Why I Built MotoFlow

After years of riding and hundreds of GPX files scattered across devices, folders, and half-forgotten cloud services, I hit a breaking point.

I’d tried the usual suspects - Calimoto, Scenic, various tracking apps. They were fine for what they did, but none of them solved my actual problem:

I wanted to relive my rides, not just record them.

The Setup That Almost Worked

I use DMD2 on an Android phone mounted on the bike for navigation and recording. It works well for that purpose. But DMD2 doesn’t help when I’m home, wanting to browse through last season’s rides, find that perfect mountain road I discovered in June, or see the photos I took along the way.

I had GPX files in one place, photos in Apple Photos on my iPhone, and no good way to bring them together. The workflow was: export, convert, import, manually match photos to rides… exhausting.

The Missing Piece

What I needed was a desktop solution. Not another mobile tracker - I have that. A proper Mac app where I could:

• Import rides from any GPS source
• See my photos automatically matched to each route
• Browse through seasons and rediscover forgotten roads
• Actually enjoy the archive instead of fighting with it

It didn’t exist. So I built it.

Why Desktop, Not Just Mobile & Web

This might sound contrarian in 2025, but hear me out:

Your MacBook is powerful. Use it.

Dealing with hundreds or thousands of rides, large photo libraries, proper map visualization - this works better on a big screen with a keyboard and mouse. Mobile apps optimize for quick tracking. Desktop is where you organize, explore, and relive.

The iPhone and Apple Watch apps are there for recording rides. But the Mac is where MotoFlow really lives.

The Pay-Once Commitment

I’m tired of subscriptions. They pile up, they feel extractive, and for an app like this - where your data lives in your own iCloud anyway - they’re not strictly necessary.

MotoFlow is a one-time purchase. No subscription, no account required, no data on my servers. Your rides stay in your iCloud, synced across your devices through Apple’s infrastructure.

This is a harder business model. I know. But it aligns with how I think software for motorcyclists should work: buy it, own it, ride.

Why This Matters to Me

I ride solo. Not because I don’t like people, but because there’s something about being alone on a quiet road, far from everything, that puts me in a state I can’t find anywhere else. Flow. Presence. Whatever you want to call it.

The last thing I want during that experience is to fight with technology. I want to ride, take a few photos, and know that later - maybe months later, during a cold winter evening - I can pull up that ride and remember exactly why it mattered.

That’s what MotoFlow is for me. A way to preserve those moments without getting in the way of them.

I also just like building things. Combining software engineering with something I actually care about - motorcycling - makes the work meaningful. I’m not building another productivity app or social network. I’m building something for a community I’m part of.

And I like keeping things simple. No feature creep, no unnecessary complexity. Just what works. It’s the same reason I love my Royal Enfield Himalayan - it’s not the fastest or fanciest bike, but it does exactly what I need, reliably, without drama.

MotoFlow is the software equivalent of that philosophy.

What MotoFlow Does

Import: Bring in GPX files from any source - DMD2, Scenic, Garmin, whatever you use. Or record directly with the iPhone/Watch.

Organize: Browse rides by date, location, or just scroll through. Date range filtering helps find specific trips.

Photos: Your iPhone photos automatically appear on each ride based on time and location. No manual matching.

Relive: Elevation profiles, route visualization, statistics. See where you’ve been and remember why it mattered.

Export: Your data is yours. Export rides, share routes, no lock-in.

What’s Next

The focus going forward is on the reliving experience. I want MotoFlow to surface your best memories - whether that’s during the off-season, between rides, or when you’re planning the next adventure.

Better media integration is coming. More ways to rediscover rides based on location and time. Shareable ride summaries you can actually be proud of.

And I’m actively engaging with the rider community to understand what matters most. This isn’t a corporate-backed feature factory - it’s a tool built by a rider, for riders.

Try It

There’s a free tier if you want to see how it works with your setup. Full version is available for a €19.99 intro price on the App Store (price varies by region).

Questions? I’m around.

Ride safe. ✌️