Planning with Mec in the app
Last verified
Mec, Bikepackia's AI route partner, reworks the route when you tell it what changed: "make today shorter", "the pass is closed", "find me a bed near here". It offers lettered route options to compare on the map, and places to sleep or refill as pins you can swipe through. A band at the top shows the live route's distance, days and climbing, with a Save button — nothing is stored until you press it.
What you can ask for
- A whole trip: "Plan a 3-day route Paris → Lyon".
- A change mid-trip: "make today shorter", "the pass is closed, route me round it", "add Strasbourg as a stop".
- A split: "split it into 3 days".
- Stops: "find a place to sleep near the end of day 1", or water and lunch stops for a day.
- A standing preference: "I always avoid city centres" is saved to your profile; "skip cities on this one" applies to this trip only.
- A save: "save this as Loire spring tour".
Route options
When Mec proposes options, the chat shows a '3 route options' card with View & pick. Each option is drawn on the map in its own colour, and its card carries the distance, the climbing, the per-day breakdown and an honest warning when the days exceed the climbing you said you were happy with. Use this route commits the one you picked, and Mec stages it.
Stops and sleep spots
Ask for a bed, water or food and Mec searches around the right point on the route, then shows what it found as pins with a swipeable card for each. Picking one adds it to the route: a sleep spot becomes the end of that day, other stops become a point the route passes through.
Saving
- The band above the chat shows the live route and a Save button — Update once the route is already saved.
- Nothing is saved automatically. Leaving with unsaved changes warns you first.
- Asking Mec to save works too, and you can give it a name in the same sentence.
- LIVE means the map underneath is showing exactly what the chat has produced so far.
Credit
Each message you send to Mec costs credit from your balance, based on how much work the reply takes. Picking an option, tapping a place, saving, and everything else you do by hand are free. If you run out mid-trip, the chat offers a link to your wallet instead of a reply.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit the route by hand on the phone?
No. Dragging the line, moving points and reordering stops are web-planner features. On the phone you ask Mec, or tap a place in one of its pickers.
Is my route saved automatically?
No. Use the Save button in the band above the chat, or ask Mec to save it. If you try to leave with unsaved changes, the app warns you.
Why did Mec show me three routes instead of one?
When a trip has more than one sensible line — say a flatter way round versus a shorter way over — Mec draws each on the map with its distance, climbing and per-day figures so you can choose.


