A smartphone is the shining beacon of convergence that can do everything we could possibly need to at any time, and that fits perfectly into our pocket. It’s made us used to having constant access to entertainment, communication and information wherever we are and has connected us permanently to a huge grid of other similar smart devices.

It’s really rather incredible and science-fiction when you think about it. Go on, think about it for a bit…

The problem is that all this computing on the go can be rather distracting and leaves us rather stationary. Then when we do want to do something with our bodies and get back to basics we’re forced to unplug. Take riding a bike for instance â?? you can’t compute while you’re riding a bike. That would be ridiculous. Right?

Wrong

Really there is nothing that they haven’t thought of, and chances are that if you’re looking for a way to compute and communicate while you’re riding your bike… well of course other people have already needed that and provided a solution. Here we will look at how you can use your smartphone while you ride a bike â?? without crashing headlong into anything…

Kit Out Your Phone

First of all you are going to want to kit out your phone as much as possible and this means getting the right accessories to help protect it from damage and to help keep it going for longer. One thing you’ll need right away of course is a strong phone case and the increased speed means increased risk of damage so make sure it’s sturdy and will protect your phone from scratches should you drop it.

Likewise you’re going to want to get some good headphones and that means ones that can cancel the noise of the wind rushing past your ears and ones that have a microphone and a controller that doesn’t require you to get your phone out. It can also be useful to have somewhere you can store your phone itself when you’re riding, and a good solution here for instance would be to get a pouch that can attach to the bike itself or to use pockets with zips so it won’t fall out.

The Right Apps

Now you’re going to need the right software to make sure you actually can operate your phone without taking it out of your pocket â?? and there are plenty of things you can use for this purpose.

Of course if you’re an iPhone user, then the number one app you’re going to want to use for hands-free operation is probably Siri. This the killer AI app that can give you weather reports and sports updates on command. It can even send texts, and there are plenty of similar apps available for Android.

Other useful things here then are a great playlist to listen to while you ride, turn by turn navigation which will be highly useful when you’re riding and perhaps some audiobooks that you can listen to while you go. Suddenly you have all that information, all that communication and all that entertainment and it’s right in your pocket while you’re riding.

Phil Butler is a professional tech blogger from UK and writes guest posts for www.bikes.org.uk, a UK-based bike company publishing bike news & events, including new product launches, bike events, charity bike rides, competitions and much more.

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net / hin255