What Makes a Scenic Rider Different?
I started riding in 2008. From the beginning, I wanted to find the best scenic roads, the ones worth riding. But finding them took forever, and then came the next problem: how do you actually follow a route you found online? I tried everything. Paper maps, printed directions, iPads in tank bags, mainstream navigation apps, Garmin Zumos. None of it was quite right.
So I started building something in my free time. A few years later I quit my corporate job and put everything into it. That app became Scenic, the first motorcycle navigation app on the iOS App Store. That was over ten years ago, and I’m still building it today, together with a small team, still independent, still listening to riders.
That’s where Scenic came from. Not a boardroom. A ride.
There Are Two Kinds of Riders
In my experience, the people who end up using Scenic aren’t just looking for a navigation app. They’re looking for something that understands how they think about riding.
Because there are two kinds of people on the road.
The first kind opens a navigation app, types in a destination, and follows the fastest route. They arrive on time. They’ve seen nothing. They do it again tomorrow.
The second kind looks at the same map and asks: what’s the most interesting way to get there? They take the mountain pass instead of the highway. They stop when something catches their eye. They arrive later, with a better story.
I’m the second kind. And if you’re reading this, I’m guessing you are too.
The Route Is the Point
Most navigation apps are built around one idea: get from A to B as fast as possible. That’s fine if you’re late for a meeting. But motorcycling was never about efficiency. It’s about the road itself, the way it winds through a valley, climbs a mountain, or disappears into the horizon.
I’ve ridden a lot of roads. Some planned, some completely by accident. And the ones I remember most are never the fast ones. They’re the ones where I thought: how did I not know this road existed?
That’s what I want Scenic to do for every rider who uses it. Not just get you somewhere. Help you find the roads worth riding.
What Scenic Riders Have in Common
Over the years I’ve talked to a lot of Scenic riders, on the forum, at bike events, in emails, sometimes just parked up at the side of the road. And I’ve noticed something.
Beyond the app, we share something. A set of values that are hard to put into words, but easy to recognize when you meet another rider who has them.
Scenic riders believe that:
- A curvy road is always better than a straight one.
- The best rides are rarely planned down to the minute.
- A stranger on a motorcycle is never really a stranger.
- The journey matters more than the destination.
- Every road has something to offer, if you’re paying attention.
If that sounds like you, then you’re one of us.
We’re Small, and That’s a Good Thing
I want to be honest with you about what Scenic is.
It’s not a big company. There are no investors telling us what to build. No corporate agenda. No quarterly targets that don’t include you. Scenic is bootstrapped, independent, and entirely supported by its users.
That means the only thing I have to focus on is making the best motorcycle navigation experience possible. Every feature we build exists because a rider asked for it, argued for it, or showed me why it mattered on the road. This app is yours as much as it is mine.
I ride too. I use Scenic on my own trips. When something doesn’t work the way it should, it bothers me personally. That’s the kind of founder you get with a small independent app, and I think that matters.
30 Million Hours on the Road
Here’s something that still amazes me when I think about it.
Scenic riders have collectively logged 30 million hours on the road. They’ve shared over 200,000 routes with each other, from hidden coastal roads in Portugal to mountain passes in the Rockies, from jungle tracks in Southeast Asia to winding B-roads in the English countryside.
Every route in the Scenic database is a gift from one rider to another. A way of saying: I found something beautiful. I think you should see it too.
When I started building Scenic, I hoped it would become something like this. A place where riders share not just routes, but the spirit of riding itself. I don’t think I fully appreciated how real that would become.
Come Join the Conversation
The best riding advice doesn’t come from algorithms. It comes from riders who’ve been there, made the mistakes, found the shortcuts, and discovered the hidden gems.
That’s what our forum is for. Route collections, technical tips, trip reports, and plenty of vroom vroom energy from riders who’ve put serious miles into the app, and into life.
If you haven’t been there yet, come and say hello. Tell us where you ride. Share a route. Ask a question. It’s one of the friendliest corners of the internet I know, and I’m on there too.
The Road Is Calling
There’s a road out there right now that you haven’t ridden yet. It’s probably curvy. It probably goes somewhere worth going. And somewhere out there, another Scenic rider has already found it and is waiting to share it with you.
That’s what this community means to me. Not just an app with users. A group of people who believe that life is too short for boring roads.
So take the scenic route. Always.
— Guido, founder of Scenic
