The next time you’re out at the bike park, you may want to reconsider the use of Strava. Not because Strava isn’t capable of recording your runs, but because there’s another ride recording app that is built specifically for the park. The aptly named BikeParkPro was released to the world in 2016, but the app has seen some updates for 2017 specifically in regards to their Pro Pass. This subscription service adds more features, but more interestingly adds actual competitions that could result in you winning IRL…
Currently priced at $9 for one year of Pro Membership for early adopters, the Pro Pass gets you more than just features on the App. However, there are app based improvements like the Park Pro Leaderboards which provide your ranking vs. other Pro members across the entire park. That means that just because you’re fastest on A-Line, it doesn’t make you the King of Whistler if you can’t throw down on Dirt Merchant and all the other trails.
That leaderboard is also part of the Pro competitions which are set up to win actual prizes like a 2017 Pivot Firebird. To enter that competition for instance, it’s the combination of your best three days of vertical descent, combined for a score. The person with the most vertical on the leaderboard walks away with the prize. The Pro Pass also snags you discounts at a few retailers including Whistler Sports Rentals, LoamCoffee, ESI Grips, and Drift Riding REntals.
The app is free to download for Apple or Android products, and there are many more features like GPX data uploads in the works. Currently, there are a ton of bike parks around the world in Beta testing for the app, and more on the way which means you should be able to find the park near you and get out to track some laps.
