Apple Watch

The Ride with GPS companion app for Apple Watch allows the freedom to roam with or without your phone. Navigate from your wrist or use in standalone recording mode for ultralight activity tracking.  Receive haptic, visual, and audible navigational cues to help keep your rides and runs on track.

Ride with GPS on Apple Watch

Standalone Recording Mode

Simply tap Record to initiate standalone recording mode and leave your phone behind.  Default metrics (speed, distance, duration) will be displayed along with Apple Watch's integrated heart rate data and the current time.

1. Open the Ride with GPS watch app, and tap Record. 
2. Stop a recording by swiping the watch face left-to-right and tapping Pause. 
3. Tap Resume to continue recording, or tap Finish to save the activity. 
   
   In standalone mode, the saved activity will upload to your Ride with GPS account, and any Connected Services, when your watch reconnects to your phone.  
   
   In standalone mode, your metrics are derived from the watch's built-in sensors.  

In Tandem with the Mobile App 

Open the Ride with GPS mobile app on your iPhone and tap Record, or view the route you'd like to navigate and tap Navigate. The companion app will mirror the mobile display as your ride progresses, showing updated metrics and navigation cues.  Note: starting a ride on the phone will require ending the ride on the phone.  

Customize Your Metric Displays

Whether you are recording a ride, or navigating a planned route, you can customize which metrics are displayed. Choose from 27 different metrics and reflect the exact information you want to see. Select new metrics from the mobile app and they will be mirrored on the watch. Swipe the watch face right-to-left to reveal a second page of metrics. 

The center metric will remain, and the two corner metrics will update to reflect the lower section in the mobile app. As long as the recording is started on the phone, those custom metrics will display on the watch face.

Customize Metric Displays for Standalone Recordings

You can also choose which metrics display on the watch when you're recording your ride without bringing your phone along. To do so:

1. Open the Ride with GPS app.
2. Tap More > Settings.
3. Select Set Up Bluetooth Devices.
4. Select Set Up Apple Watch.
5. Select Metrics Settings.
6. Tap on each metric to change what is displayed on each page.

Please note that there are a limited number of metrics available for standalone recordings, due to the capabilities of using the Apple Watch in standalone mode.

Use Auto-Pause

With auto-pause enabled in the mobile app settings, your Apple Watch will show an auto-paused state when you stop for red lights, rest stops, rail road crossings, etc. You'll receive a haptic buzz, and the watch face will show the AUTO-PAUSED message on the watch face.  When you begin riding again, the watch will resume recording.  

Enable Heart Rate Measurements

1. Open the Ride with GPS app.
2. Tap More > Settings.
3. Select Set Up Bluetooth Devices.
4. Scroll down and tap Set Up Apple Watch. 
5. Toggle on Apple Watch Heart Rate.

Sync to Apple Health

1. Open the Ride with GPS app.
2. Tap More > Settings.
3. Select Logging.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and toggle on “Publish rides to the Health app."

By toggling on this setting, your heart rate, distance and duration of your rides will be sent to the Apple Health app. Only new rides recorded by the Ride with GPS app will get synced to the Apple Health app. This does not retroactively sync your ride history nor rides recorded by other devices. 

Navigation Notifications

You can have the watch app in the foreground or running in the background. When the app is running in the foreground, full alert notifications are displayed along with your metrics. When the watch app runs in the background, notifications will display over your lock screen.

Each time a navigation cue appears on your Apple Watch screen, you’ll simultaneously feel a haptic vibration from the watch on your wrist alerting you to the cue. If you have sound enabled on your Apple Watch, you'll hear a notification alert as well. If you stray from your planned route, the Apple Watch will alert you with a visual Off-Course notification with your current heading, distance, and direction back to the nearest point on the planned route.

  

Save Your Ride and View Your Data!

Remember: rides started on the phone must be stopped on the phone — likewise rides started on the watch must also be stopped on the watch. 

When you’re done riding, save your ride and it will be uploaded to your account automatically. View your saved ride in the app by tapping Library and choosing Rides or by visiting your account on the web at ridewithgps.com/rides.