today's gas saved, IRS-rate cost saved, COβ avoided, and calories burned β for your commute. Daily, weekly, and yearly views.
- βRound-trip dollars and gas
- βEPA-grade COβ accounting
- βPer-mile calorie burn
Tire Pressure Calculator
Front and rear PSI, tuned to today.
Silca-style pressure model β your system weight, tire width, surface, and tubeless setup. Front and rear PSI with the right 48/52 split.
- βSmooth, rough, wet, gravel, MTB surfaces
- βTubeless adjustment
- βWet-road grip drop built in
Chain Lube Selector
Wet, dry, or ceramic β decided.
Pulls the next 7 days of precip and picks the right lube. Stops the wet-vs-dry argument; matches the week, not your last guess.
- βWet days vs total days
- βCeramic-wax window detection
- βRe-lube reminders after rain rides
Road Conditions
Wet pavement, frost, and ice risk.
Derived from the same hourly forecast that powers your Ride Score. 12-hour outlook for wet, drying, frost-risk, and ice windows.
- βWet-now and wet-soon advisories
- βBlack-ice and frost detection
- βPer-hour visual strip
Event Countdown
Pin a race date, watch the forecast trajectory.
Race, gran fondo, century, big group ride β pin it. Once it enters the 14-day window the daily score appears, and you can plan your taper around the weather.
- βPersistent pin
- β14-day score trajectory
- βEvent-day breakout card
Service Intervals
Drivetrain, brakes, tires β never overdue.
Log lifetime miles, track miles since each component was serviced. Smart defaults for chain, cassette, brake pads (rim & disc), tires, cables, bar tape, and tubeless sealant.
- βColor-coded due / overdue status
- βQuick + miles and bulk mileage entry
- βPer-component last-done tracking
Pollen Index
Grass, tree, weed, ragweed β covered.
Allergy-sensitive riders need pollen, not just AQI. Per-type breakdown plus a peak grains/mΒ³ figure with rider impact.
- βGrass, tree, weed, birch, alder, ragweed
- βHourly average β peak picked for the day
- βAllergy-friendly riding advice
Sensitive Lungs Mode
Asthma-aware ride verdict.
Combines AQI, humidity, cold-air bronchospasm risk, ozone, and pollen into one safety call. Built for riders with exercise-induced bronchospasm or asthma.
- βTrigger-by-trigger breakdown
- βPre-medication reminders
- βStay-inside threshold
Family Mode
Scored for the kid, not for you.
A towed child makes no body heat and sits in the wind your bike creates, so we work out what it feels like to them β then tell you the best window today, how long to stay out, and what to put on them.
- βTrailer, tagalong, own bike, or stroller
- β"Kid feels like" temperature, hour by hour
- βBest family window + suggested time limit
- βLayering list sized to the child
On This Day
What today's weather did, the last 5 years.
Open-Meteo archive: high/low temp, max wind, precip on today's date in each of the last 5 years, plus a 5-year mean. Useful for trip planning and pure nostalgia.
- βYear-by-year history
- β5-year mean for the date
- βFree, no key needed
Morning Briefing
20-second spoken summary + shareable card.
A four-sentence forecast briefing read aloud through SpeechSynthesis, plus a download-as-PNG square card for sharing. The fastest path to today's plan.
- βBrowser TTS playback
- βAuto-rendered square card
- βBrand mark + score ring
Indoor Fallback
When the score crashes, ride inside on purpose.
Matches an indoor workout (recovery, endurance, sweet-spot, threshold, or VO2) to the duration you would have ridden outside. Curated, TSS-aware library.
- βDuration-matched picks
- βTSS estimates per workout
- βAuto-suggests easier options when conditions are bad
Hazard Pins
Potholes, debris, glass, closures.
Drop a pin where the road bites. Pins expire after 30 days so the map stays current. Phase 1 saves locally on your device; community sync comes next.
- β5 hazard types
- βGPS-grab one-tap
- βAuto-expiry keeps map clean
Referral Credit
Refer a friend, both get Pro free.
Share your invite link β when a friend signs up, you each get a free month of Pro on us. Native share and email built in.
- βPersonal short code per user
- βWeb Share API + email fallback
- βTracked for credit on first upgrade
Weekly Digest Email
Sunday: this week's best ride day.
Per-user weekly summary emailed Sunday morning. 7-day Ride Score forecast with the best day highlighted plus full conditions.
- βBest ride day callout
- βDay-by-day score table
- βSent at your saved location
Lightning Map
Storm cells, 30-30 rule, get-indoors call.
Live thunder reports from the NWS observation stations around you β how far the nearest electrified cell is and which way β plus active storm warnings, the 12-hour model, and the 30-30 rule timed for you.
- βNearest thunder: distance, bearing, minutes ago
- βNWS thunderstorm warnings for your point
- β30-minute all-clear clock and flash-to-bang
City Ride Guides
Curated rides, season by season.
Hand-written guides for Portland, Boulder, NYC, SF, Austin, and Chicago. Climatology, season-by-season tips, and signature rides with wind-direction tactics.
- βPublic, SEO-indexable
- βSignature rides per city
- βBest-wind-direction tactics
Bike Theft Hotspots
Where not to lock up.
Neighborhood-level risk index for cycling cities worldwide β 30+ countries and 40+ US states. Decide whether to lock outside or bring the bike inside before you ride downtown.
- β500+ neighborhoods scored across 33 countries
- β0β10 risk score and lock strategy per area
- β43 US states + DC, plus Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America
E-Bike Range Calculator
Real miles, not the brochure number.
Folds today's wind, temperature, your weight, assist level, and total climbing into a personalized range estimate β with drains and boosts itemized.
- βWind, cold, weight, climb factors
- βEco/Tour/Sport/Turbo PAS levels
- βHeadwind projection from route bearing
Caffeine Timing
Peak plasma at the start line.
Plan your coffee, espresso, or pre-workout so peak performance hits when you clip in. Dose calibrated to your weight, top-up for long rides included.
- β45-min pre-ride intake target
- βWeight-based 3β6 mg/kg dosing
- βMid-ride top-up for 2h+ efforts
Streaks & Achievements
Make every ride count.
Every ride you record builds your streak automatically β no logging. We look up the weather each ride was ridden in and unlock the badges you earned: cold rides, dawn patrols, gale warriors.
- βCurrent and longest streak tracking
- β16 weather-class achievements
- βAutomatic from your recorded rides
Pre-Sunset Lights Reminder
Charge before you ride into the dark.
Opt in to a push at 15/30/45/60 min before civil sunset: light battery check, reflective layer reminder. Runs from your saved push location.
- βConfigurable lead time
- βHonors local sunset, not server time
- βIndependent from storm/window alerts
Cargo & Loaded Bike Profiles
Long-tail, box, panniers β Ride Score retunes.
Cargo bikes and loaded commuters are sail-shaped and gust-sensitive. The Ride Score now applies an extra gust penalty so the verdict matches what it actually feels like.
- βNew cargo and loaded-commuter profiles
- βGust-extra penalty for sail-shaped loads
- βPlays directly into your Ride Score
Bike Lane Closures
Know the detour before you leave.
Live bike lane, cycleway and trail closures anywhere in the world β pulled from OpenStreetMap, city 311 open data and reports filed by other riders, with severity, reason and reopen date.
- βAdvisory / Partial / Full classification
- βSource links where available
- βCrowdsource via email next
Free vs Pro at a glance
Start free forever. Upgrade only when you need the routing engine.
Free
For anyone riding, running or walking a few times a week
- βBasic Ride Score (current conditions)
- βCurrent weather forecast
- βGear recommendations
- β3 saved routes
- βGroup rides
- βE-bike law reference
- βMobile PWA access
Pro β $2.99 / mo
For serious riders chasing the right window
- βEverything in Free, plus:
- ββWhere should I ride?β scanner β rank 10 saved spots
- β24-hour route forecast (pick the best departure window)
- βDaily best-window push alerts
- β14-day Ride Score forecast (vs 7)
- βWind-aware route optimization
- βUnlimited saved routes
- βHistorical weather replay
Frequently asked questions
The stuff people ask before signing up.
Do I need to pay to use RideByWeather?
No. The Free tier is forever-free and covers the basic Ride Score, 7-day forecast, gear avatar, group rides, e-bike law lookups, 1 saved ride spot, and 3 saved routes. Pro ($2.99/mo) unlocks the multi-location "Where should I ride?" scanner, the 24-hour route forecast, daily best-window push alerts, and the 14-day outlook.
How accurate is the Ride Score?
The score runs our weighted algorithm (cycling: Wind 40%, Temp 20%, Precip 15%, Gusts 10%, Humidity 10%, Safety 5% β running and walking retune toward temperature, humidity and air quality) over the forecast. That forecast comes from Open-Meteo first, falling back to MET Norway (Yr.no) and then OpenWeather if one is unavailable, so a single provider having a bad day does not take the score down with it. Current conditions are merged from the nearest station reading where there is one. It's tuned by real riders and runners, and updates hourly. Pro users get per-bike profile retuning.
Which devices and services integrate?
Garmin head-unit and watch sync is live today β pair from the Link page and your device pulls live weather while you ride (it's a live readout on-device, not a background alert); Wahoo support is in active development. Separately, phone storm push notifications work on iOS 16.4+, Android, and desktop. The PWA installs to your home screen β no app store required.
Can I use this for running or walking?
Yes. /running and /walking each have their own dashboards with sport-tuned weights (running shifts more weight to heat and humidity; walking uses gentler thresholds). One account covers all three.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
Your account stays β you just drop back to the Free tier. Saved routes, ride history, and preferences are preserved. You can re-upgrade any time with no migration cost.
Is there a free trial for Pro?
Yes β 14 days, no credit card upfront on the trial flow. After that it's $2.99/month, cancel any time through the Stripe billing portal in your account menu.
Ready to stop guessing?
Sign up free in 30 seconds. No credit card. Upgrade only when the routing engine starts paying for itself.