Cycling is a great way to get from one place to another, and it’s ideal if you want to add fresh air and exercise to your commute. And as urban areas look to become more liveable and sustainable, many are looking to the likes of Copenhagen and Amsterdam for inspiration in enhancing their cycling infrastructures.
Apple Maps’ cycling capabilities will differ depending on where you live, but you can view directions by bike in many towns and cities. And if you plan to make cycling your primary mode of transport, you can customize a selection of settings within the app.
In this guide, you’ll learn about the different cycling settings you can change within Apple Maps. On top of that, you will find out how to make these adjustments.
What Cycling Settings Can You Change in Apple Maps?
Before we show you how to customize your cycling settings in Apple Maps, let’s look at the different things you can change. There are three main things you can change, and you’ll find these in the sub-sections below.
1. Make Cycling Your Preferred Mode of Transport
If you plan to cycle regularly, it makes sense to add biking as your preferred mode of transport. And when using Apple Maps, you can easily do that – regardless of the device you are looking for directions on.
When you make cycling your preferred mode of transport, Apple Maps will show you directions that you can follow on your bike where possible. In cases where you can’t view biking directions, you’ll see something else.
In those instances where you can’t see cycling directions with Apple Maps, it might be worth trying the same thing with Google Maps. In many cases, you should be able to see where you’re going with that app instead.
2. Hills
You probably don’t need to worry too much about hills if you’re cycling in a flat country like the Netherlands or Denmark. But if you tried cycling somewhere like San Francisco, you’ll have to think more carefully about your cycling route to avoid higher levels of elevation.
In Apple Maps, you can decide whether you want your app to avoid hills when showing you directions.
3. Busy Roads
Unfortunately, not every city has an advanced cycling infrastructure. And in some places, trying to get around on two wheels can be outright dangerous – and you may find yourself amongst cars and heavy-duty vehicles more often than you’d like.
While cycling along busy roads is sometimes unavoidable, you can customize Apple Maps so that it avoids these routes where possible. If you’re in a busy urban area like New York City or Los Angeles, and your route requires going through places with heavy traffic, you might want to consider using a safer mode of transportation.
How to Customize Cycling Settings in Apple Maps for iPhone
Now that you know more about the cycling settings that you can customize in Apple Maps, let’s look at how you can adjust these on different Apple devices. To make things easier for you, we will – for each section – show you how to change your preferred mode of transport and avoid challenging routes in different sub-sections.
Choosing Cycling as Your Preferred Transport Method
If you want to change your preferred route to cycling in Apple Maps on your iPhone, you can follow these instructions.
Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Scroll down until you see Maps (or use the search bar to find the app).
On the next window, scroll down until you see a section called Preferred Type of Travel.
Make sure that you’ve ticked Cycling from the list of options.
Avoiding Challenging Routes
If you want to avoid hills and busy roads, you can change these cycling settings for Apple Maps on your iPhone:
Go to Settings > Maps.
Scroll down until you see the section called Directions.
Click on Cycling.
In the next window, you’ll see a section called Avoid. Toggle Hills and Busy Roads if you want to avoid both of these. If you only want to steer clear of one or the other, pick whichever one you’d like to avoid.
How to Customize Cycling Settings in Apple Maps for iPad
If you want to change your cycling settings in Apple Maps for your iPad, you can follow these instructions for preferred routes and avoiding potential obstacles.
Choosing Cycling as Your Preferred Transport Method
To choose cycling as your preferred route in Apple Maps for your iPad, open the Settings app and follow these steps.
1. Go to Maps > Preferred Type of Travel.
2. Select Cycling from the list of options that appear.
Avoiding Challenging Routes
If you want to avoid hills and busy roads, you can follow these steps instead:
1. Go to Settings > Maps > Directions.
2. Click on Cycling.
3. Under Avoid, toggle Hills and Busy Roads on or off – depending on how you want to change the pair of them.
How to Customize Cycling Settings in Apple Maps for Mac
Apple Maps has a different interface for Mac, so – while changing your settings on iPhone and iPad are quite similar – that’s not the same on your computer. Here’s how to customize your preferred routes and things you want to avoid in Maps for macOS.
Choosing Cycling as Your Preferred Route
To choose cycling as your preferred route in Maps, you’ll need to open the app rather than going to your System Settings. Once you’re in Apple Maps, follow these instructions.
1. Go to Maps > Settings in your toolbar at the top of your screen.
2. Click on Route Planner when you see the pop-up window.
3. Expand the dropdown menu next to Preferred Transport Type and select Cycling.
Avoiding Challenging Routes
To avoid hills and busy roads, follow these steps instead:
1. Go to Maps > Settings.
2. Like when choosing your preferred mode of transport, click on the Route Planner tab.
3. Scroll down to Cycling Default Options. Here, you’ll see Avoid Hills and Avoid Busy Roads.
4. Tick the box(es) that fit your preferences.
Customize Your Cycling Settings and Enjoy a Better Journey
Customizing your cycling settings in Apple Maps is easy, regardless of whether you use the app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. You can easily make riding your bike your preferred way of getting around; when you do, Apple Maps will strive to show you steps related to this.
You can also choose to avoid routes that are potentially dangerous or challenging. While cycling directions aren’t currently available everywhere on Apple Maps, making these adjustments will help you get around more easily if you’re in a place where they are.
Danny is a freelance writer who has been using Apple products for over a decade. He’s written for some of the largest technology publications on the web and previously worked as an in-house writer before carving his own route. Danny grew up in the UK, but now writes about tech from his Scandinavian base.
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