Recon eyewear app tells cyclists when to refuel

A new app has been developed to tell cyclists and athletes when to drink and eat during a ride/activity in order to maximise their performance.

Crucially, the app has been designed for Recon Jet smart eyewear, so riders will get the refuel notifications in their eyeline thanks to the clever specs. Jet’s smart-eyewear display is located just below the athlete’s right eye.

Developed in collaboration with Vega co-founder Brendan Brazier, the app is called Refuel and is available now as a free download from Recon’s App Centre.

“Brendan and I developed Refuel for Jet for two reasons,” said Tyson Miller, VP of Consumer Products at Recon. “First, as athletes, we both know how easy it is to bonk or become dehydrated during activities. Athletes often don’t realize they are under-fueling and, too late to course correct, find themselves in a degraded physical state. We wanted to solve that problem. Second, we wanted to test drive Recon’s new software development kit (SDK) before its public release. Refuel was developed using that SDK, which has allowed us to tweak and improve the kit ahead of its public release later this month.”

Pairing Brazier’s performance nutrition knowledge with Miller’s technical background, the app’s algorithm considers age, weight, height, gender, altitude, distance travelled, heart rate, and either pace or speed to make bespoke nutritional suggestions.

“I work with a wide range of pro and recreational athletes, and most of them simply don’t know when and what to eat or drink to maximise their potential,” said Brendan Brazier. “It can be tricky. Fuel and hydration needs will change based on the intensity and duration of a workout. For example, a high-intensity workout will require a larger percentage of carbs whereas a longer workout at a lower intensity will require dietary fat and protein to enhance endurance and prevent muscle catabolization. Refuel makes those assessments and advises athletes accordingly. Additionally, Refuel offers a form of mental outsourcing. Because there’s no need to allocate brainpower to properly time fueling and hydration, Refuel enables greater focus on the activity, which can be a significant advantage.”

There’s more at http://refuelapps.com while we’ve a video to explain the app: