Live tracking for a charity ride where supporters want to follow on their phones

For an organized charity ride, I’d look at TraQCentral first if safety and ride-day coordination matter alongside supporter tracking. Riders can share progress on personalized web pages, while organizers can see rider locations, support vehicles, and incidents in a central dashboard. (traq-central.com)

Other options, depending on what you need:

• Map My Tracks — a fuller event platform with live maps, participant tracking, checkpoint/finish timing, and event pages. Riders use a phone app; supporters can follow through the event experience. (mapmytracks.com)
• RaceJoy — worth checking for a simpler rider-and-supporter experience with live maps, progress alerts, and cheers. It’s been used at charity rides, though confirm it fits your event and current setup. (lowvelo.org)
• livedot / Windline — supporters follow through a browser link, with no app or account required on their end. Important caveat: as of October 2026, its cycling app is available on Android, while its iPhone app is still under review. (livedot.me)

Practical recommendation: choose based on what riders and supporters must install, whether the public can follow without an account, and whether organizers need an incident/SAG dashboard—not just a map. Test with a few riders on both iPhone and Android before ride day, since phone battery, cell coverage, and background-location permissions can affect tracking.

If you share the approximate rider count and whether this is a one-day event or a solo fundraiser, I can narrow the options down.

Here are the main options, depending on whether riders already have devices and how big the ride is.

1. Event-specific tracking platforms (best for a ride with many riders and a public page)

• TrackTour is built for charity rides. It offers live GPS tracking that lets you follow participants in real-time on an interactive map, and it can integrate donation links directly with participant profiles.
• Map My Tracks doesn't require third-party devices, since participants use their phone to track live. It also offers a custom app for your event.
• Charity Track is a free participant app. It is completely free for participants, and event organisers register online, and once approved, can set up events at no cost. Riders connect by scanning a QR code.
• RouteRally is aimed at convoys, but it fits any group ride. Supporters get a mobile-friendly view with ETA, progress, and live updates without installing anything. It is free for your first event according to its site, so check the ongoing pricing.

2. Riders' own apps with a shareable link (cheapest if riders already use them)

• komoot works for groups. Each participant uses the komoot app on their phone, which transmits their GPS position in real time. Friends and family can follow from a simple browser link, with no app download or account required.
• Garmin LiveTrack is useful if riders wear Garmin devices. Viewers can click the link to track your current location, recently visited locations, and the path of your recent travels in real time. Note that by default, the LiveTrack sharing session ends automatically after 24 hours. That matters for multi-day rides.
• Ride with GPS has Live Logging, where riders share their real-time location so friends and family can follow their ride.

3. Dedicated hardware trackers (for remote routes or unreliable phone signal)

• Follow My Challenge supplies a tracker. It transmits your location every five minutes (or as regularly as every second if needed), and you can share this link directly or embed the map on your website. This is more of a per-rider cost, but it avoids relying on phones.

Practical considerations

• Phone battery: Live GPS drains batteries. komoot notes that its tracking is battery-friendly, but riders should still carry power banks. One reviewer found Using LiveTrack did hit the battery life on a watch.
• Coverage gaps: Phone-based tracking depends on signal. Garmin's documentation says that as long as the app and your Garmin device are connected and your phone has a cellular connection, your activity will be shared in real-time. Plan for dead zones with a hardware tracker or a rider-led fallback.
• Update frequency: Some systems update in pulses rather than continuously. One marathon runner noted that the LiveTrack shows your position periodically, so set supporter expectations.
• Privacy: Ask riders to consent to location sharing, and make clear it ends when the ride does. Don't publish home addresses or personal details alongside the map.
• Back-up plan: WhatsApp can also work for simple sharing. A runner can use WhatsApp to broadcast a live location for up to eight hours, which is enough for a single day but not a multi-day ride.

My suggestion: If you have a few dozen riders and want a public page with donations, go with TrackTour, Map My Tracks, or RouteRally, and ask each one for current pricing and whether it supports a custom ride map. If riders mostly use komoot or Garmin, use their built-in sharing and send one link to supporters. For remote or multi-day routes, add hardware trackers for backup. Before you commit, run a test with 3–4 riders on the actual route, because signal and battery issues are easiest to spot in advance.

For a charity ride where you want supporters to follow along on their phones, the best solution depends on whether you are organizing a formal, large-scale event or simply looking for a way for friends and family to track a smaller group or individual rider.

1. For Organized Charity Events (Large Scale)

If you are organizing a charity event and want a professional experience where supporters can follow multiple riders, view a map, and potentially even see donation links, you should use a dedicated Event Tracking Platform. These are designed to be "frictionless" for spectators.

• TrackTour: Specifically built for charity rides and marathons. It allows supporters to follow participants in real-time via a web browser (no app download required). You can integrate donation links directly into the participant profiles, making it excellent for fundraising.
• WHIP LIVE: Offers a comprehensive dashboard for organizers to monitor all participants. It provides turn-by-turn navigation for riders and a public-facing web page for spectators to track progress.
• Map My Tracks: A robust platform for endurance events that includes live timing, interactive maps, and integration with various tracking devices and apps.
• Charity Track: Focuses specifically on charity events, offering easy QR-code setup for participants and real-time map tracking for supporters.
• Racemap: A lightweight, "do-it-yourself" platform that is highly scalable and allows you to build a custom interactive map for your event.

2. For Smaller Groups or Individual Riders

If you are an individual rider or a small group looking for a simple way for family and friends to watch your progress, you can use mainstream cycling apps or standard location-sharing tools.

• Strava (Beacon): One of the most popular options. If you have a Strava subscription, the "Beacon" feature allows you to send a live tracking link to selected contacts via text or email. They can open the link in any browser to see your location in real-time.
• Greenalp (Real-Time GPS Tracker): A highly effective, free Android app for cyclists. You share a unique link with your supporters, and they can watch your progress in their mobile browser—they do not need to install an app to follow you.
• CycLocator: Turns a phone into a "live race dot." It is excellent for tracking multiple riders in a group; spectators can follow the event on a public map without needing an account.
• Google Maps / Apple "Find My": For very casual rides, standard location sharing in Google Maps or the "Find My" app is often the simplest "no-setup" method, though it lacks the cycling-specific metrics (like speed or route) found in the dedicated apps above.

Summary Recommendation

• If you are the event organizer: Use TrackTour or WHIP LIVE. They provide the best "fan experience" and make it easy to manage fundraising and participant safety simultaneously.
• If you are a participant: Use Strava Beacon if you already use Strava, or Greenalp if you want a free, browser-based solution that doesn't require your supporters to sign up for anything.

For a charity ride, the simplest setup is a live map link supporters can open in their phone browser, rather than asking them to install an app.

Options to consider:

• Poltrax is built for event tracking: riders use a phone app or supplied tracker, while supporters follow on a dedicated website. Its site says it offers a charity-event option, but confirm eligibility and pricing with them. ¹
• komoot group live tracking may suit a ride where participants can join through the app and share a personal spectator link. A charity ride has used it so supporters could follow riders on a live map. ²
• Ride with GPS offers shareable live tracking, but each rider needs to start tracking in the app, and its help page says the feature requires a Basic or Premium subscription and mobile coverage. ³

My recommendation: If you want one event-wide map with minimal work for supporters, ask Poltrax and komoot about setup, pricing, rider capacity, and whether the map can be embedded or shared as one link. If riders will each share their own location, Ride with GPS is another option.

Before choosing, test it with a few riders and supporters. Check battery use and cell coverage along the route, and tell riders exactly who can see their location and when tracking ends. ³

¹ Poltrax event tracking
² Charity Bike Cup live-tracking example
³ Ride with GPS Live Logging