Way back last spring, I posted about ride mapping sites that let bikers trace favorite routes on a map and post them online. One of the featured sites was Bikely.com.
Today I learn that Bikely is being merged into the web site BikeRadar.com. Bike Radar is a British site, connected with Cycling Plus and other biking magazines. It turns out that the company that owns these magazines also owns Bikely.
It looks like an obvious move. Bikely members who log onto Bikely will be automatically redirected to Bike Radar. “We want you to enjoy all the brilliant content that BikeRadar.com has to offer,” their email said. “Which is why we’re integrating Bikely into BikeRadar.com.”
I guess I’m surprised only that it took this long. The inclusion of Bikely turns BikeRadar.com into a one-stop site for biking info. Now, along with bike news, training and nutrition info, product reviews, and forums, the visitor can also check out bike routes in his or her area and elsewhere. It’s a good traffic builder for Bike Radar, which in turn can lead to more advertising sales on their site.
The transition won’t take place until the end of November. Until then, you can log onto Bikely and it will look as it always has. A check of the Bike Radar site shows it to be its familiar old self, too.
By the way, I still use Map My Ride for my ride mapping needs.