How it works
How longvoie works
You pick a road and ride it for as long as you have. When you stop, longvoie remembers the spot, and your next ride starts there.
The roads
The roads come from OpenStreetMap, the same map a lot of cycling apps use, and the heights from the Copernicus elevation model. longvoie draws them in 3D with the buildings and trees around them. On Paris along the Seine you pass under the Eiffel Tower; on Alpe d'Huez the 21 hairpins are where they are on the mountain.
You can also bring your own road as a GPX file. Here is how.
What your trainer feels
While you ride, longvoie tells your trainer the gradient under your wheels, and the trainer adds or takes away resistance to match. Your weight and your bike's weight count too, so a climb is as hard for you as it would be outside.
This works with smart trainers that speak FTMS, a Bluetooth standard most recent trainers have. Which trainers work. With a power meter instead, your watts move you along the road and the climbs show on screen, but nothing pushes back.
Long roads, a bit at a time
The Danube from Vienna to Budapest is 405 km. Nobody rides that on a trainer in one go, and you don't have to. Forty minutes gets you out of Vienna. Tomorrow you start where you stopped, and in a few weeks you ride into Budapest.
Every road shows how many rides it will take you, based on how long you usually ride. Your place on each road is saved to your account, so it's there on any computer you sign in on.
What you need
A laptop or desktop with Chrome or Edge, because those browsers can talk to Bluetooth devices and Safari and Firefox can't. A smart trainer or a power meter, and a heart-rate strap if you have one. If you don't have a trainer yet, you can still ride a road on the keyboard to see what it's like.
After a ride
Each ride is saved with its distance, time, climbing, power, cadence and heart rate. You can download it as a .tcx file and upload it to Strava or Garmin Connect.
Questions
Is longvoie free?
Yes. The roads, your own GPX files and your ride history are all free. You sign in with an email address; there is no subscription and nothing to pay.
Does longvoie have workouts or an ERG mode?
No. longvoie is for riding roads, so the trainer follows the gradient. If you want structured interval sessions, use an app built for them.
Can I ride with friends?
Not yet. For now you ride on your own.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
The website needs a laptop or desktop. An iPhone app is on the way.