I’ve always known San Francisco to have a large affinity for bikers. It comes as no surprise, then, that a San Francisco based company called Strava is working on a universal program to keep track of a biker’s exercise for those who opt for the more sophisticated technology. This means bikers with an iPhone, Android or even a Garmin will have the means to use any program that uses GPS function to upload onto the Strava website. And it’s not just your basic distance traveled, either, Strava takes into account for parts of your ride when you’re going on incline or decline and the power your body is at the time outputting.

The really exciting part is taking this whole biking thing from a peaceful getting-in-touch-with-nature-and-yourself sort of thing to a competitive online exercise tracking arena. I get more pumped from the idea that I’m going to compete with others when doing anything, whether it be power-walking, fiction writing, or making a coffee in the morning. The nature of the website is that you can either upload the results from your GPS device, or you can enter a ride in manually, if you didn’t have your device with you on your last ride.

The website has a variance of useful features, including a comprehensive analysis of your ride statistics and heart rate among other things. You can get the ease of the internet working for your biking plan by staying in touch with your cycling community online with a twitter-like interface. There’s even a way that you can track the mileage of your bike’s equipment, so as to keep your bike in top condition. Additionally, you can program future rides to stop short of a radius of a place you would like to avoid.

There is a basic plan which is free, and of course, their premium plan called the Velo Plan. I’ve gotta say Velo shapes up to be a much better plan from the looks of it, and at a measly $6/mo or $59/year package should be easily affordable to anyone. Rather than limiting yourself to a total of five rides and only going to public clubs and events, you have access to private clubs and events, too.

Good news for apple fans, too, Strava is working on an app for iPhone to make this process quick and easy for those that want it all in one simple little package. Visit http://www.strava.com/ to take a tour.