Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Another way to play digital games on your bike.

It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but those interested in phone apps to do with cycling might be interested in a new game called RiderState.
I had a play with it and wrote a blog post/review with lots of screenshots.

http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/riderstate

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

Add new comment

9 comments

Avatar
Leviathan | 9 years ago
0 likes

RIDERSTATE UPDATE: I now have a shiny new HTC One and have finally joined the [What is this decade called?] I started logging yesterday on the way to work and logged 7 rides just going to work and to the shops and back. I have passed through 228 Lands and conquered 2, yes 2, both down my street. I expect to conquer a lot more just going to work tomorrow. It seems early days with this app. I was right at the bottom of the leader board with only 270 players world wide. Most of these seem to be in Spain as this is a spanish app, though there is no problem with the english version. Quite a few rides logged in the Canary Islands.
As for the UK, it is the second best covered country but there only seems to be about 12-15 players and all in England, except Deadhead in North Wales. No players in Scotland or Ireland. Near me there is one guy who seems to be commuting between Bolton and Sale, but he isn't coming near my new fiefdom in south Manchester. One in Preston, one in the lakes, but there might be a bit of real competition around London/Brighton. I hope I can bag a bit more territory before I gets more popular, but will I be interested in 'fighting' for land if anyone else pops up on my patch? Some players in the US have no one playing for 500miles.
I have gone for the same username bikeboy; but might change that to 'Leviathan' if I get to the top. One fault with the tables: you can't scroll and find other players, just see who is around you and who is the top three.
Now will I be tempted to join Strava?

Avatar
giff77 | 9 years ago
0 likes

No probs. 'Cept I'll have to sweep through your wee patch. But I'll go by the name Wallace for that one.  4

Avatar
Leviathan | 9 years ago
0 likes

You first, Longshanks.

Avatar
giff77 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Bikeboy I suggest a few incursions into Cymru will encourage deadhead to reclaim his territory and not be too complacent about his reign  3

Avatar
deadhead1971 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Thanks bikeboy  1
I always liked the idea that we've got two ears and one mouth and should use them in that ratio.
I do hope to see some local activity on riderstate from other people soon. The novelty may wear off too quickly otherwise. Good luck with it, hope you enjoy it.

Avatar
Leviathan | 9 years ago
0 likes

Deadhead, thanks for a wonderfully specific reply (why so many people go off topic so quickly I don't know.) Don't worry, I won't be coming for your lands, you will remain as the ap Gruffydd of North Wales. There is plenty of territory here to conquer, surrounded as I am by Harkonnens, Lannisters, Klingons and the French, bastards all of them!

GPS is what I need, gotcha.

Avatar
deadhead1971 | 9 years ago
0 likes

I think you "conquer lands" (to use their terminology) by being the most frequent rider. I think. Not totally sure. I did notice that the first areas I conquered were those around where I live, which makes sense.
In terms of other players - yes, I just checked and lots more people are on it now, from all over the world. Still, I seem to be the only one in North Wales at the moment.
Battery issues - i was out on Sunday for about 3 hours, and from full, the battery was at about 60% when I got home. So you might not want to use it on all day epic, if you're worried about not being able to make phone calls.
Data connection - in my review I reported a false start with the app, because I couldn't use it initially as there was no data. I think this was only because I hadn't logged in already. I'm assuming now, that like most apps, you don't actually need a data connection to record your ride, just the GPS. Your phone records the GPS track and it will sync later when it can connect. In my experience, using phone GPS apps doesn't dramatically increase data consumption. If you've ever used the facebook app on your phone, that's likely to use waaaaaay more data.

Avatar
Leviathan | 9 years ago
0 likes

I've been looking for a reason to upgrade my phone, but there has been a lot of negativity about Strava. This might hit the spot, though it seem awfully tempting to just go around all the back streets and nab lots of territory. I wonder do you know how you 'win' a block, Deadhead? Is it the most frequent/fastest/latest rider in that zone, or a combination. You said you don't have any rivals locally. If you zoom out are there many people playing in the UK? Or is it still pretty obscure?

I assume you take your phone on your ride and tap on the app to log the ride, does it need GPS? Does it cost a lot in data. Just wondering if I got into this/Strava would it cost a fortune to have my phone uploading all the time when I am riding? I am a bit of a phone Luddite and and only upgrade when my batteries die.

Avatar
Martyn_K | 9 years ago
0 likes

Mmm, looks ideal for those that like to just ride or solo riders who don't have riding buddies to compete against.

Personally i like Strava and never get tired of trying to beat pb's and get higher than my club mates on a leaderboard.

The make or break for this app could be the fact that you need to record the ride with your smart phone rather than upload from a garmin. I certainly don't like draining the battery on my phone, i like it to make calls if i ever need to out on a ride.

Latest Comments