Mini user guide to cycling with Windy.app
Learn about the five most important things about weather forecasting for cycling, including electric biking with the Windy.app for iOS and Android.
1. Find a cycling spot near your location or create a route with the weather at each point
The Windy.app contains a huge database of thousands of both the most popular and less-known spots, that only local cyclists know about. The database is constantly updated and corrected for possible inaccuracies. This means that you can be sure to find the best spots in the app. Let's take the popular Passo dello Stelvio (2,757 m), the highest mountain pass in Italy, as an example.
To find the closest cycling spot to you, first of all, activate the geolocation function in the general Settings of the app. Then you can find a spot in two ways: via Search on the app's Home screen and on the Weather Map where you can also use the search or you can find spots via the geolocation icons. To get this done faster, choose only Other spots in the Advanced Settings of this map. This is where cycling and general outdoor spots go.
Spot search on the Home screen of the Windy.app for iOS
Spot search on the Weather map in the Windy.app for iOS
Showing and hiding spots on the Weather map in the Windy.app for iOS
To create a cycling route with the weather at each point, read this instruction before. The feature is only in the Android version of the app.
2. Activate the Bike Weather Profile and read the detailed and accurate bike forecast
The Bike Weather Profile is one of 10+ profiles with a set of ready-to-use weather elements for different sports and outdoor activities. Activate it through the icon to the right of the list of weather models.
Bike Weather Profile preview in the Windy.app for iOS
The profile contains a detailed and accurate bike forecast, including such vital weather elements for cycling as air temperature, precipitation, wind, clouds, and UV Index. The special feature of the forecast is Bike Riding Temperature — a feels like temperature for biking, which can be lower or higher than regular because of the wind or humidity.
Bike forecast in the Dive Weather Profile in the Windy.app for iOS
In addition to this, using the Customization feature, you can add other weather data to the forecast. That's how you get your Custom Bike Weather Profile.
Custom Bike Weather Profile in the Windy.app for iOS
3. Compare forecast with the nearest weather stations and weather history
Weather stations collect various weather information from the atmosphere and provide real-time weather data. Here you can get wind speed, direction, and wind gust information, temperature, and forecast accuracy of the different weather models. Learn what you see on a weather station screen, and why you need stations for weather forecasting in general.
Weather stations in the Windy.app for iOS
Weather stations in the Windy.app for iOS
Another way to verify the accuracy of the forecast and to understand the general behavior of the weather on the spot is to compare it to the history of the weather. In the relevant section of the app, you can see data on wind, precipitation, temperature, and atmospheric pressure for each day for the last 10 years (2012–2021), as well as monthly averages for each year and averages for the entire decade.
Weather history in the Windy.app for iOS
Weather history in the Windy.app for iOS
4. Look at the bigger weather picture on the Weather Map and find other nearest bike spots
Sometimes the weather forecast and spot information are not enough — you need a big weather picture. And the Windy.app also has it.
To get an overview of the wind and precipitation for a larger area, go from the spot page or from the app's Home screen to the same Weather Map and select the relevant layers. You now see a Live wind / precipitation map for the entire world. Zoom in and out of the map to make it more or less detailed. Note there is also a wind gusts layer. It is also important to check it because often the wind speed can be low with very strong gusts that will make significant adjustments to your workout.
On the Weather Map, you can also find other nearby bike spots and take a look at all the bike locations in the country. Use the same Advanced Settings of the map to do this.
Precipitation map in the Windy.app for iOS
The map also contains a Live Weather Stations feature. These are the same station from paragraph 3 of this guide but represented in a more visual way.
Live weather stations on the Weather Map in the Windy.app for iOS
5. Activate the Offline Mode, if you will not have an Internet connection while cycling
That's how you will have a weather forecast with you all the time, without LTE or Wi-Fi. The feature works for all of your favorite spots at once. To activate the feature:
1. Tap on the star icon right to the ski resort name to add it to your favorite spots. Then the icon of an arrow in the square will appear. It means, that the spot is now in your Favorites.
2. Tap on the same three dots right to the sport's name and choose "Offline forecast".
3. Go back to one screen tapping "<" or "Cancel" and turn on / off the forecast or your favorite sports.
Offline weather forecast for cycling in the Windy.app for iOS
You can also download an offline wind map for the ski resort area and a larger part of the world.
Offline weather forecast for cycling in the Windy.app for iOS
Read all mini user guides to various sports you can do with Windy.app. Read the collection of articles about cycling on the Windy.app blog.
Text: Ivan Kuznetsov
Cover photo: Polina Rytova / Unsplash
